Shareholders disputes / Partnership disputes is a normal occurrence in a company where more than one person invested money in the business. It is normal for conflicts to arise as shareholders and partners are not expected to see eye-to-eye in every situation.

As a result of the many circumstances and important decisions to be made, the good relationship between the investors may deteriorate with time. The problem arises when the disputes are not resolved in the right manner, it will consequently affect the company’s profitability.

Once the profitability of a business subsides, it can lead to bigger problems and next thing you know, the company has closed its operations.

Types of Corporate Disputes

Corporate disputes are generally classified into three categories.

They are:

• Management Disputes – These conflicts arise from the company’s daily operational dealings like engagements, contracts, supplier transactions, premises control, human resources supervision, etc. A lot of the major disputes arise from important issues like business mergers and company takeovers.

• Personal Disputes – These refers to conflicts that arise from personal matters that may affect the company’s operations. This includes issues like where the two parties may fight for the rights to the shares of the company, and successions, where conflicts on inheritance may affect the division of shares within the company.

• Management Misconduct – This type of conflict occurs when one or more company executive, director or shareholder gets involved in different kinds of misbehavior. Some examples would be loan approval to the directors, illicit diversionary tactics regarding the corporate finances, unauthorized transactions and management exclusions.

Smaller businesses like Limited Liability Companies (LLC) and Limited Partnerships are not exempt from these types of disputes. As long as there is more than one owner in the company, conflicts are bound to happen.

Both federal and state laws provide certain provisions that define the rights and obligations of each company owner.

However business and commercial laws are very complicated so it is recommended for business entities to have at least one attorney to consult for advice pertaining to corporate misunderstandings.

Major conflicts and disputes are traditionally resolved in court litigation. However, because it is a longer process and not to mention the high expense that comes with it, most are compelled to settle their cases through alternative dispute resolutions (ADR).

Alternative Dispute Resolution

The two most common ADR in resolving shareholder disputes / partnership disputes are:

• Mediation – In this type of ADR, the opposing parties meet with a third party who will act as a mediator. In this process, both parties discuss and try to come up with a resolution to the conflict. The mediator is not authorized to impose a resolution but can make a suggestion. The resolution must be agreed upon by both parties.

• Arbitration – This ADR is much more similar to a formal litigation where an arbitrator will act as judge and hear out both sides. Unlike mediation, the arbitrator is tasked to provide a resolution to the dispute. Like in a court room, there is usually a winner and a loser to the process.

If the dispute is not resolved through ADR, then the last recourse would be through litigation.

About The Author

Visit our website at http://www.expertlosangelesattorney.com/shareholderdisputes.html for more reliable information on shareholder disputes. Dial our toll free number for legal assistance.

Our system of civil justice is an excellent one. However, as is often the case, the system is no better than those who run it.

A well-designed automobile will not run very well if shoddy parts are used. System Abuses In our civil justice system, regrettably, many attorneys choose to abuse the system by filing frivolous motions and objections, being uncooperative, and requiring things to be done the hard way, rather than the easy way.

Most attorneys are not seeking justice, they are seeking victory. Sanctions are difficult to obtain and thus, those who adhere to these “delay and abuse” tactics can benefit and prosper. Similarly, a gruff offensive attorney (close your eyes and see if you can imagine such) invites a lack of courtesy in return, which then creates a rapid downward spiral of behavior.

Often times this anger and bitterness can cause a litigator to lose sight of the task at hand. A potential solution to the problem of having to deal with our obnoxious “hide and seek” colleagues is alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures.

Unfortunately, unless ordered by the court, many of these “delay and abuse” individuals do not desire to participate in ADR because it is contrary to their philosophical approach to litigation. However, for those who prefer a more civil approach to civil litigation, and those who follow court orders to participate in such, ADR can be extremely beneficial for the lawyers, clients, and judges.

There are two types of ADR: mediation and arbitration.

