Robert Ward has substantial arbitration and trial experience and delivers practical advice and economical solutions to clients. He draws on that experience to help clients resolve complex disputes efficiently, whether through negotiation or litigation.
Robert draws on his litigation experience to help clients resolve disputes , whether through negotiation or litigation, as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. He recognizes that each case has its own unique facts and client motivations and approaches litigation with flexibility. When disputes cannot be resolved quickly, he is at home in the courtroom or arbitration forum and committed to securing favorable outcomes.
His practice spans a wide range of commercial litigation, with a focus on the real estate and investment management industries. His clients include real estate investment and management companies, real estate and renewable energy developers, investment management companies, investment funds and private investors, manufacturers and distributors, development stage companies, lawyers and a Native American tribe.
Robert handles disputes involving entrepreneurs, company founders, new companies, growing businesses and distressed businesses. His work includes conflicts among partners or shareholders, corporate governance disputes, trade secrets disputes, wrongful termination claims, disputes arising out of mergers and acquisitions, buyout disputes and dissolutions. He also has experience with all forms of business entities, including corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, giving him a strong command of the legal frameworks and organizational documents that govern each. Robert has handled disputes throughout the lifecycle of a business, from early-stage growth to liquidity events to dissolutions.
One other facet of Robert’s practice is a focus on “business divorces” — helping clients separate from companies or investments, or helping companies resolve conflicts with difficult investors. He regularly advises partners, shareholders and members on legal exit strategies, including dissolution, dissociation or contractual withdrawal rights. Robert is one of the firm’s leading attorneys in matters involving Corporation Code section 2000, and he has particular experience working with appraisers and handling valuation disputes.
Robert’s real estate work includes landlord-tenant disputes, disputes over purchase and sale contracts, partnership dissolutions, broker disputes, construction disputes, secured transactions and breach of fiduciary duty and corporate governance claims. His experience litigating over nearly every phase in the life of real estate developments gives him an understanding of, and ability to navigate, the common stresses, likely spheres for disagreements and avenues to dispute resolution for real estate projects.
Additionally, Robert has extensive experience handling investment management disputes, including partnership disputes, investor claims, employment claims and other problems arising for investment management companies. His representations are usually on the side of the investment manager, and his experience gives him sensitivity to what often worries investment managers beyond the scope of the dispute at hand.
Arbitration
A large part of Robert’s practice involves contracts that require disputes to be resolved through arbitration. Many of his clients – real estate developers, company founders, investors, LLC managers and investment managers – choose arbitration to resolve disputes privately and efficiently. While Robert enjoys litigating in court, and achieved strong outcomes in bench trials, jury trials and settlements, approximately three-quarters of his cases are resolved in arbitration.
He has significant experience with nearly all major arbitration venues, including JAMS, the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, ADR Services and Judicate West. More than in court, effective arbitration demands flexibility, creativity and sustained attention to detail – qualities Robert brings to every matter.