The Watkins Firm has decades of experience and proven legal skill successfully resolving a shareholder dispute in San Diego and throughout the State of California. We often represent a minority shareholder who believes they are being “frozen out” of crucial business decisions, and being denied access to critical business information and the corporation’s books. When there are major issues with controlling interests, corporate officers or the Board of Directors itself, the Watkins Firm helps shareholders to take appropriate action to gain access to the information they require to protect their investment.
Key Takeaways for Successfully Resolving a Shareholder Dispute in San Diego or Anywhere in California:
- Begin with the outcome you seek – what are your goals and objectives related to the shareholder dispute at hand?
- Look for a law firm with extensive, proven experience successfully resolving shareholder disputes and lawsuits in an expedient and cost-effective manner while accomplishing your own goals and objectives.
- Shareholder disputes are generally about one thing: money. Often, a large sum of money. Protect your interests with experienced, proven San Diego shareholder dispute resolution attorneys at the Watkins Firm.
What Are Your Goals and Objectives for This Situation?
The important thing to consider as a when successfully resolving a shareholder dispute in San Diego or anywhere in California is simply this:
What are your goals and objectives for this situation?
Based upon your goals and objectives, the shareholder dispute attorneys at the Watkins Firm will craft a tiered strategy designed to accomplish those goals in the shortest period of time and in an efficient manner. A substantial majority of the disputes managed by the Watkins Firm are not resolved in a courtroom, but are settled at some point along the way, usually through effective leveraged negotiation. Whether we coach our clients as they approach a negotiation on their own or conduct negotiations on their behalf, negotiation is the least expensive and fastest approach for resolving a shareholder dispute in San Diego or anywhere in the State of California.
Our Unique Approach to Disputes and Business Litigation
The attorneys at the Watkins Firm take a unique approach to litigation that is specifically designed to get to the core of a shareholder dispute or investor litigation, establish common ground and bring a solution to the table quickly and effectively. When negotiations are not sufficient to resolve all issues associated with a dispute, a lawsuit is often filed and Watkins Firm represents our clients every step of the way – filing a lawsuit, settlement conference, mediation, arbitration, or at trial.
In some cases, successfully resolving a shareholder dispute in San Diego or anywhere in California will require arbitration, which is a different form of legal venue with its own set of rules. Many business contracts specify arbitration as an alternative to resolving a dispute under the agreement in a Court of law. Arbitration is a structured legal environment much like a trial, but without many of the superfluous motions and legal steps which bog down a trial (and increase associated costs). The arbitrator usually requests legal briefs from the parties, marshals the evidence, collects witness testimony and ultimately issues a ruling. The ruling of the arbitrator is final and cannot be appealed except in very rare circumstances. The lawyers at the Watkins Firm have extensive experience in mediation and arbitration, and work to move things smoothly through the process while advancing your goals.
If the case needs to proceed to trial after mediation, the skilled trial attorneys at the Watkins Firm have a strong track record of successful outcomes at trial which spans more than four decades.
Shareholder disputes are usually about money, pure and simple. 40 Years of proven experience protecting your financial and legal interests and ensuring access to the information required to protect your investment is the primary reason you should consider the Watkins Firm.
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 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 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
Proven Attorneys for Resolving a Shareholder Dispute in San Diego and Southern California
Are you searching for proven attorneys for successfully resolving a shareholder dispute in San Diego or anywhere in California? If you are a shareholder who is in dispute with another shareholder, majority stakeholder, investor, corporate officers or a Board of Directors contact a law firm that has been representing shareholders in disputes for more than four decades here in San Diego. 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.
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.
