Building and growing a business is exciting and can be quite lucrative, but partnership disputes can hinder your success. When two business partners begin to strongly disagree — especially to the extent that they no longer trust each other — the survival of their company is immediately threatened.
Our experienced lawyers at Levy Goldenberg LLP have over 35 years of combined commercial and real estate litigation experience. We’ll advocate to resolve your partnership disputes, protect your interests, and help you come to a resolution that works for you and even helps advance your business agenda. Contact us for a free consultation today.
Common Ways Partnership Disputes Can Be Resolved
There are many reasons that a partnership dispute might arise. Often, these issues occur when one partner fails to uphold their obligations and responsibilities or even breaks the law in a more serious way. Here are a few common reasons two partners might be involved in a dispute:
- Declining revenue
- Differences in management styles
- Differences in opinion over business direction
- Arguments over profits
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Embezzlement
- Business disparagement
Do you believe that your business partner is breaking the law, failing to uphold their responsibilities, or otherwise acting in ways that might harm you or your business? If so, you should take steps to examine the issue immediately.
An experienced partnership disputes lawyer will be enormously helpful in this regard. Once you’ve retained a reputable attorney and learned more about the legalities surrounding your business issues, you’ll begin considering ways you might be able to resolve your partnership dispute.
There are four main methods of resolution. They are mediation, negotiation, arbitration, and litigation.
Mediation
A pre-agreement strategy is the best way to avoid partnership disputes altogether. Creating an operating agreement with the help of an experienced mediator can help you establish roles, responsibilities, and contingency plans for your business partnership disputes.
It’s important that you retain experienced legal counsel from an attorney who can help you prepare this agreement. The attorney should serve as the mediator between you and your partner.
The lawyer should also ensure that your interests are protected if the partnership turns sour. Attempting to create a pre-agreement document without the aid of a mediator could leave you vulnerable to substantial losses.
A mediator can additionally be beneficial after a partnership dispute has already begun. They can help partners present their perspectives in a non-confrontational manner.
Negotiation
If you’re unable to resolve a partnership dispute on your own, a commercial litigation attorney can help you negotiate a fair settlement with your partner.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a method of partnership resolution that is only available if both parties agree in advance to use arbitration to solve the dispute. If you choose arbitration, your disagreement will be resolved based on the judgment of a neutral arbitrator.
Having this option is another reason why you should have a pre-agreement strategy in place. And remember to keep an excellent commercial litigation attorney by your side throughout the process.
Litigation
When a partnership dispute results from your partner’s misconduct (such as fraud or breach of fiduciary duties), litigation may be your best option. Filing a legal cause of action might result in the court awarding you financial damages.
Turn to Levy Goldenberg to Address Your Disputes
You deserve to conduct your business peacefully and productively. Hiring a reputable commercial litigation attorney is the best way to make sure that your partnership doesn’t get in the way of your business.
Because things can get hairy when finances are involved, you might think that the breakdown of your partnership and even your company are past the point of no return. However, with the right partnership disputes lawyer, you don’t need to cut your losses.
It’s possible to save your company, resolve your partnership disputes, protect your own interests, and even improve your business relationships. Our experienced attorneys at Levy Goldenberg will work to protect your interests by providing unrelenting advocacy and practical solutions.