Austin, TX commercial litigation attorney John W. Thomas shares the story of a memorable fiduciary matter he handled. He recalls that he once dealt with a case involving the president of a company who was essentially running it for his own personal gain. The man had arranged expensive hunting leases, taken lavish trips, bought thousands of dollars’ worth of wine, and flown on private jets—all on the company’s dime. He barely showed up to the office more than two or three days a week.

Worse yet, he was quietly positioning himself to seize full control of the company from its shareholders. He had been amending the bylaws and articles of incorporation to expand his authority and dominate the board. Using cumulative voting rights, they managed to take control of the board themselves and then filed a lawsuit against him for misappropriating company funds—and for attempting to steal the entire company for his own benefit.