Resolving a business dispute between owners or partners can put the business itself at risk, while distracting the company from profitable operations and growth. If you have business partners who are either fellow members in an LLC or shareholders in your corporation and a dispute erupts how should you handle it? The attorneys at the Watkins Firm have helped business partners to resolve disputes for more than four decades here in San Diego.
The Primary Reasons for an Internal Business Dispute
What are the primary reasons for an in internal business dispute? While the most common issue is a disagreement about money there are many reasons why business challenges or a major personal life event can lead to a legal dispute between business partners. What happens if one of the ownership members or shareholders is going through a divorce? How will that impact the business? What happens when one of the parties dies or becomes incapacitated? From time to time business owners are required to contribute additional business capital to the venture. What happens if a fellow owner can’t meet their capital contribution requirement?
Most of these issues should be clearly addressed in the operating agreement or shareholder’s agreement, but many LLCs and corporations are founded using downloaded forms. These quick and inexpensive solutions leave substantial legal holes that make a dispute between the parties much more time consuming, expensive and difficult to resolve.
What are the Steps for Resolving a Business Dispute Between Owners or Partners in San Diego
The steps involved with resolving a business dispute between owners or partners in San Diego and Southern California include negotiation, mediation, arbitration and business litigation. The Watkins Firm has developed a unique approach to business dispute resolution that is specifically designed to resolve issues in a timely and cost-efficient manner. The Watkins Firm resolves the vast majority of our business dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and least expensive path to resolving any business dispute.
We work to develop and document a strong chronology of events and a mastery of the damages associated with the dispute. This provides the foundation for fruitful negotiations. The next step in the process (once a lawsuit has been filed) is usually business mediation or a settlement conference. Mediation is a private and confidential legal environment that protects the privacy of your business and financial information while providing a structured process for identifying core issues and resolving the dispute in whole or in part. The goal of mediation is a settlement agreement. If mediation cannot resolve every aspect of the dispute the remaining issues are usually brought to arbitration. Binding arbitration is a structured legal process (much like a streamlined trial) designed to resolve the matter once and for all within a matter of a few weeks. It is much less expensive and efficient than a full trial, but the quality of your legal representation will have a substantial impact on the outcome in your case.
Are you searching for attorneys with a proven track record of resolving a business dispute between owners or partners in a timely and cost-effective manner while accomplishing your goals and objectives? You need the experienced and proven San Diego business dispute attorneys at the Watkins Firm. Our attorneys work with you to understand your goals and objectives for the situation, and work diligently to accomplish these in the fastest possible time frame and with minimal expense. We invite you to review our podcast Episode 11 – Resolving Business Disputes as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call us for a free and substantial consultation at 858-535-1511. Ask about our unique approach to partnership disputes which is designed to resolve the issue(s) at hand in a timely and cost-effective manner.