Mediation is simply a meeting in which both parties and counsel appear before a mediator who serves as a facilitator to try to resolve the dispute. Typically, at a mediation, there is a meeting between all the parties and counsel during which a brief overview of the case is presented and where some mediators will request the parties to state the strengths and weaknesses of their case. The group then breaks into separate groups, each consisting of party and counsel. The mediator then goes back and forth between the groups with dollar figures he has extracted from the various sides. Typically, the parties agree that the negotiations are confidential and that nothing said can be used as an admission in the litigation. The advantages of such a forum are significant.

In a smaller case, it is frequently not cost effective for either side to proceed with protracted litigation. Thus, a settlement will be a “win-win” situation in which both sides benefit, as much of the costs and delays of litigation are significantly reduced. Another significant advantage is that it gives the parties (or the insurance adjustor) and their attorneys to meet. Thus, the individuals involved become people and not simply claim numbers and files. Both sides have an opportunity to size up the credibility and presentation of the parties (and counsel) and an informal exchange of some information is usually obtained.

This informal discovery can be extremely beneficial to both sides in evaluating the case. It also can reduce the cost of pre-trial discovery (exchange of information). Additionally, it is harder for some attorneys (and their clients) to pull off their offensive tactics in person. Many of us who would hang up on a phone solicitor would be less reluctant to slam our front door in the solicitor’s face.

Even if the case does not settle, the monetary gap usually narrows and the mediation may have been a catalyst to a resolution down the road. Also, learning that a case cannot be settled will save time during the litigation as the parties will focus on preparing for trial and not conducting settlement negotiations. Binding Arbitration Another type of ADR is binding arbitration. In Missouri, in a contract setting, it is important to remember that a “consent to arbitration” provision in a contract is not binding unless it is in 10-point capital letters, and contains the following language: THIS CONTRACT CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION WHICH MAY BE ENFORCED BY THE PARTIES. See Section 435.460 RSMo.

within the Missouri Uniformed Arbitration Act. Again, binding arbitration can be an expeditious way to resolve a dispute. In a personal injury setting, it can be extremely beneficial on smaller cases. It also is appropriate in a complex case that a jury might struggle with understanding, or in a contract case in which “jury appeal” will not affect the amount of the judgment. Obviously, it is helpful for those who are petrified to be in front of a jury, but if one is of that bent, they probably should not be handling litigation. Obviously, the arbitrator(s) wields tremendous power as his or her decision is binding and can only be set aside by the courts in extreme circumstances such as:

1) the award was procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means;

2) there was evident partiality by an appointed arbitrator or corruption or misconduct which prejudiced the rights of any party;

3) the arbitrators exceeded their powers;

4) the arbitrator refused to postpone the hearing upon sufficient cause being shown therefore, or refused to hear evidence material to the controversy. See Section 435.405 RSMo.

For a listing of reasons for which an arbitration award can be vacated. Selection or Mediator or Arbitrator In both types of ADR, the selection of the mediator or arbitrator (a “neutral”) is critically important.

It is advisable to check out the arbitrator’s background, track record, and connections with the other side. If the other side has used this individual repeatedly as an arbitrator they probably have been happy with his or her decisions and that may be cause for concern. A mediator should be someone who will carry weight with the clients and other side and will not simply be a messenger or number carrier.

A retired judge or a highly respected litigator can be an excellent choice when someone involved needs some sense talked into them. Someone who is persuasive is usually more effective, in my view.

Typically, the fees are shared equally but obviously this needs to be addressed at the outset and confirmed in writing. ADR, just as the name implies, is an alternative way to resolve a dispute. In appropriate circumstances and with the appropriate parties, it can be an excellent and civil way to resolve a civil dispute and avoid some of the pitfalls of a system that is run by people.

About The Author

James F. Adler has been a Senior Partner at his law firm for 30 years and has handled 100’s of personal injury cases. He can assist you and serve as your personal injury attorney for a truck accident in Missouri or Kansas

If you are reading this, then you are probably either thinking of filing for divorce -- or have a feeling that your spouse may be filing for divorce -- whether you want to separate or not.

One of the common questions that an individual going through the divorce process asks is "What is a Divorce Mediation?" Mediation is a process which allows both you and your spouse to maintain control over your destiny and the terms of your divorce settlement.

