Professional firms — chartered accountancy practices, consultancies, architecture and engineering firms — have their own characteristic disputes: partner exits, division of clients and fees, non-solicitation and non-compete obligations, capital repayment, and fee disputes with clients.
Confidentiality is especially important for professional firms. Clients expect discretion, and a public dispute between partners about client relationships can damage the firm's reputation with the very clients at stake. Arbitration keeps these matters private.
Partner exit disputes usually turn on the partnership or LLP agreement: how the outgoing partner's share is valued, what happens to work in progress, and which clients the outgoing partner may continue to serve. Clear, specific terms in the agreement prevent most of these disputes.
Non-compete restrictions deserve care. Indian law generally does not enforce restraints on trade after a relationship ends, although restrictions during the relationship and protection of confidential information are treated differently. Firms should rely on confidentiality and non-solicitation protections that are enforceable rather than broad non-competes that may not be.
Client fee disputes are usually of moderate value and suit fast-track or documents-only arbitration, keeping the cost proportionate to the amount in dispute.