Expert Guidance for Complex Corporate Disputes
At Michelmores, we understand that corporate disputes can significantly disrupt your business, impacting not only financial resources but also your reputation and long-term growth prospects. Our clients trust us to handle their most critical and sensitive matters with expertise and precision.
We pride ourselves on our collaborative approach, offering partner-led services supported by experts across our Corporate, Commercial, Employment and Banking teams. This collaborative approach ensures comprehensive and strategic advice tailored to each unique situation. Additionally, our international network allows us to handle cross-border disputes with ease, offering seamless advice for clients with global operations.
Our dedication to forward-thinking dispute resolution and our commitment to delivering value-based solutions make us a trusted partner in navigating the complexities of corporate disputes. Our team is recognised in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for our excellence in commercial litigation, fraud, and regulatory investigations.
Our Commercial and Regulatory Disputes Resolution team is well-versed in handling all stages of dispute resolution, from initial strategic advice and negotiations to litigation and arbitration. With a strong record of securing out-of-court settlements, we deliver practical, efficient, and cost-effective solutions tailored to our clients’ needs.
Corporate disputes often involve intricate legal and commercial considerations. Our team is skilled in handling disputes where formal agreements exist, such as shareholder agreements or partnership contracts, as well as those arising from informal or oral arrangements.
We advise a diverse range of clients, including private companies, partnerships, family businesses, and their stakeholders such as private equity and venture capital funds. Our lawyers specialise in handling disputes involving:
- Company Founders and Shareholders
- Private Investors and JV Partners
- Directors and Board Members
Our experience spans diverse sectors, including professional services, financial services, and asset management.
Our Corporate Disputes Expertise
Our areas of expertise include:
- Shareholder and Investor Disputes: Navigating conflicts between shareholders and investors to protect business interests and maintain operational stability.
- Director and Boardroom Disputes: Addressing disagreements at the highest level to ensure smooth governance and leadership continuity.
- Joint Venture and Partnership Disputes: Resolving conflicts within joint ventures and partnerships, including disputes over management, profit-sharing, and dissolution.
- Claims for Breach of Directors’ Duties and Misfeasance: Addressing issues arising from breaches of fiduciary duties, statutory obligations, and trust violations by directors, ensuring accountability and compliance.
- Earn-Out Disputes: Navigating complex disputes related to earn-out provisions in sale agreements, ensuring fair assessment and compliance with contractual terms.
- Warranty and Indemnity Claims: Handling claims related to breaches of warranty and indemnity provisions in commercial agreements, ensuring that all contractual guarantees are honoured, and liabilities are properly addressed.
- Section 994 and 260 Companies Act 2006 Petitions: Managing contested disputes, both in court and through arbitration, to protect shareholder rights and address issues of unfair prejudice and derivative actions.
- Injunctions and Interim Relief: Obtaining necessary court orders to safeguard your business interests, including freezing orders, and other interim measures to prevent asset dissipation and ensure compliance with contractual obligations.
Recent experience
Representing c.300 shareholders in their defence of breach of warranty and tax covenant claims following a corporate acquisition of a media company and numerous subsidiaries
Advising the investor purchaser of a hotel group in a dispute with the selling shareholder regarding the terms of a Vendor Loan Agreement and Earn Out Agreement, including board observer and information rights
Advising the selling shareholders of a service management company on their rights under an Earn Out Agreement following the sale of their shares to one of the world’s leading IT services companies, achieving a substantial payment out of court
Acting in court proceedings to successfully restore a dissolved company to the Register of Companies to enable the assignment of Intellectual Property, including a patent application
Acting for a JV partner of a solar development company in obtaining a High Court injunction against the other partner to prevent the transfer out of the jurisdiction of development funds in purported settlement of a sham invoice for services
