Startup Litigation
California, home to Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, is in the vanguard of tech innovation and startup companies. These companies are sometimes the subject of litigation, such as between co-founders who have experienced a falling out. Mr. Mandlekar is an established leader in the field of startup litigation. He took the lead role in representing Reggie Brown in his high-profile lawsuit against Snap Inc.—the multi-billion-dollar company behind the premier application known as “Snapchat.” Mr. Brown originally came up with the idea of creating an application for sending disappearing picture messages, and then collaborated with others on the development of Snapchat during its early days. The parties settled the lawsuit on mutually agreeable terms. The case was one of the most publicized and notable tech-founder disputes since that involving Facebook.
In California, persons who jointly engage in business activity can attain the status of “partners”—whether they specifically intend to or not—and are consequently held to a very high legal standard of honesty and fairness in dealing with each other. Simply put, partners must share the benefits and opportunities arising out of the partnership with the other partners. After having successfully resolved the Snapchat litigation, Mr. Mandlekar is well-prepared to handle any startup disputes that arise for his clients.
