In April, mediation support was completed for an agreement between the owner of an international IT company and a former top manager of this company for more than $300,000.
Context
In the fall of 2024, the owner of an international IT company initiated the dismissal of one of the top managers of his company by mutual agreement. The conditions for the separation were the fact of transferring part of the company's shares to the top manager, which was promised upon his employment, with the possibility of buying back the shares at a fixed price.
Positions of the parties
The owner of the company had not yet formalized the transfer of part of the shares two months before the date of dismissal of the top manager. He was interested in formalizing their transfer as gratitude for the work done by the top manager, but feared that the dismissed employee would seriously damage the company's reputation and interfere with the upcoming process of finding investments.
The top manager was shocked and offended by his sudden dismissal. He demanded that the promised transfer of part of the shares be fulfilled, but he was afraid that the company would not fulfill this condition. During the dismissal negotiations, the top manager resorted to threats to ruin the company's reputation and demanded guarantees that the promises would be fulfilled.
Communication between the parties with the participation of lawyers on both sides was seriously hampered by mutual mistrust, threats of reputational losses and lack of guarantees.
Mediation Agreement
Together with the mediator, the parties developed a detailed algorithm and schedule for the transfer of shares with the procedure for their subsequent buyback by the company owner at a fixed price.
The parties agreed that a security deposit from the company owner in the amount of more than $300,000, stored in a separate account, could serve as a guarantee for the necessary actions on each side. The parties granted the mediator access to this account as an arbitrator with the right to approve a transaction from this account in favor of any of the parties upon the occurrence of certain circumstances described in the mediation agreement. For example, in the event of a violation of the agreements by the owner of the company recorded by lawyers from both parties at any stage of the agreement, the security deposit would be paid to the top manager, and vice versa.
Support of the mediation agreement
The fulfillment of the terms of the mediation agreement took more than six months, and at each stage, limited by deadlines, each party expected the worst from the other. Negotiations both in person and in shuttle format, as well as in the form of correspondence by e-mail, took place in an atmosphere of mutual distrust and attempts to pressure and manipulate the mediator in order to achieve advantages in their favor.
However, each party was interested in fulfilling the agreements: the owner of the company in order to preserve the company's reputation, and the top manager - in order to receive assets in the form of shares and subsequently funds from their sale. Each stage of the agreement was implemented according to the planned schedule, and the security deposit was returned to the owner as a result of mutual recognition of the parties' fulfillment of all agreements within the established time frame.
The mediator of this case was Ulyana Udavikhina, mediator of the Solis Mediation Center.
Criteria for the mediabability of this dispute:
✅ The dispute arose between the owner of a private company and its employee (public interests are not involved);
✅ The parties developed a reliable mechanism for guaranteeing the execution of the agreement, thereby balancing their positions in the negotiations;
✅ The parties were interested in maintaining their reputation and receiving financial benefits, as well as in an out-of-court settlement of their dispute in order to avoid legal and tax costs.
Context
In the fall of 2024, the owner of an international IT company initiated the dismissal of one of the top managers of his company by mutual agreement. The conditions for the separation were the fact of transferring part of the company's shares to the top manager, which was promised upon his employment, with the possibility of buying back the shares at a fixed price.
Positions of the parties
The owner of the company had not yet formalized the transfer of part of the shares two months before the date of dismissal of the top manager. He was interested in formalizing their transfer as gratitude for the work done by the top manager, but feared that the dismissed employee would seriously damage the company's reputation and interfere with the upcoming process of finding investments.
The top manager was shocked and offended by his sudden dismissal. He demanded that the promised transfer of part of the shares be fulfilled, but he was afraid that the company would not fulfill this condition. During the dismissal negotiations, the top manager resorted to threats to ruin the company's reputation and demanded guarantees that the promises would be fulfilled.
Communication between the parties with the participation of lawyers on both sides was seriously hampered by mutual mistrust, threats of reputational losses and lack of guarantees.
Mediation Agreement
Together with the mediator, the parties developed a detailed algorithm and schedule for the transfer of shares with the procedure for their subsequent buyback by the company owner at a fixed price.
The parties agreed that a security deposit from the company owner in the amount of more than $300,000, stored in a separate account, could serve as a guarantee for the necessary actions on each side. The parties granted the mediator access to this account as an arbitrator with the right to approve a transaction from this account in favor of any of the parties upon the occurrence of certain circumstances described in the mediation agreement. For example, in the event of a violation of the agreements by the owner of the company recorded by lawyers from both parties at any stage of the agreement, the security deposit would be paid to the top manager, and vice versa.
Support of the mediation agreement
The fulfillment of the terms of the mediation agreement took more than six months, and at each stage, limited by deadlines, each party expected the worst from the other. Negotiations both in person and in shuttle format, as well as in the form of correspondence by e-mail, took place in an atmosphere of mutual distrust and attempts to pressure and manipulate the mediator in order to achieve advantages in their favor.
However, each party was interested in fulfilling the agreements: the owner of the company in order to preserve the company's reputation, and the top manager - in order to receive assets in the form of shares and subsequently funds from their sale. Each stage of the agreement was implemented according to the planned schedule, and the security deposit was returned to the owner as a result of mutual recognition of the parties' fulfillment of all agreements within the established time frame.
The mediator of this case was Ulyana Udavikhina, mediator of the Solis Mediation Center.
Criteria for the mediabability of this dispute:
✅ The dispute arose between the owner of a private company and its employee (public interests are not involved);
✅ The parties developed a reliable mechanism for guaranteeing the execution of the agreement, thereby balancing their positions in the negotiations;
✅ The parties were interested in maintaining their reputation and receiving financial benefits, as well as in an out-of-court settlement of their dispute in order to avoid legal and tax costs.