Both parties and attorneys attend either a four-hour or eight-hour mediation, depending on the complexity of your case.

Is the Mediator a Lawyer?

Although some mediators are social workers, most commonly the mediator is a lawyer who acts as a neutral person to help you settle your case.

How is the Mediator Chosen?

The mediator is chosen and agreed upon by the attorneys. Every Family Law attorney has a "short list" of competent mediators who specialize in family law with whom we are familiar, whose style we are comfortable with, and who we have found to be effective, particularly considering the individual aspects of your specific case.

What is the Role of the Mediator?

The role of the mediator is to facilitate an agreement between the parties to prevent the necessity for a trial.

Can What I Say Be Used Against Me Later?

Everything said during mediation is confidential. The mediator cannot be made to testify in court if a settlement is not reached. The mediator will only report one of two things: "settlement": or "no settlement". Further, you and your attorney will advise the mediator what you do or do not want shared with your spouse and your spouse’s attorney!

How Does This Work Exactly?

Procedurally, you and your attorney will remain in one room, while your spouse and his or her attorney stays in a separate room. The mediator travels from room to room conveying each side’s offer and/or counteroffer. Sometimes, the parties mediate by all being in the same room together. This is common if your mediation is taking place at a county dispute resolution center.

About The Author

Law Office of Marilyn Gale Vilyus Attorney/ Mediator 16151 Cairnway Drive Ste. 210 Houston, TX 77084 281-550-6650 http://www.westhoustonattorney.com Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

This article is designed for general information only. This information is not intended to be legal advice. Consult an attorney for before making any legal decisions based on your individual circumstances.

The process of building a team is no easy task. It requires a lot of commitment, cooperation and communication from all those involved. Everyone in the team should be sharing a common goal and everyone should contribute equally to the team’s efforts.

Conflicts are inevitable in work teams, but are not something that have to prevent the team from growing and accomplishing it’s goals. Setting up a solid team structure and negotiating and mediating all disputes will increase chances of success in work teams. About work teams The implementing of work teams is surfacing more often and becoming more prominent in various organizations. Corporations have discovered the effectiveness of work teams and how they can resolve problems such as moral issues, performance issues and many others. (Capozzoli 1999) There are many factors which can prevent the teams from achieving there goals and many issues will surface and have to be delt with in order to have a successful team environment.

Socialization is a very important part of team success. This is the stage when team members learn what is required of them to be a part of the team. The socialization of members is typically broken down into stages. There are typically three stages which include, the anticipation stage, the accommodation stage and the acceptance phase. (Capozzoli, T.K. 1995)

The anticipation stage occurs first and is prior to a person even joining the team. In this stage future members will think about what may be expected of them when they join the team. They can start preparing for the team and think how they will be able to contribute. The next phase is the accommodation stage. This is where team members become involved with the team on a daily basis. Members will be contributing on a day-to-day basis. At this stage it will become clear to members of the team what is expected of them. Members will learn what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the team.

The final stage of socialization is the acceptance stage. In this stage members are taking responsibility for their roles on the team. At this stage team members will feel that they are a part of the group and that they are contributing to the teams success. (Bowditch, J. L., Buono, A. F. 1997) Why are there conflicts in teams? Conflict can arise from numerous sources within a team setting and generally falls into three categories: communication factors, structural factors and personal factors.

The first category is Communication. Poor listening skills, ignoring team members, wrongful interpretation and lack of sharing information are all a part of this barrier. These can lead to many misunderstandings. The second category is structural factors, which does not play much of a role with a college work team, as it does in a business. Regardless, disagreements that occur include the size of the organization, levels of participation and reward systems.

Finally, personal factors include problems that occur with an individual’s self-esteem, their personal goals, values and needs. All of these differences can pose a challenge for the team as a whole. It may be difficult to get everyone in the team working together and contributing equally. (Capozzoli 1999) Communications are the key to success. A team must understand conflicts unpredictability and its impact on individuals and the team as a whole. These conflicts must be resolved and dealt with before the team falls apart. Pros and Cons of Conflict Conflict does not always become destructive.

