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From risk management to objective perspectives to succession planning, boards are a crucial component to help the family business achieve longevity. Boards serve as a mechanism to clarify the mandates of the family and provide continuity and formal guidance to future generations. During this session, experts will share easy-to-implement governance ...

In this interview, attorney John Litchfield of Foley & Lardner’s Labor & Employment group discusses the key considerations family offices should keep in mind when it comes to domestic workers in the family office environment. Along with insights on household staff salary and wage treatments in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (F...

Employing service providers in your home carries considerable risk. If not handled with extreme care, the process of hiring, termination, and managing day-to-day responsibilities can create liability—and even result in claims of discrimination and retaliation by the employee. This report provides a snapshot of an increasingly complex employment lan...

Taking on the role of a direct household employer can be complicated—even for households with a single employee. This guide includes best practices for navigating the complex environment of household employment and provides practical advice on how to avoid the legal, financial, and reputational consequences associated with non-compliant employment.

For family offices, providing the highest level of service to their family clients includes ensuring the staff in their homes are not only skilled and qualified, but also trustworthy and ethical. However, the vetting process at every level—from housekeepers to directors of residence—has become more challenging as more applicants misrepresent themse...

A high-quality board of directors with a range of talents and experience can be a powerful resource for your company. Taking steps to ensure your board is well-designed, well-informed, and properly engaged will reap significant benefits for your company’s shareholders and management team.

Hiring domestic staff such as nannies, personal assistants, and housekeepers can expose you to liability issues and danger from unscrupulous employees. It is important to understand your areas of vulnerability and take steps to protect your family and your finances. Whether you hire your own employees or the family office hires them, three often ov...

A well-functioning board is a crucial component to help the family business achieve longevity and growth. From risk mitigation to culture oversight, a good board can be an important resource for the company, shareholders, and stakeholders. In this discussion, Meghan Juday, IDEAL Industries Chairman and Founder of The Lodis Forum, a peer group for w...

Your household employees are necessary and helpful, but they present a risk, be it from accidents, reckless behavior, or bad intentions. While there is no way to minimize the concerns entirely, establishing clear communication, crisp policies, and appropriate checks and balances can prevent, or at least decrease most issues. We’ve created a checkli...

The complex, convergent nature of risks facing high-net-worth families requires family offices to adopt both a holistic and strategic approach to risk management than many have in the past. The ones who can make the change will be best positioned to successfully navigate the challenges that range from overarching trends of growing families to incre...

Lawsuit awards can be incredibly high, and individuals known to have substantial assets are particularly vulnerable. In some cases, the high-stake lawsuits can cause devastating reputational damage. Given the risks and exposure, the need for holistic liability protection is an important issue. Learn the different types of liability i...

The Board of Directors plays a pivotal role in the effective governance of any organization, including the private family trust company. Board members fulfill their roles and responsibilities, in part, by holding regular meetings that utilize a comprehensive agenda. One vital tool for an effective Board meeting is the meeting agenda. Here, ten sugg...

Although public companies are most often the targets of shareholder claims and class-action suits, not-for-profit and private entities are not immune from litigation. As a director, you could be named personally in claims of fraud or financial mismanagement from which the entity’s indemnification provisions and business structure cannot always prot...

We have all been the new person at some point or another—the new person on the block, the freshman at the big university, a manager in a new office. In such hard-to-navigate situations, training and communications are integral parts of the on-boarding process. When both employee and employer are informed about one another’s needs, personalities, an...

A volunteer position with a nonprofit organization can be an incredibly rewarding experience—both for the volunteer and for the organization. But the path to key leadership roles with such organizations can be tricky to navigate. While the process inevitably will vary from organization to organization, there are a few things that can help with maki...