Are you searching for attorneys with the skill and experience required to manage investor and shareholder disagreements in San Diego and throughout the State of California?  The Watkins Firm has decades of experience in shareholders’ rights and business disputes between corporations and minority shareholders, investors, stockholders or members of an LLC.  We work to resolve disputes and employ a unique approach to disputes which is designed to resolve the issue quickly in a cost-effective manner.

For many corporations shareholders and stockholders provide the working capital for the business.  Shareholders and investors are concerned about the investment they have made and often express concern with the decisions of company executives or the Board of Directors, or the direction of the corporation itself.  These disputes can become quite serious, especially when there are allegations of financial wrongdoings or the violation of fiduciary duties.

If you are worried about investor and shareholder disagreements in California you need to speak with the experienced shareholder and dispute resolution attorneys at the Watkins Firm.  We have more than four decades of experience in these disputes and lawsuits and this informs our insight and ability to identify potential alternatives while negotiating a successful resolution.

We work to quickly and efficiently create a thorough, well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of any potential damages.  These are the tools required to get the attention and engagement of majority owners, and resolve the issues our clients are concerned about.  You should be pleased to learn the Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of our shareholder and investor dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiations.  This is the fastest, least expensive route to protect your interests and achieve your objectives.

Mediation and arbitration are common legal venues for resolving investor and shareholder disagreements in California.  You should never enter a mediation or arbitration without legal counsel.  As your attorneys, we help to identify all risks and potential options for resolution while helping to create a productive and focused working environment with opposing parties.  There are many legal options for stockholder and shareholder disputes in San Diego and throughout California, including a derivative lawsuit on behalf of the corporation or strategies to counter majority shareholder intimidation or freeze-out tactics.

Pro-Tip: “depending on how much of an interest they own, what percentage of the company they own, they have a general right to see the financial disclosures the company gets if they’re less than a 5% shareholder. And if they’re more than 5% shareholder, they can go audit the company’s books and records. And sometimes they’ll be told they have to sign a non-disclosure agreement to do so, but they can literally give notice and appear in two weeks at the company offices and start making copies or investigating what’s going on with the company. Or if that doesn’t happen, they can literally file a motion in court and have a judge issue orders for our clients to be given access to the books and records of the company.

So are there protections for minority shareholders and investors to protect them from wrongful actions by the majority interest or officers and directors. There’s laws in place that protect them. But unless they have some type of shareholder agreement or some type of assurances or representations and warranties, then they just have the right to grievance in court.

For example, we’ve, we’ve had so many shareholder fights where a company group of friends or a group of friends who know friends, maybe 30 people 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, and see 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.

Investors and shareholders just want to be treated just like other shareholders. And so when you don’t have these safeguards in place, it’s very tempting for management to say, ‘well, technically I’m going to pay me myself more. Technically I need a new car. And technically the company should lease me a house to stay in. And technically this, and technically that…’ when, if you would had a request that certain things be in place before you invest a substantial amount of money, they may have said, ‘yes, I don’t want executive compensation to exceed so much of the EBITDA,’ simple things like that could be requested. If they say, ‘no’, you keep your money.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

You will need an experienced, proven shareholder’s rights attorney to guide you through your concerns and any help to manage any communications or dispute that might arise. We invite you to review our podcast Episode 14 – Shareholders’ Rights as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.