Draft, review, and maintain Shareholders Agreements that clearly define rights, restrictions, and obligations — reducing disputes before they happen.
Service Overview
A Shareholders Agreement is the most important legal document your company will sign. It governs how decisions are made, how shares can be transferred, and what happens at exit — for every stakeholder.
We draft, review, and maintain SHAs from scratch — integrating ESOP provisions, founder protections, and investor rights into a single coherent document built for Indian company law.
Unlike generic legal templates, every SHA we produce is tailored to your cap table, funding stage, and growth plans — and comes with ongoing maintenance as your company evolves.
Key Coverage
We cover all standard and ESOP-specific provisions — drafted for clarity, not complexity.
Minority shareholders can tag along on any sale. Majority holders can drag all shareholders into a deal. Balanced drafting protects both sides.
Transfer RightsRight of First Refusal and Right of First Offer provisions that give existing shareholders priority before shares are offered to outsiders.
Pre-emptionAcceleration clauses, lapse on exit, exercise rights post-termination, and good leaver/bad leaver definitions — all aligned with your ESOP plan.
ESOP ClausesFounder vesting schedules, reverse vesting provisions, and lock-in periods that protect company continuity and align with investor expectations.
Founder ProtectionParticipating and non-participating preference structures, waterfall modelling, and anti-dilution provisions — drafted to match your term sheet.
Investor RightsInvestor reporting obligations, board seat rights, reserved matters requiring consent, and affirmative vote thresholds — clearly defined for all parties.
GovernanceBroad-based and narrow-based weighted average anti-dilution, full-ratchet provisions, and carve-outs — modelled for financial impact before drafting.
Investor ProtectionDrag-along triggers, IPO rights, co-sale rights, and mandatory sale clauses — structured to ensure all stakeholders are treated fairly at exit.
Exit RightsDeath, incapacity, divorce, and forced transfer scenarios — every clause defined to prevent cap table disputes when life events occur.
SuccessionOur Approach
The same SHA, explained differently for each role in your organisation.
Founders & Leadership
HR & People Teams
Finance & CFO
Employees
Key Benefits
SHA and ESOP plan are drafted together by the same team — acceleration, lapse, good leaver, and exercise provisions are fully consistent across both documents.
Every SHA we draft comes with a plain-language summary for employees and founders — so everyone understands their rights, not just the lawyers.
We draft for clarity, not complexity. Ambiguous provisions cause disputes — we define every scenario (death, incapacity, M&A, IPO) explicitly.
An SHA isn't a one-time document. We manage amendments, new investor additions, and ESOP plan updates to keep all documents aligned as your company evolves.
First draft delivered within 5 working days — covering all standard provisions plus ESOP-specific clauses, formatted for Indian company law and investor expectations.
We support negotiation rounds with investors or co-founders — advising on which provisions to hold firm and which to concede, based on market practice.
How It Works
A structured process that produces a complete, balanced SHA — with ESOP provisions fully integrated.
We map all shareholders — founders, investors, ESOP pool — and understand each party's rights, expectations, and priorities before drafting a single clause.
We review existing term sheets, investor agreements, and ESOP plan documents to ensure the SHA is consistent with all prior commitments.
First draft in 5 working days — covering all standard provisions plus ESOP-specific clauses, formatted for Indian company law.
We support negotiation rounds with investors or co-founders — advising on which provisions to hold firm and which to concede based on market practice.
Final execution managed end to end. Post-signing, we maintain the SHA register, manage amendments, and ensure ongoing compliance with all provisions.
Most lawyers draft SHAs in isolation. We draft them in context — alongside your cap table, ESOP plan, and valuation reports.
SHA and ESOP plan are drafted together by the same team — so acceleration, lapse, good leaver, and exercise provisions are fully consistent across documents.
Every SHA we draft comes with a plain-language summary for employees and founders — so everyone understands their rights, not just the lawyers.
We draft for clarity, not complexity. Ambiguous provisions cause disputes — we define every scenario explicitly before it becomes a problem.
We manage amendments, new investor additions, and ESOP plan updates to keep all documents aligned as your company evolves — not just at signing.
Ready to get started with your Shareholders Agreement? Tell us about your company and we'll come back within 24 hours — no obligation.
First draft in 5 days. Zero disputes. Built for Indian company law.