A shareholder dispute is rarely about the law. It is about two people who no longer want the same thing from the same company, and a constitution that never contemplated it.

What we are usually asked to do

We act for majority and minority holders in closely held companies and partnerships, and we are usually engaged once the relationship has already broken down.

• Oppression claims and section 232 relief

• Deadlock, buy-out valuations and expert determination

• Urgent injunctive relief where assets or records are at risk

• Negotiated exits, deeds of settlement and release

How we run it

Most of these resolve before a hearing, and that is where we aim. We will tell you early what the matter is likely to cost to run, and what it is likely to cost to settle.

If it does have to be litigated, it is run by the same partner who advised you before it started.

What usually goes wrong

Most oppression claims are decided long before proceedings, in the records the company kept while the relationship still worked.

• Board minutes that record the decision but never the reason for it

• Related-party payments approved informally between friends

• A constitution with no exit mechanism and no agreed valuation method

How we are engaged

You get a written view on merits and likely cost at the first meeting. From that point we run a settlement track alongside the litigation track, because the second one is only ever leverage for the first.