Legal advisory team for warring business partners

INCREASING numbers of fall-outs between business partners and professionals has sparked the launch of a new dedicated advisory team by law firm Pannone.

The Manchester firm says the tough economic environment has seen previously robust business partnerships put to the test, with clashes over strategic direction becoming common-place.

Indeed, new figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reveal that the partnership disputes reaching the High Court Chancery division surged 96%.last year.

The MoJ report, Judicial and Court Statistics 2009, shows that the High Court heard 106 partnership dispute cases in 2009 compared with 54 a year earlier.

Pannone’s partnerships team is made up of experts across a range of disciplines including corporate, dispute resolution, wealth management and property.

Partnerships and LLPs are common across many sectors from solicitors, accountants and architects to doctors and dentists. A number of these sectors are facing statutory framework changes which will further increase the demand for the team’s services.

Next year, the Legal Services Act will come into force which will have a massive impact on the sector, while the Government has produced a White paper proposing changes to the funding structures for dentists and GPs.

Robin Fozard, a corporate partner at Pannone and dispute resolution partner Nicola Marchant are leading the new unit.

Mr Fozard said demand from clients had driven the launch, adding:”“The team has a wealth of experience in this field and will handle the life cycle of partnerships from establishment to advising on property transactions, disputes and wealth management.”