Partnership Law

Partnerships can often go wrong. It can be because one partner is not pulling his or her weight or for other reasons.

This is why it is advisable to see your solicitor before embarking upon your business venture so that all the partners understand what is required of each other by having it written into a partnership agreement.

Partnerships are governed by the partnership agreement or by the Partnership Act 1890 which was well drafted and, despite its age, still very relevant.

Partners owe a duty of good faith towards each other. They are not permitted to make a secret profit and must devote their whole time and attention to the business unless they have agreed to the contrary.

Some partners ignore these duties and when things go wrong we can become involved in litigation to bring the partnership to an end and wind up the business which might nevertheless be continued by some of the former partners.

Partnership litigation can be an expensive exercise and it has always been our policy to warn clients about the expense of what they are getting into and to try to resolve their differences by means other than court proceedings. Compromise is often much cheaper than litigation.