Phew - it is 3 months since I last posted anything on the subject of boardroom bust ups and shareholder disputes. Too busy with my sleeves rolled up fighting battles on behalf of beleaguered clients!
Here are some things I learned in 2012 about shareholder disputes.
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Directors must act in the best interests of their company and must not allow their personal interests to come into conflict. There are common law fiduciary duties as well as rules under the Companies Act 2006 to this effect. A recent case involving the Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis is a good illustration of the risks directors take when it is perceived that their own interests are being served by a transaction rather than those of the company.
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If you are looking for a lawyer with expertise in a particular area then a good starting point is to look at the leading legal directories.
The latest edition of the Legal 500 directory in the UK has recently been published. I am pleased to report that the expertise of my firm and myself in the areas of commercial litigation, and specifically shareholders disputes, continues to be recognised.
Click on the the following link to visit the Legal 500 online.
Who do you need if you are married couple who share ownership of a business or you are the owner of a business and divorce is in the offing? Do you need a good divorce lawyer or a good company lawyer?
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In any shareholders dispute one of the first questions that will occur to a lawyer is how much are you arguing about. However, it is surprising how often this has not been addressed by parties to a dispute.
Shareholder litigation is notoriously expensive. As part of any risk analysis an assessment of the proportionality of taking legal action is essential. It is rare that any good lawyer will ever advise that litigation should be embarked on as a point of principle. It should only be contemplated where a commercial case for doing so can be made out.
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When you specialise in dealing with shareholders disputes you become more of a commercial divorce lawyer than a commercial litigator. The passions that can be aroused in a dispute between the shareholders in a business are as intense as those which my colleagues in the family law sphere are used to dealing with. How to avoid these passions killing the golden goose in boardroom disputes is a perennial problem.
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Football teams are renowned for their high turnover of managers. Some clubs also manage a high turnover of directors. Arsenal, who have had managerial stability in the form of Arsene Wenger, have found themselves with a full blown boardroom dispute on their hands that has lead to four directors leaving in controversial circumstances in the last 2 years. The latest saga in the shareholders dispute sees the departure of Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith from the board of directors.
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The latest twist in the Barclays boardroom dispute over the bank’s emergency fundraising is a “back us or sack us” ultimatum from the Board. This high stakes act calls the bluff of the angry shareholders.
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An old fashioned boardroom dispute seems to be brewing up at EasyJet that is only tangentially related to the current economic circumstances.
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As the dust slowly settles on the rescue of the Western banking system from the edge of oblivion the inevitable recriminations begin. First in line are the shareholders in banks that have been bailed out by the government. This is a potential shareholder dispute on a massive scale.
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Boardroom Disputes, Shareholders disputes | Ed Weeks | 
January 4, 2013 9:52 am | 
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