Agreements between shareholders
A new owner, investment or change in management may call for clearer rules. A useful agreement starts with the participants’ expectations and the company’s existing legal structure.
We advise businesses and owners on preparing and reviewing agreements on participation, commitments and decisions. We coordinate them with the bylaws and corporate records to identify what each document needs to formalize.
Our approach to the matter
We organize each participant’s contributions, roles and expectations. We review ownership, existing rights and the decisions that need agreement before adding new obligations.
Documents for the initial review
- The deed of incorporation and current bylaws.
- The current distribution of shares or ownership interests.
- Previous shareholder agreements and relevant minutes.
- An investment proposal or description of the intended change.
If a disagreement already exists, identify the disputed decisions and retain correspondence. Preparing an agreement and defending a dispute require different scopes of work.
Request an appointmentQuestions about this service
Should the agreement be reviewed alongside the bylaws?
Yes. We review the bylaws, ownership structure and existing agreements so the new rules fit the company. This helps distinguish commitments to be documented between the shareholders from decisions requiring corporate resolutions or additional formalities.
What if the shareholders are already in disagreement?
We first identify the source of the conflict, disputed decisions and relevant correspondence. A new agreement may form part of a negotiated solution, but drafting it does not replace analysis of an existing dispute. We determine whether the matter calls for corporate negotiation, litigation representation or both.