A partnership disputes attorney can help you to determine the best way to resolve disagreements that you may be having with your business partners. Among other things, your attorney can advise you on whether your disagreement should be resolved in court or whether it is preferable for the conflict to be resolved using another means like through mediation. 

Curley & Rothman, LLC has extensive experience assisting with the resolution of partnership disputes. Our legal team understands why and how conflicts arise, and we know the potential consequences that those conflicts can have for your ongoing business relationship.

We work hard to help ensure you can come to a consensus that is good for the long-term success of your business and that preserves your business relationships whenever possible. Give us a call at 610-834-8819 to find out more.

Should You go to Court for a Partnership Dispute?

Going to court should generally be a last resort when a partnership dispute arises, and/or should be reserved for cases where an agreement cannot be reached in any other way. Going to court could also become necessary if your partner has committed an egregious violation, such as breach of fiduciary duty or suspected fraud or embezzlement.

Courts exist to provide a legal solution, so there is definitely a time and place to go to court- especially if you believe that your partner has wronged the company in some way and you want your partner to be forced to make things right. However, courts are also very adversarial by their nature, and going to court can do some long-term damage that could affect the future of your company.

If you are planning to continue working with your partner in your business after you have resolved this particular dispute, going to court is usually not a very good idea. You don't want to be litigating against your partner, presenting evidence against him, and ending up with an outcome where one of you wins and the other loses. This can breed long-term problems and resentment that make it impossible for you to keep working together effectively.

Going to court is also going to make your dispute public record, in most cases, which means that your brand itself could be hurt. Customers may not want to do business with a company where there is public infighting among the partners that has ended up in court!

Resolving a Partnership Dispute Outside of Court

A partnership dispute does not mean that you are going to have to end up in court, with all of the downsides that come along with going before a judge.

The ideal solution is for you and your partner to consult relevant documents, like a shareholder or partnership agreement, in order to determine if those legal contracts divide up responsibility for the decision at issue or dictate a resolution for the decision at issue. If so, or if you can use these documents to negotiate with your partner, you should be able to reach a resolution without outside intervention from the courts.

If you and your partner do not come to a consensus trying to negotiate the issue on your own, the next option that you have is to consider resolving your dispute using the mediation or arbitration process. Mediation allows you to work with someone who facilitates communication and compromise but doesn't make a decision for you. Arbitrators make legally binding choices, but arbitration can be more private than court, less formal than court and less expensive than court. You can also select an arbitrator who is familiar with your industry so the arbitrator can make a better decision on an appropriate outcome.

When these methods of dispute resolution do not work and a disagreement still exists, it becomes time to work with your partnership disputes attorney to go to court.

Getting Help from A Partnership Disputes Attorney

Curley & Rothman, LLC attorneys have extensive experience assisting clients in resolving partnership disagreements without the need for court action. We can help you to refer to business plans, employment agreements, and shareholder agreements to interpret those plans when resolving disagreements. We also help to facilitate mediation or other out-of-court methods of resolving partnership disputes, and we litigate on your behalf in situations where no consensus can be reached.

To find out more about the ways in which a Philadelphia partnership disputes attorney can help you, give us a call at 610-834-8819 or contact us today. Our legal team is here and ready to help you protect your company through effective dispute resolution.