It can lead to a variety of ideas and give team members an interest in dealing with problems. It can give individuals the opportunity to develop their communication skills and express their personal thoughts to their team members. If you look at it from this perspective, it can be considered a positive thing. Conflict becomes negative when it is left to escalate to the point where people begin to feel defeated and a combative climate of distrust and suspicion develops. Nelson cautions that negative conflict can destroy a team quickly, and often arises from poor planning.

He offers the list of high potential areas from which negative conflict issues commonly arise both in the workplace and in college: · Administration Procedures: If the team lacks good groundwork for what it’s doing, its members will not be able to coordinate their work.

People Resources:

If the team does not have enough resources to do the job, it is inevitable that some will carry too heavy a load. Resentment, often unexpressed, may build, so it is crucial that team leaders ensure adequate resources.

Cost overruns (work place mainly):

Often inevitable, cost overruns become a problem when proper measures are not taken. The whole team should know early on when cost becomes a problem so additional funding can be sought by the team. This way the problem can be resolved before it grows into a problem for management.

Schedules:

The schedule is highly consequential to the team’s project and should be highly visible. All members should be willing to work together to help each other meet their deadlines.

Responsibilities:

Each team member must know what areas are assigned and who is accountable for them.

Wish Lists:

Stick to the project at hand and avoid being sidetracked into trying to fit other things into it. Wait and do the other things you would like to do after successful completion of the original project. (Bowditch, J. L., Buono, A. F. 1997). Team members can and should attempt to avoid negative conflict from occurring. Being aware of the potential for negative conflict to occur and taking the necessary steps to ensure good planning will help. (Esquivel, M.A. & Kleiner, B.H. 1997) Identify strengths/weaknesses What will be one person’s weakness will possibly be another team member’s strengths.

It is important early on to have each team member identify for the group what their skills are. Team members should identify the areas in which they will be the most effective and what areas they will be of least assistance. Some team members will be better at proof reading while others will be better at organizing and structuring the projects. Those team members who are visual learns should be assigned the visual task, such as creating tables, charts and other visuals.

A very important part of a team is having everyone contribute equally. If one person is given a higher workload then their teammates, a sure conflict will develop. Team will need to lay out what is to be completed and from there distribute it equally to all members of the group. Scheduling conflicts People lead many different lives and have many different responsibilities, so it is not always easy for teams to coordinate a meeting. What is a good time for one member may be the busiest time of day for another. Thanks to modern technology team meeting are more easily possible.

Do to advances in technology and the Internet, teams are able to met up at any time and any place in either a chat room or on a message board. Studies have found increased participation in computer-supported groups. (Nelson, M 1995) During computer discussions, team members felt more comfortable presenting their ideas and views during computer discussions than during the traditional meeting sessions. The convenience is a big advantage as well. With just a click of the mouse a team can be off and running exchanging ideas and planning for upcoming projects.

Scheduling conflict need to be ironed out early on in the beginning stages of forming a team. A team cannot function unless all members are available to meet. Lack of equal participation In order to prevent non-equal participation teams need to come together early on and come to an agreement about participation. If it still becomes an issue there are several ways to go about resolving the lack of participation between members. Team members need to communicate with those they feel are not doing their part. Members need to injure about was they perceive as a lack of participation. It is very possible that the one who is not participating is not aware that everyone else in the groups feels this way. Finding out what each member of the group is feeling is the best way to start before approaching a member who is not participating.

If it is determined that a member does not want to give equal participation, the group still needs to go on. I Understanding and overcoming differences The most important thing to remember when addressing a team conflict is the way in which it is handed is critical. You want to be able to manage the conflict in an effective manner in a way that you solve the problems but keep the group together at the same time. It would be of no advantage to the group if you chose the wrong approach to resolve conflicts and in turn break up the group. Teamwork is not something that can be demanded.

