The most commercially damaging legal advice is rarely obviously wrong. It is technically correct advice pushed too hard, in the wrong deal, at the wrong time – turning protection into friction for founders and business owners trying to get a transaction over the line.

A shareholders' agreement is one of the most important documents a company will ever sign — yet most founders only discover its gaps when something goes wrong. This post sets out what it should actually contain, and what is most commonly missed.

Drag-along and tag-along rights quietly determine who controls a company sale, and who must follow once a deal is agreed.