GOLLEGE OF LA" Kaitlin and Mohammed Common Facts for all Parties Kaitlin and Mohammed met as casual teachers at the local primary school 8 years ago. Both were qualified computing and mathematics teachers who were unable to find a job in a high school. In orderto retain their skills, the two teachers met weekly to devise mathematical and computing problems for each other. Together they developed a game app using mathematical formulas. Their app was a commercial success. The two teachers decided to give up casual teaching and form a computer software business specialising in educational games and apps. They contributed equally to renting premises, hiring a receptionist/secretary and purchasing the best computers for game design. They agreed to develop further apps and software packages and market these with copyright to be shared and all prots and costs to be shared equally. A partnership agreement was drawn up and signed by both of them. The major relevant term is that the partnership can only be dissolved by agreement or court order. The agreement also notes that all assets and liabilities, will be split 50/50 upon dissolution. As the business developed, each tended to specialise - Kaitlin on creating further programs, and Mohammed on marketing. Mohammed also has his own side business in which Kaitlin has no interest. This side business is the provision of computer literacy courses to parents who wish to keep pace with their children's computer skills and who wish to obtain the knowledge to evaluate appropriate educational programs for their children. In recent months, there has been a lot of tension within the partnership and Kaitlin has just announced that she wishes to leave the business to work overseas. Mohammed wishes the partnership to continue but would like an adjustment to the sharing of profits going forward. He realizes that Kaitlin will obtain a court order to dissolve the partnership if no agreement is reached. They aren't really interested in talking with each other at the moment, so have agreed that their individual lawyers will meet to try to negotiate a solution to this standoff. CEM IPC T1 A1 Mohammed le 2022_04_07 Page 1 of3 The College of Law Limited COLLEGE .' OF LAW Confidential Facts for Mohammed's Lawyer Mohammed's Statement All I ever wanted to do was teach. From an early age, I thought this would be my optimum career. I enjoyed my university studies and eagerly awaited the day when I would be able to teach computing and mathematics in high school. l was bitterly disappointed when no jobs were available and I had to take a casual teaching position in a primary school. While a casual teacher, I met Kaitlin who was in the same position and we quickly formed a friendship. I was the one who suggested that we meet weekly to give problems to each other so that my skills in mathematics and computing would be sharpened. I enjoyed the feedback from Kaitlin. It was from my suggestion (and as a teaching aid) that Kaitlin and I developed an app based on mathematical formulas. We were both surprised when the students loved the game and many older students asked to use it. I pushed and Kaitlin finally agreed to upload this app on the app store. Kaitlin was reluctant but I have always been good at marketing, so she agreed with me to give it a go. This first app was a big success. Spurred by this, we formed a partnership and started offa business based on marketing educational software packages and apps, particularly those in the scientific and mathematical areas as there seemed to be a niche in the market. We did that about 5 years ago. l have been very pleased at the development of the business and agreed readily to take the giant share of administration in marketing about 3 years ago. l have a flair for marketing and convincing the customers to try our products. l have also done countless presentations to local schools and technical colleges about our products and apps. Because of my love of teaching, I decided about 3 years ago that I would still like to keep my hand in and realised that many of the people buying educational software programs did not have sufficient computer knowledge to understand what they were buying, so I devised and have been successfully running computer literacy courses for parents. This is a growing field and in fact, I really need to employ someone else to do these sessions, as it has been time consuming running these courses. l was very surprised when Kaitlin dropped the bombshell that she wanted to dissolve the partnership. I assumed that she was happy developing programs and apps. Although, she hasn't produced a new app in 12 months, I assumed one was in the pipeline. Now to hear that she just wants to disappear is upsetting. What do I do for new product, or updates? I do not want to break up the partnership because it is a successful business and can continue to expand. But I realise now that l have been doing the lion's share of the work in the business for the last 12 months. I understand however Kaitlin's need to take some time off the business and to study overseas and see what is developing particularly in America. Hence, I would be prepared to re-negotiate the partnership for a period to allow Kaitlin to achieve her objectives. I want the partnership to remain. Although I understand that this might be out of my hands if Kaitlin takes this to Court. I also want an adjustment in the prot sharing arrangement for the last financial year. I want 70% of the profits, as Kaitlin really did not pull her weight. There are about $250,000 in profits in our business bank account that we have accrued overthe last 12 months. We had retained that amount as we were still to decide where to invest this money to expand our business with more staff etc. CEM IPC T1 A1 Mohammed le 2022_04_07 Page 2 of 3 The College of Law Limited n COLLEGE OF LAW Lastly, if we stay partners and if Kaitlin does take some time off in the next two years, I feel I need an additional partner (or at least more staff) to help run the business. I think my wife would be suitable. You have been instructed to represent Mohammed in negotiating with Kaitlin's lawyer and to find a way through "this mess" as Mohammed calls it. You can assume that your client is easily accessible to obtain further instructions if they are needed. You can assume that your client will authorise any proposal you negotiate, as long as it is consistent with these general instructions. CEM IPC T1 A1 Mohammed file 2022_04_07 Page 3 of 3 The College of Law Limited