Control and Decision Making

• Who controls major decisions?

• Shareholder rights & responsibilities

  • If you are the majority owner, what should you be careful about?

  • If you are the minority owner, what are your rights?

• Common areas of disagreement & resolving them

  • Value of a clear decision-making model

  • Communication to prevent disagreement

  • How to deal with disagreement

Preventing and Addressing Owner Misconduct

• Types of misconduct

  • Theft, embezzlement, and misuse of company assets

  • Self-dealing and conflicts of interest

  • Breach of fiduciary duty

•  What you should do if you suspect misconduct – a checklist

•  Assessing the intention of your partner - intentional conduct or misunderstanding?

• Building and rebuilding trust

  • At the beginning of a relationship

  • In the face of unintentional misconduct

Exit Strategies 

• Knowing when it’s time to exit & communicating effectively

• Negotiated exit options

  • Appraisals

  • Internal sale/buyout

  • Sale to third party

• Getting a third party involved – misconduct or planned exit

  • Mediation

  • Arbitration

  • Litigation