Is Your Lawyer Writing Your Shareholders Agreement for You?Owners spend a lot of money when developing a shareholders agreement for their ownership transition. Unfortunately, the agreements created by most lawyers do not facilitate a smooth transition of ownership. This is not the attorneys fault. They are hired by the owner and have a responsibility to that owner to protect them. A shareholders agreement that is developed for the company is fair and balanced to both existing owners and incoming owners. It has to be. If both existing owners and potential owners are not properly satisfied, no transaction with take place. Attorneys also produce documents that are appropriate for one transaction. This is their mandate when asked to produce a shareholders agreement or buy sell agreement, sometimes in two separate documents. Very often these documents are costly to produce and end up creating tension between owners and potential owners.
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