Lavan's Corporate Disputes team can provide assistance where it is anticipated that disputes may arise, or where disputes have arisen in a number of corporate areas including shareholder disputes, shareholder oppression claims and board disputes. Corporate disputes litigation can often be avoided where strategic advice is obtained at the early stages of a disagreement. We pride ourselves in being extremely versatile in advising and representing clients in a variety of corporate related disputes by being able to provide a full range service, offering an advisory role and also being able to foreshadow and develop strategies where disputes have arisen.

Our services

Lavan’s Corporates Disputes team is experienced in representing companies, directors and major shareholders. We also have experience in Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation matters, including responding to notices to produce documents (section 33 notices) and representing clients in relation to ASIC examinations (section 19 examinations).

Companies and Directors

We often act for companies in relation to disputes relating to corporate governance, disclosure of confidential information, issues arising in general meetings of shareholders of public companies, setting aside of shareholder requisition notices and defending shareholder oppression claims.

We also often act for directors in relation to disputes relating to directors duties, disclosure of confidential information, board spills, restraints of trade clauses in contracts and matters relating to the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001, ASIC Act 2001 and the ASX Listing Rules.

For example:

• We have acted for a public company in the Federal Court of Australia. This company was defending shareholder claims that it had improperly approved an allotment of shares.  This case influenced the legal doctrine of ‘caretaker directors’ in Australia;
• We have acted for directors of a public company in a Supreme Court dispute where we commenced proceedings to prevent the company from disclosing their confidential information. Injunctive relief was obtained to prevent the company from disclosing the confidential information to the ASX; and
• We have also acted for various clients in relation to restraint of trade disputes, including successful proceedings commenced out of the Supreme Court on behalf of a managing director of a public company challenging restraints in favour of the company on the basis that they were unfair and unreasonable.

Shareholders

We have also acted for shareholders (local and international) of public listed companies and have experience in issuing notices for the requisition of company meetings, shareholder oppression actions, disputes relating to the breach of director’s duties, statutory derivative actions, disputes relating to breaches of shareholders’ agreement and challenging rights issues.

For example:

• We have acted for a shareholder director in oppression proceedings commenced out of the Supreme Court, in which that client also successfully obtained orders appointing a provisional liquidator to the company; and
• We have acted for shareholders of a company in Supreme Court proceedings in relation to disputes with the other shareholder of the business regarding breach of a shareholders agreement.