Boardroom disputes rarely stay contained to the boardroom.
Post-acquisition, shareholder and joint venture disputes, advised on with an understanding that the counterparty today may be a negotiating partner again in eighteen months.
The relationship usually outlasts the dispute.
Corporate disputes are unusual in that the parties are often still in business together — as shareholders, JV partners, or counterparties to an earnings-out mechanism — while the dispute is live. How a claim is run affects that ongoing relationship, not just the outcome.
We advise clients to think two steps ahead: not just what remedy is available, but what the business relationship looks like the day after the dispute resolves.
— Thomas Ashworth-Lee, Partner
How we work on these matters.
Post-Acquisition Disputes
Warranty claims, earn-out disagreements and completion accounts disputes following M&A transactions.
Shareholder Disputes
Unfair prejudice petitions, valuation disputes and boardroom deadlock between shareholders.
Joint Venture Breakdown
Advising on exit mechanisms, deadlock resolution and dissolution when a JV relationship fails.
The Mandate Journey™
£1.2bn contested acquisition dispute
A negotiated resolution to a warranty and completion accounts dispute following a large cross-border acquisition.
Read the full Mandate Journey →Questions we're asked before instruction.
We're mid-negotiation on a deal and a dispute has emerged — should we pause the deal?
Not necessarily. We often run dispute strategy in parallel with a live transaction; the two can inform each other.
Can you advise on unfair prejudice petitions for minority shareholders?
Yes — both bringing and defending these petitions, including valuation disputes that typically accompany them.
How do you approach disputes where the parties must keep working together?
Deliberately. We factor the ongoing relationship into strategy from day one, not as an afterthought once the claim is filed.