Aeton Law Partners

WHEN IT’S BUSINESS, AND PERSONAL

A substantial amount of the litigation practice at Aeton involves business litigation. We have years of experience bringing and defending claims involving all types of business disputes. Our cases range from financial disputes between two co-owners of a limited liability company to multi-million dollar derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty against directors and officers. Our business litigators represent individuals and businesses in disputes in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as throughout the country on a select basis in such locations as Delaware, New York, New Jersey and California. We work with our clients to match them with the right litigation and trial team at Aeton by considering the scope of the dispute, the client’s preferences, and the expected litigation budget.

When an individual or business needs to hire an attorney to either defend or bring a business-related lawsuit, finding the right fit between client and attorney is very important. Aeton business litigator, N. Kane Bennett, has been practicing law for more than 25 years. He is the author of the Connecticut Business Litigation Blog. The blog covers a vast range of issues that Connecticut businesses face, including dissolution, partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, employment, non-competes, theft of trade secrets, and confidential information. He was named a Super Lawyer in Connecticut for Business Litigation from 2014-2022. He further co-authored the Connecticut Law Tribune’s publication of discovery forms that are used in civil business tort lawsuits, and a separate book covering 10 years of specific business disputes available for free on our home page.

Attorney Bennett is joined by veteran trial attorney Jonathan Shapiro and senior associate Brian Ward. Attorney Shapiro has been practicing for more than 20 years. He received notoriety for successful defense of a manufacturing client in one of the longest trade secret trials in Connecticut including over 100 days of evidence. Attorney Shapiro has developed particular experience in disputes involving financial firms, investment advisors, brokers and dealers. Attorney Ward’s experience includes first chair trial representation of small market businesses in dissolution proceedings, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. Attorney Ward has several reported decisions involving complex issues unique to limited liability companies, including matters of standing, derivative claims, and expulsion.

In many cases, a business solution or settlement of a dispute often makes sense for both sides. Litigation can be costly, and sometimes a complete distraction for both sides of a dispute. Finding a business solution to a legal problem typically involves creative, out-of-the-box thinking with a focus on “deal-making” that makes sense for business purposes. Many business disputes settle simply because a settlement is the best business solution. This is where experience counts for clients. Aeton’s attorneys have been involved in complex and creative deal making for years. Many successful deals are based on the attorney’s ability to predict likely range of outcomes and financial commitments involved for all sides.

However, there also are many times when “deal making” is just not possible or practical for the situation. Too often, the practical approach is met with hostility with emotions running high and relationships broken. These circumstances usually require aggressive and zealous representation with a lawsuit or arbitration. Early and aggressive lawsuits can include seeking an attachment of assets or an injunction at the outset of a case. In other cases, full bore litigation with all discovery tools utilized is necessary to bring a case to resolution.

Business litigation claims often involve an intersection of many different disciplines. Disputes may require the attorney to gain an understanding of the underlying business concerns and not merely the legal aspects. Typically, experts are also utilized for fact-finding and case building, including forensic accountants, computer and data experts, and damages experts. Aeton has worked with numerous experts to assist his clients in resolving disputes and recovering damages including experts in valuation, lost profits, consequential damages, and confidential information.

Business Litigation

A substantial amount of the litigation practice at Aeton involves business litigation. We have years of experience bringing and defending claims involving business torts. Essentially, business torts involve claims of wrongdoing by and between businesses. Our cases range from trade libel or defamation of a small business to multimillion-dollar claims involving unfair competition, theft of trade secrets, and trademark infringement. Our business litigators represent individuals and businesses in disputes in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as throughout the country on a select basis. We work with our clients to match them with the right litigation and trial team at Aeton by considering the scope of the dispute, the client’s preferences, and the expected litigation budget.

About our Business Litigation Attorneys

When an individual or business needs to hire an attorney to either defend or bring a business-related lawsuit, finding the right fit between client and attorney is very important. Our lead business litigator, N. Kane Bennett, has been the author of the Connecticut Business Litigation Blog for several years. The blog covers a vast range of issues that Connecticut businesses face, including dissolution, partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, employment, non-competes, theft of trade secrets, and confidential information. He was named a Super Lawyer in Connecticut for Business Litigation from 2014-2018. He further co-authored the Connecticut Law Tribune’s publication of discovery forms that are used in civil business tort lawsuits.

