Members of the US Executive Council will lead a session that describes how a group of 30 leading family office executives worked together to develop and later to refine a Family Office Communications Plan at their two meetings this year. The plan provides a compilation of the best thinking of the Peer Council members, using the 20+ years of experience that each participant brought to the discussion. There are action steps for the Family Board, the Family Council, the Investment Committee, the External Advisors, and the staff relations with both family members and other staff members.
Family Office
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Trust and Estates - Managing Family Offices
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Family offices are complicated because of the scope of services they deliver, the high number and complexity of entities they oversee and the staff they must manage. These complexities can open the door to liability. Employing consistent policies and procedures, establishing an annual entity review process, maximizing protection provided by indemnification and buying insurance are all tools to help manage the risks associated with management and professional liability.
One of the things we’ve learned is that a family contract can be a valuable tool to help families build trust and avoid conflicts. We’ve also found that for a contract to work well, everyone who signs the contract should have a say in how the contract is written. That doesn’t mean you will get everything you want and, as you probably expect, your parents still have the final say on family rules.
Office IT Security
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Information security in the family office context needs to a collaborative effort between the family, the office, and any intertwined vendors. This article from Plante Moran’s IT security consulting group discusses key factors in improving the security of the family office’s confidential information.
Thinking Bigger Picture - When to Sacrifice the Benefits of Arbitration in Favor of Litigation
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Many business managers include arbitration provisions in their companies’ contracts. The prevailing philosophy being that arbitration is preferable to traditional litigation via the court system because it’s private, speedier and less expensive. Under certain circumstances, however, a party may prefer to litigate a particular dispute in court even though it previously included an arbitration provision in the relevant contract. Smart Business spoke with Liebman about choosing traditional litigation despite the existence of an arbitration provision.
Protecting Your Reputation
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“Internet message boards and review sites provide a venue where users- customers and pretenders alike- can offer anonymous evaluations and judgments about restaurants, hotels, medical and legal professionals and businesses," says Mitchell L. Marinello, a partner with Novack and Macey LLP. "Unfortunately, sometimes these reviews cross the boundary between mere opinion and defamation." When they do, they can cause great damage, because they can linger on the Internet for years. But if a company is the victim of internet defamation, it has remedies.
Socially Responsible
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If your organization still doesn't have a social media policy, it is time to create one. "Every organization should have a social media policy that enables it to optimize the opportunities that interactive social media sites present while minimizing the attendant risks," says Kristen Werries Collier, a partner with Novack and Macey ILP. Smart Business spoke with Collier about those risks and how to develop a workable policy to minimize your exposure.
Clean Up Your Electronic Junkyard
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"A surprising number of us who work with business organizations or professional service firms - in offices that are otherwise orderly - let emails just pile up in our inbox, sent folder and trash bin," says John F. Shonkwiler, a partner with Novack and Macey LLP. "Don't do this. It is not a smart business practice and, if your company becomes involved in litigation, it can cost an awful lot of money to sort through the mess.
For those considering a PFTC or in the early stages of developing one, this session provides the core information needed to get started, including identifying the right state and right structure for your family, chartering or licensing, and insight on the day to day realities of operating a PFTC.Attendees will learn:
Responsibilities and Risks as the Family’s Trustee
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Poor trust risk management and family disunity remain major if not the major threats to families seeking to remain together from generation to generation. Often embraced hesitantly by families, the most important risk management actions are basic and logical, only requiring families to understand and commit to them. Communication is often the key to both trust risk management and overcoming family disunity.Attendees will learn: