Areas of Practice
Partnership/Corporate/Family/Inheritance and Will Contests
Mr. Fish has extensive experience representing individuals and businesses in partnership, corporate and family disputes. Disputes with family members, business partners, customers, or other companies can be daunting. It is important to know when to fight, when to settle, and how to avoid getting into these disputes in the first place.
Examples of cases Mr. Fish has handled:
- Representing franchisors and franchisees. These disputes often involve the violation of non-compete agreements, the non-payment of franchisee fees, the violation of terms of a franchise agreement, and intellectual property issues.
- Representing family members in disputes over inheritances, jointly held property, jointly owned businesses, and jointly owned investments.
- Represented partners and shareholders in disputes over how profits are being shared, accounted, allocated, and distributed.
- Representing companies in disputes with creditors, debtors, shareholders, officers, and directors.
Click here for our July 2008 Newsletter which discusses minority shareholder rights in corporate disputes.
Click here for our November 2009 Newsletter which discusses family business disputes.
Inheritance Disputes
 We defended a sibling in a dispute with his brother to force an equal split of their mother’s express intent in her Will and trust. We filed suit in the Circuit Court of DuPage County, Illinois to enforce the mother’s wishes and filed an emergency motion to have our client’s brother removed as the trustee of the estate. (Judge Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois)
After a settlement was reached in a different case, this is what our clients said about us:
"After four frustrating years of trying to settle my father's estate with my siblings I desperately needed a lawyer familiar with family disputes and inheritance. To make matters worse I lived in Denver but needed a lawyer in Chicago since that is where my father and siblings live. I found David through a Google search and emailed him basic information about my case. David called me the next day. I filled in some additional details fearing he would not take on the case because my siblings were being very difficult. My siblings had control of my fathers estate including his financial assets and possession of the real estate for over 10 years and we would be suing my sister, herself a lawyer. Fortunately David agree to represent my brother and I against my other siblings for our rightful share. Through the entire ordeal David's understanding and application of the law was impeccable. Within a year David's professionalism guided us to a settlement agreement that seemed unattainable in the preceding four years. If you need a miracle, have the odds stacked against you and need a great lawyer to represent and counsel you, hopefully you will be as lucky as I was to have David agree to take your case. My only regret is that I waited four years to find David."
Ed and Wayne, 2011
Shareholder Litigation
 A former shareholder of an Illinois corporation retained The Fish Law Firm, P.C. after creditors of the Illinois company sought to "pierce the corporate veil" by suing him, and two other shareholders of the same company, for fraud. Mr. Fish's client was dismissed from the case, with prejudice, a few months before trial was scheduled. However, the remaining shareholder defendants (who were not Fish Law Firm clients) were unsuccessful in having the cases dismissed. (Judge Wheaton, DuPage County, December 2007)
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Here is the text of our November 2009 Law Talk article that appeared in the Naperville Sun (Naperville, Illinois):
All In The Family
Going Into Business With Relatives Can Make You Cry Uncle
America is full of family-run businesses. Some date back generations. There are many advantages to working with family members-similar values, mutual trust, and long standing loyalty. However, when members of a family business have conflict, it can be very stressful-sometimes worse than a nasty divorce. Disputes in family-owned businesses can--and often do--destroy the company. The internal strife among family members can be far more damaging than a company's most fierce competitors. To avoid having your family broken up and to avoid destroying your business, keep these pointers in mind: 1. Are You On The Same Page? Do you have the same work philosophy as your relatives? Some family members like to work less and avoid growth. Others want to work long hours and grow. Inevitable resentment arises when one relative thinks the other is slowing down the business-while the other relative thinks the rapid changes are like driving 90 miles per hour off of a cliff. 2. Who Gets The Biggest Piece Of The Pie? Every family business dispute I have litigated has involved monetary disputes. If you are working harder and bringing in more business, should you get more money? That is how many non-family businesses operate to encourage hard work; but family businesses often split profit equally. In some cases, sharing money equally (or unequally) can be a recipe for resentment and irrevocable disputes. 3. The Family Role May Not Be The Same As The Business Role. Just because mom and dad were in charge when you were growing up does not necessarily mean they are in charge of the business now. When parents relinquish ownership in a company, they typically also give up control. While a respected parent (or other family member) can often be useful in helping to resolve/mediate disputes, this person must realize that the law does not necessarily give them the right to call the shots-like they did when the kids were younger. 4. Mediation. When disputes do arise, it is important for family members to communicate. Serious disputes often warrant outside help by a mediator who is someone that helps the family members discuss, manage, and resolve differences. Some family businesses will turn to a lawyer to help mediate a dispute; others turn to a respected family member. There are also other professionals (such as psychologists) who help family businesses resolve disputes. 5. Contracts. Members of a family-run business need to enter into appropriate business contracts with each other. Unfortunately, many family businesses do the exact opposite by having no written agreements. Written partnership and other agreements are critical to address such issues as buy-out obligations, what happens when a family member dies or becomes incapacitated, how money is split, and who owns what
portion of the business. Remember, in 20 years, dad might forget that he told you "the business will all be yours someday"--or maybe he told the same thing to your stepmother. Unfortunately, many family businesses cannot be mended.
When reconciliation fails, family members are sometimes better off ending their relationship. At that time, it is important to make sure that you protect those rights to which you are legally entitled. Sometimes this means buying out your relatives and other times this means removing them from the business. Regardless of the resolution, it is important that it be done in a way that does not violate the legal duties that you owe to the business or your partners.
Our Naperville, Illinois law firm represents clients throughout Illinois, including DuPage County, Cook County, Kane County, Will County, Aurora, Oak Brook, Naperville, Joliet, Plainfield, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Chicago, Elgin, and others.
Nothing contained on this Internet site should be construed as a client--or former client--endorsing our law firm or its attorneys. The outcome of each situation or case is dependent upon the unique facts of the case and nothing herein should be interpreted to suggest that a case that we handle in the future will experience A similar result.
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