What kinds of business, partnership, and LLC disputes are well suited to mediation?

Disputes among the owners of a business — partners, LLC members, shareholders, or joint venturers — are among the most common and most personal commercial conflicts. They often involve disagreements over management and control, the distribution of profits, capital contributions, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, the valuation of an ownership interest, or the terms on which an owner might exit the business. Contract and vendor disputes, and disputes over commercial or industrial real estate, are also frequently mediated. Because the parties in an ownership dispute are often locked together in a company they jointly own, litigation can paralyze the business itself. Mediation offers a confidential path to resolve the conflict while keeping the business functioning.