Shareholder disputes, resolved privately
When shareholders fall out, the damage rarely starts in court. It starts in a board meeting, a group chat, a badly worded email sent at midnight. I work with owners, co-founders and investors in the middle of a shareholder dispute and tell them exactly what to do next — the approach, the words, the timing — so the disagreement gets settled without wrecking the company or the relationships around it.
Disputes I’m usually brought into
Deadlock between two equal shareholders. A co-founder who has quietly disengaged but still holds equity. Disagreement over dividends, salary, or reinvestment. A minority shareholder who feels excluded from decisions. A proposed exit that one side wants and the other resists. Suspicion about how the company’s money or information is being handled. Most of these arrive as one urgent question: what do I say, and when do I say it?
How I work on a shareholder dispute
I don’t give general advice. I read the specific situation — who is involved, the history between you, the current dynamic, what has been said and what deliberately hasn’t — and I map where the real leverage sits. Then I give you the move: the exact approach to take, the exact wording to use in the next conversation or message, and the timing that gives it the best chance of landing.
That usually means drafting the message you are about to send, deciding which meeting to call and which to avoid, and sequencing concessions so you keep something to trade later. Where legal or accounting work is genuinely needed, I will tell you plainly — I am an advisory service, not a law firm, and I don’t provide legal representation.
Why handle it this way
A formal shareholder dispute is slow, expensive and public. Once positions are filed, they harden. Handled early and precisely, most disputes between owners are still solvable in private — before staff, clients, banks or investors notice anything is wrong. Your name stays clean, your relationships stay intact, and nobody knows we spoke.
What working together looks like
You describe the situation through the contact form on the homepage — who is involved, what happened, what outcome you want, and what you’ve tried so far. I read it and respond within 24 hours. Everything you share is treated as confidential, as set out in the privacy policy. I take a small number of situations at a time so each one gets full attention until it is resolved.
If your situation is broader than shareholders — a client, supplier or key person relationship under strain — start from the business dispute resolution overview instead.
Bring me your shareholder dispute
Tell me what’s happening while you still have options. The earlier I see it, the more moves are available.