What should I check before calling a lawyer about a shareholder dispute?

How to use this guide

Do not send the full company archive before the firm confirms a secure intake route and clears conflicts. Do not introduce yourself only as “the owner” if the legal roles are disputed. A focused first call should establish fit, capacity, urgency and the next deliverable; the detailed mandate and fee negotiation can follow if the lawyer can accept the matter.

Verify the person you are contacting

Use the Legal Practice Council's current practitioner search to check the name and practising status. Confirm the firm's real website, office details and email domain through an independent source before sending records or money. Be cautious if payment instructions arrive through an unexpected address or change suddenly.

LPC registration confirms professional status; it does not prove experience in shareholder disputes, availability for an urgent date or suitability for a dispute that also involves insolvency, tax, employment, criminal or regulatory issues. Ask who will conduct the initial review and what kind of company-law work that person handles.

The broader questions-before-booking guide covers firm selection. For this call, the objective is narrower: establish whether the proposed practitioner can safely receive and classify this specific dispute.

Decide who may be asking for advice

Write down whether the proposed client is:

• the company;
• an individual shareholder;
• a director in an individual capacity;
• several shareholders together; or
• a trust, holding company or other entity that owns shares.

These options affect authority, conflicts, privilege, access to information and payment. Section 66 of the Companies Act places management of a company under its board, subject to the Act and memorandum of incorporation. A person does not gain general authority to instruct for the company merely by holding shares or describing themselves as the founder.

If the answer is uncertain, say so. Tell the lawyer what authority exists and what is challenged. Do not obtain confidential company advice in one capacity and circulate it across competing personal interests without discussing the consequences.

Prepare conflict-check names first

Before explaining the merits, list the legal names of the company, proposed client, other shareholders, directors, related entities, key transaction parties and known law firms. Add former names or trading names where they may matter.

The firm may need these details before it can hear confidential information. Send the minimum names and roles requested; do not include accusations or sensitive documents in the conflict email. A conflict check may reveal that the firm cannot act even if the lawyer has relevant expertise.

If several people want to attend the call, identify each person's role and whether each expects to be a client. A family relationship or aligned voting position does not automatically remove future divergence.

Reduce the dispute to one paragraph

Use five sentences:

1. Company and role: identify the entity and your legal role.
2. Disputed event: name the resolution, meeting, transfer, information refusal, payment, removal step or other act.
3. Current status: state whether it is proposed, completed, contested or already in proceedings.
4. Next date: identify the meeting, implementation, response or hearing date and its source.
5. First decision: say what you need classified now.

An example structure is: “I hold shares in a private company and am also a director. A notice says shareholders will vote on my removal next Tuesday, but I have not yet checked the MOI notice rule or the authority behind the accompanying share-transfer proposal. No court papers have been received. I need to know what should be preserved and whether any response is required before the meeting.”

That paragraph does not concede validity or assert wrongdoing. It gives the lawyer enough shape to ask the right screening questions.

Identify the role and governing sources

Shareholder disputes often become confused because the same person wears several hats. Note separately whether each important act was taken as shareholder, director, employee, creditor, trustee, representative or contracting party.

Identify which sources may govern the event: the Companies Act, current MOI, shareholder agreement, securities register, board or shareholder resolution, transaction document, employment contract or formal process. Do not decide the hierarchy during the screening call. Section 15 of the Act makes the relationship between the Act, MOI and shareholder agreement important, while section 50 addresses the securities register.

The Supreme Court of Appeal's decision in Hlumisa Investment Holdings v Kirkinis also shows why intake must distinguish loss allegedly suffered by the company from a shareholder's separate personal loss. That classification can affect the proposed client, standing, evidence and remedy; a fall in share value does not by itself turn a company claim into the shareholder's personal claim.

A CIPC disclosure can corroborate registered entity and director information and whether an MOI filing exists. It does not establish the complete current share position, beneficial ownership, private contractual rights or authority to instruct the lawyer.

Put the next irreversible event at the top

Tell the lawyer about an imminent meeting, vote, transfer, distribution, change to bank or system control, threatened disposal, destruction of records, court document, Tribunal referral, business-rescue step or expiring contractual notice. Give the exact date and attach the source only if the firm requests it through a secure channel.

Do not describe every dispute as urgent. State the event and potential consequence; let the lawyer assess legal urgency and capacity. If there is no dated event, say what is deteriorating and why waiting may matter.

Where papers have been served, preserve the complete document, method and time of receipt. Do not rely on a calendar entry copied from memory.

Select a minimum first-call file

Prepare, but do not automatically send:

• the disputed notice, resolution or instruction;
• the relevant MOI or agreement clause;
• one-page chronology;
• the record showing your role or authority;
• the document containing the next date; and
• one record that directly contradicts the disputed position, if any.

The complete pack is owned by the shareholder-dispute documents guide. The screening call does not need duplicate bank files, years of messages or every minute. The lawyer can request the next source after understanding the issue.

Use a secure upload link or other method confirmed by the firm. The Protection of Personal Information Act supports purpose-bound and safeguarded sharing. Redact unrelated personal identifiers where appropriate, but do not alter an original or hide a fact that changes the dispute.

Decide the first question you need answered

A useful first decision may be:

• whether the firm can act for the proposed client;
• whether anything must be done before an identified meeting or implementation;
• whether the issue is company-law, contractual, employment, insolvency or mixed;
• whether a proposed communication should be paused;
• which three records are decisive for the next review; or
• which specialist or forum should classify the matter.

Avoid asking for a final prediction on the entire dispute during a short screening call. The lawyer may need authority, governing documents and opposing versions before advising on merits or remedies.

Ask call-stage questions

Keep the initial questions practical:

1. Can your firm clear conflicts and review the urgent event in time?
2. Who would perform the first review?
3. Does the issue appear to require another specialist alongside commercial counsel?
4. What is the minimum secure material needed before advice can be given?
5. Is the first appointment a screening call, consultation or written review?
6. What deliverable should I expect from that first paid stage?
7. What should I avoid doing before then?

Ask the booking fee and what the appointment includes, but reserve the full mandate discussion—rates, exclusions, counsel, disbursements, approval thresholds and termination—for the dedicated scope stage. This prevents consultation readiness from turning into an incomplete fee negotiation.

The commercial-law preparation checklist can help structure a general business-law consultation, while the commercial-law overview explains the wider practice area.

Do not do these things before the call

• Do not send allegations to a generic reception inbox with the conflict names.
• Do not invite an opposing or potentially adverse person into the consultation without discussing the effect.
• Do not access another person's mailbox, device or company system without authority.
• Do not alter notices, minutes, registers or message exports.
• Do not promise the firm that the company will pay before authority is clear.
• Do not wait for a preferred lawyer if a real date requires immediate alternative capacity.
• Do not describe a CIPC result, title or percentage as conclusive without the governing records.

At the end of the call, record whether the firm accepted any mandate. A discussion, conflict check or request for documents does not necessarily mean the lawyer is acting or monitoring a deadline. Confirm the next owner, deliverable, date and secure transfer method in writing.

FAQs

Related Lexuno paths

Related articles