Founder & Shareholder Disputes
When cofounders fall out, the company usually suffers before anyone reads the shareholders' agreement. Who controls the bank account and the code repository this week matters as much as who is right. We help founders and shareholders stabilize the situation, understand what the documents actually give them, and reach a resolution that leaves a company worth owning.
What we look at first
The governing documents
Shareholders' agreements, vesting and repurchase terms, voting arrangements, board composition and the bylaws—read for what they permit, not what the parties assumed.
Control and continuity
Access to accounts, systems, IP and customers; authority to sign; the steps that protect the company while the dispute is resolved and the steps that would make it worse.
Resolution options
A negotiated separation with a buyout, mediation, a repurchase under the existing terms, or formal proceedings where the documents or the conduct justify them.
Cross-border dimensions
Founders in different countries, a parent entity abroad, or shareholders whose rights are governed by another system. We handle the U.S. side and coordinate the rest.
How the matter proceeds
Stabilize
Identify what needs protecting immediately and do it.
Review
Analyze the agreements, the conduct and the applicable law.
Resolve
Negotiate the exit or pursue the proceeding that the facts justify.
Common questions
Practical answers to frequently asked questions. Individual circumstances can affect the best course of action.