Are you searching for a proven attorney for shareholder disputes in San Diego and across the State of California? What is the best way to resolve a dispute or lawsuit with fellow shareholders? Are you having challenges with a business investment? The Watkins Firm has more than 40 years of experience, dispute resolution and legal skill in these matters. When shareholders’ rights are at issue there are many factors to consider, and there is always money on the table.
Key Takeaways of What to Look For When Searching for a Proven Attorney for Shareholder Disputes in San Diego:
- If there is a dispute with fellow owners, members, or shareholders in a company, there is always money on the table to protect.
- Many shareholder-related disputes involve other factors such as unfair business practices or a breach of fiduciary duty. This is an area where an experienced shareholder dispute attorney at the Watkins Firm can genuinely contribute to the successful outcome of your case.
- Look for a law firm who is able to resolve the vast majority of their shareholder dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation, but also provides the experience and legal skill to file or defend a lawsuit, and manage settlement conferences, mediation, arbitration, or a trial.
What is the Nature of Your Shareholder Dispute?
What is the nature of your shareholder dispute? In many cases, it is a matter of “who was supposed to do what” or “how the money is supposed to be divided.” It might revolve around access to important corporate information or the books themselves. In many of these cases the core issue is the direction of the business itself.
Shareholders are required by law to conduct their business with one another in an honest, factual and loyal way. What happens when self-dealing or deceptive or unfair business practices affect not only your financial investment but the viability and value of the company itself? Has there been a breach of the shareholders’ agreement or a breach of fiduciary duty by another shareholder or stakeholder? Are majority stakeholders exerting pressure or employing tactics which damage your position or threaten the value and future of your holdings?
A Proven Attorney for Shareholder Disputes in San Diego and Across the State of California
If you are looking for a proven attorney for shareholder disputes in San Diego and across the State of California we ask you to consider the Watkins Firm. Our experienced dispute attorneys get to the core issues and go to work creating a thorough, well documented chronology of all facts, communications and other evidence, as well as a mastery of available damages in order to gain leverage for negotiation. We work to establish a productive working atmosphere that is conducive to effective negotiations and ultimately a settlement which reflects the goals and objectives of our client. It may encourage you to know that the Watkins Firm resolves the vast majority of shareholder disputes in a timely and cost-efficient manner through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest, least expensive path to protecting your rights and your money.
Your Watkins Firm trial attorney adds power and strength to your side of the equation. Opposing parties and their counsel know we are prepared to take every case to trial and win, however this is rarely necessary. A settlement conference and/or business mediation is the next step before arbitration or litigation. Mediation is an effective and confidential environment which keeps your private business and financial information out of the public record while working to achieve a settlement of the matter.
If the matter cannot be resolved through negotiation or mediation the corporate documents should determine whether the next alternative is arbitration or trial.
Pro-Tip: “We’ve had so many investor or shareholder fights where a company takes a group of friends, or a group of friends who know friends, maybe 30 people to invest in a company and it’ll be doing well, but not great. And the investors, the shareholders won’t be receiving disclosures, or they will be receiving them, but they sort of don’t add up. And then they do an investigation and they come to some law firm like ours and they say, ‘well, let’s, let’s get in there seeing the books and records’ and you get some pushback from the company. And that’s when all the hairs in your neck stand up and you come to the Watkins firm and we file a motion.
And we discover through our due diligence that the company’s doing very good and that they also formed an offshore corporation of the same name. And they’ve taken all the assets and they’re all driving Rolls-Royces. So this has happened more times than I can say, because it just does happen. Nobody fights over anything unless there’s money involved. If it’s just doing okay, they would tell the truth and say, ‘it’s all great.’ But if that big money offer comes in the door and they have a way of, of keeping it for themselves, it’s very tempting for human nature to turn that down.
Obviously not all shareholders need legal advice, but many of them do. When should a potential shareholder seek the advice of the Watkins Firm?
Well, if you’re investing $500, no, but if you’re making a substantial investment in a company, you are a buyer of that company. So all the same thought process that we go through when we acquire a company or we sell a company and we do our due diligence should come into play. And law firms have resources that average people don’t. We have computer databases, we can do background searches, we can pull up, or request disclosures. We can actually help you ask certain questions of the corporation. We can literally even hire our CPA to review the financial documents to make sure it adds up.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
What are Your Goals and Objectives For Your Shareholder Dispute?
These decisions are guided by the stakes and the goals and objectives of our clients. Is it possible for the parties to continue in the business, or is it necessary to negotiate a buy-out or sale of a business interest or the business itself? Is there any concern about fraud, theft or commingling of funds or assets? Who has been responsible for keeping the books, and how accurate and up-to-date are the records? Our clients value our practical approach, and our desire to help resolve the dispute quickly and in a cost-effective manner.
They also respect our reputation and track record in these disputes, and appreciate that we are able to represent them at any stage of a business dispute, from negotiation through mediation, in arbitration or at trial.
If you are searching for the right attorney for shareholder disputes in San Diego and Southern California we invite you to review our podcast Episode 14 – Resolving Shareholder Disputes as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today. We will work with you to preserve the benefit of the investment of your time, energy, money and hard work.
Meet Daniel Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares deeply about what others are going through. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He contributes his insights candidly and constructively.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a trusted litigation strategist and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
