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Partnership disputes which we deal with fall into two categories;

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(1) A Partnership Agreement;

(2)  The Partnership Act 1890

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The agreement will carefully set out partners’ duties and obligations, the rights of different classes of partner, financing and profit sharing arrangements and management structures and procedures.

 

Where disputes arise there will likely be dispute resolution processes which involve escalation from minor issues through to processes for expulsion – those dispute resolution processes might include defined processes or forums for determination (e.g. arbitration) or perhaps mediation.

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Partnerships without a written agreement are often referred to as ‘partnerships at will’.  Where there is no formal partnership agreement, a default partnership agreement, is implied by the Partnership 1890. 

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Disputes are heard in the High Court, the type of proceedings will vary depending on the matters in issue, but will often include injunction proceedings, for example restraining an exiting partner from breaching restrictive covenants see here.

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Proceedings typically taking 14-18 months to conclude, although this can take longer depending on the parties co-operation and if court proceedings are commenced.  These types of disputes, like many others can be settled using Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") such as mediation.

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We assist with drafting Partnership Agreements and arrange with our clients to review and update them regularly as the business develops. Our clients have found this invaluable as part of the process of risk management.

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We encourage or clients to address any issues promptly to avoid them festering and escalating.

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We deal with internal conflict issues on behalf of our clients.  If disciplinary actions are unavoidable we ensure these are dealt with objectively and with ‘fairness’  We provide bespoke packages for internal investigations here.