It is a fragile structure which needs to be handled delicately so as not to dissolve the group. The key to successful group projects is encouragement of an open, frank dialogue among all participants. Once people feel as though they are able freely available to express their viewpoints without undue criticism or condemnation, a free-flowing environment will materialize. This kind of atmosphere is most conducive to productive work-product creation. Tribulations may crop up, but they can be dealt with in a professional, adult manner. (Porter J.D., Shelia 2003). After correctly identifying what specific problems have arisen in the group environment, the next step is eradicating, to the extent possible, subject problems. Several methods of resolution may be employed to varying degrees of success. The importance of appropriately classifying the difficulties the team is experiencing cannot be understated. Different problems may require fundamentally different responses.

Conflict Resolution One method of conflict resolution is collaboration. This least-confrontational technique attempts to solve the problem by including everyone’s thoughts. After synthesizing each team member’s ideas, the best parts are selected to form the whole. Cooperative efforts made by the team can produce a solid result. This system is appropriate for groups containing especially delicate members and/or those with an inflated sense of self-worth.

Perhaps the most effective method of conflict resolution is compromise. The first—and possibly most—important part of compromising is the realization that each person will have to relinquish something for the greater good. Once they can move beyond that, the rest is fairly simple. Even though limited satisfaction may result from seeing some of your work disregarded, a positive end-result should make up for a bruised ego.(Nelson, M 1995) While others may entertain certain measures of conflict resolution such as avoidance or accommodation, those can prove ineffective and may actually cause larger problems down the line. By ignoring the predicament, it does a disservice to the views that have been stifled and the potentially positive contribution that may otherwise have been included in the project.

Another method of solving disagreements is re-shuffling the team members. By altering the construction, a more agreeable stance might be agreed upon. With different people assigned to new tasks, fresh ideas may emerge and the conflict may resolve of its own volition. Even if that does not exclusively answer the quandary, reorganization may tamper down some of the previous problems enough that productive work can now be done. (Porter J.D., Shelia 2003). Disagreement amongst team members does not necessarily have to represent a problem. In fact, a divergence of viewpoints can be celebrated as being a valuable asset to the ultimate goal of the team. Groups, while sometimes born of necessity, may also be created specifically for the purpose of encouraging a more creative, diverse project through the input of several unique viewpoints.

Conflict resolution inside a learning team is paramount to its success. Serious disagreement among team members can severely impact the group’s work or even grind operations to a halt. Teams may try and prevent disruptions from even arising while working together, but inevitably, when people from different backgrounds with diverse viewpoints merge, there will be some measure of disagreement. In order for the team to be effective, a reasonable solution to conflicts that may arise must be employed. Varying circumstances necessitate any one of a multitude of approaches. When the best process is applied, the problem can be discarded and the important work of the team can progress.

Through the understanding and acceptance of the value of each team member, internal conflicts may be resolved in an expedient, efficient manner that will strengthen, rather than weaken, the group’s mission.

References

Porter J.D., Shelia (2003). Managing Conflict in Learning Teams. Retrieved May 25, 2004, from University of Phoenix, Learning Team Toolkit website: http://aapd.phoenix.edu

Capozzoli, T.K. (1995, Dec). Resolving conflict within teams. Journal for Quality & Participation, 18(7), 28-30.

Capozzoli, T.K. (1999, Nov.). Conflict resolution - a key ingredient in successful teams. SuperVision, 60(11), 14-16.

(Esquivel, M.A. & Kleiner, B.H. 1997) (1997). The importance of conflict in work team effectiveness. Team Performance Management, 3(2), 89.

Nelson, M. (1995). Interpersonal team leadership skills. Hospital Material Management Quarterly, 16 (4), 53 - 63.

Rayeski, E., & Bryant, J. D. (1994). Team resolution process: A guideline for teams to manage conflict, performance, and discipline. In M. Beyerlein & M. Bullock (Eds.), The International Conference on Work Teams Proceedings: Anniversary Collection. The Best of 1990 - 1994 (pp. 215 - 221). Denton: University of North Texas, Center for the Study of Work Teams.

Bowditch, J. L., Buono, A. F. (1997). A primer on organizational behavior (4th ed.). New York, NY: JohnWiley & Sons.

About The Author

Kenneth R Tapscott is a Criminal Justice major currently working in the law enforcement field. More information can be obtained at www.tapscott.info.