Our Approach

In the event that your business faces litigation or the threat of a lawsuit, retaining a business litigation attorney early in the process is critical. Assuming a case will get resolved without seeking legal advice could be costlier in the end. Business disputes can certainly be resolved without the need for lawyers. However, many times a client is better served by seeking an attorney’s advice early in the process even if it is on a limited basis. This may mean only getting a flat fee consultation to understand your legal rights or the scope of potential claims at issue. Other times, acting quickly to file a lawsuit in court is necessary, which might include seeking an injunction or an attachment of assets. This type of action often leads to the quick resolution of business disputes. Additionally, gathering evidence, retaining appropriate experts, and preserving relevant electronically stored information is often the key to successful outcomes. Our attorneys’ use of technology and in-depth knowledge of technical issues may provide a competitive advantage even before litigation commences.

Professionally Aggressive Representation

Business litigation claims often involve an intersection of many different disciplines. Disputes may require the attorney to gain an understanding of the underlying business concerns and not merely the legal aspects. Typically, experts are also utilized for fact-finding and case building, including forensic accountants, computer and data experts, and damages experts. Attorney Bennett has worked with numerous experts to assist his clients in resolving disputes and recovering damages.

Our firm takes a proactive approach to resolving commercial disputes, relying on our extensive experience and cost-effective approach to protect the financial and legal interests of our clients. We also advise and represent clients on matters that have already begun, and we work to find the most beneficial and cost-effective solutions for our clients.

Philosophy

As a general philosophy, we try to see if a business solution exists for a dispute. This might involve a negotiated settlement early in the process where both sides understand that the cost and expense of business litigation could end up costing more than the dispute itself. However, although businesses smartly seek to avoid commercial litigation if possible, many times a lawsuit becomes necessary to protect or defend confidential information, enforce business contracts, or seek recovery of damages for the loss of business, profits, or customers. In other words, there may be no real business solution that does not involve going to local Middletown courts. In these cases, we may use a lawsuit to force a settlement, preserve evidence, or discover the full scope of wrongdoing. In other cases, we are asked to step in and defend a client accused of wrongdoing or breach of fiduciary duty. Other lawsuits might include enforcing key contract terms, stealing trade secrets, or accessing confidential information from former employees.

Capabilities

At Aeton Law Partners, we offer businesses transactional and litigation representation from lawyers with decades of combined legal experience. Our clients often ask us to identify risks and protect their interests in various aspects of business law. We combine our knowledge of drafting legal documents with our experience in handling lawsuits where similar questions or issues may have arisen to provide advice to our business clients. Having knowledge of both the transaction and litigation areas of the law is important to help clients mitigate business risks.

Connecticut companies of all sizes face complications in the form of commercial disputes. These disagreements among businesses can quickly become complex, time consuming, and require significant financial resources to resolve.

Conveniently located between Hartford and New Haven, we have taken a modern approach to the practice of law. Our lean law approach takes full advantage of leading technology to reduce expenses while maintaining our highest priority goal of delivering exceptional legal representation. We strive to provide the best legal services at a cost-effective price with flexibility in the pricing models we offer for our transactional and litigation services. This flexibility allows our clients to retain legal services and counsel while planning their own budgets and outlooks.

Aeton Law handles many different types of business lawsuits. Here are some of the cases we handle:

Commercial Claims and Breach of Contract
Computer Crime and Computer Fraud
Shareholder and Partnerships
Defense of Government Investigations
Action for Accounting and Books and Records
Fraud, Misrepresentation and Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Theft of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
Breach of Non-Disclosure Agreements
Non-compete and Non-solicitation
Unfair Trade Practices
Keyword and False Advertising
Trade Libel and Defamation
Software disputes and litigation
Technology errors and omissions
Trademark and Copyright Infringement
Cyber Bullying
Trademark infringement
Copyright infringement
Breach of Operating Agreement
Dissolution of Corporation
Dissolution of Limited Liability Company

At Aeton Law Partners LLP, we offer businesses transactional and litigation representation from lawyers with decades of combined legal experience. Our clients often ask us to identify risks and protect their interests in various aspects of business law. We combine our knowledge of drafting legal documents with our experience in handling lawsuits where similar questions or issues may have arisen to provide advice to our business clients. Having knowledge of both the transaction and litigation areas of the law is important to help clients mitigate business risks.

Conveniently located in the Hartford area, Middletown and New Haven, we have taken a modern approach to the practice of law. Our lean law approach takes full advantage of leading technology to reduce expenses while maintaining our highest priority goal of delivering exceptional legal representation. We strive to provide the best legal services at a cost-effective price with flexibility in the pricing models we offer for our transactional and litigation services. This flexibility allows our clients to retain legal services and counsel while planning their own budgets and outlooks.