Ongoing professional advisory for your family office

We participate in your family office governance arrangements to ensure the framework operates as it was designed to.

A governance framework that is not actively maintained tends to drift, and decisions that were designed to flow through an agreed process gradually begin to happen informally. Ongoing professional participation in the governance arrangements keeps the framework operating with the rigour it was intended to have, particularly through transitions, disputes, and decisions that would otherwise test the arrangement’s limits. We participate in your family office governance arrangements as an ongoing legal adviser.

Governance discipline maintained by a professional who understands the framework and the family.

Legal advice available as decisions arise, not only when problems have already developed.

Framework updated as circumstances change so that it reflects the family's current arrangements.

A family governance framework is only as effective as the discipline with which it is applied.

Families who have put a governance framework in place but manage it without ongoing professional involvement often find that the framework drifts over time, that informal decisions begin to replace the agreed processes, and that the framework provides less protection than it was designed to when it is most needed. Ongoing participation maintains the discipline that the framework was designed to create.

Governance frameworks need ongoing participation to remain effective.

Your family has put a governance framework in place and the structure is sound. But maintaining the discipline of that framework over time, through transitions, disagreements, and the ordinary drift of family dynamics, requires ongoing professional participation to ensure it continues to operate as designed. A framework managed without that participation tends to lose precision gradually, and the gaps only become visible when something goes wrong.

We will participate in your family office governance meetings and provide legal advice on decisions as they arise.
We will monitor the operation of the governance framework and identify when the framework is drifting from its intended design.
We will advise on when the governance documentation needs to be updated and implement changes as part of the ongoing engagement.
We will provide professional continuity across governance transitions, including generational handovers and changes in family membership.

You have put a governance framework in place for your family's wealth, but without ongoing professional participation in that framework, the structure depends on the family's own discipline to function as it was designed to.

Governance frameworks are built on the assumption that the rules will be followed consistently, that decision-making processes will be respected, and that the family will apply the same rigour to its governance arrangements as to its commercial affairs. In practice, families who manage these arrangements without professional participation often find that the framework gradually loses precision, that decisions are made informally rather than through the agreed process, and that by the time a dispute or transition event occurs, the governance structure is not operating as it was intended to. Ongoing participation by a professional who understands both the legal framework and the governance objectives maintains the discipline that the arrangement was designed to create.

What's included in your ongoing family office governance participation service

Ongoing attendance at and participation in governance meetings.
Legal advice on decisions as they arise through the governance process.
Monitoring of framework operation and identification of drift.
Governance documentation update advice and implementation.
Professional continuity across governance transitions.

What goes wrong when family governance arrangements are managed without ongoing professional participation?

Families who manage their governance arrangements without professional participation regularly find that the framework they put in place operates well for the first few years but gradually loses its structure as informal practices replace the agreed processes. By the time a significant decision or dispute arises, the governance framework is not operating consistently with the documentation, and the protections that the framework was designed to provide are no longer reliably available. Reinstating the discipline of the framework at that point is far more difficult than maintaining it would have been.

Here is how we participate in your family office governance arrangements on an ongoing basis.

We attend governance meetings, provide legal advice on decisions as they arise, and identify when the framework is drifting from its intended design. We advise on when the documentation needs to be updated and implement changes as part of the ongoing engagement. We provide the professional continuity that maintains the discipline of the governance arrangements through transitions and changes in the family’s circumstances.

Three ways we participate in your family office governance on an ongoing basis.

Framework maintained, decisions advised, documentation kept current.

Attend and advise.

We participate in governance meetings and provide legal advice on decisions as they arise, ensuring the family understands the implications of what it is deciding.

Monitor and identify.

We monitor the operation of the governance framework and identify when the framework is drifting from its intended design so that corrections can be made before problems develop.

Update and maintain.

We advise on when the governance documentation needs to be updated and implement changes as part of the ongoing engagement.

Lawyers experienced in family office governance, wealth structuring, and family advisory arrangements across Australia.

Families who have invested in establishing a governance framework understand the value of getting the structure right. Maintaining that structure over time is a different kind of work, and it is work that is easiest to do when a professional who was involved in building the framework remains involved in applying it. We participate in family office governance arrangements with the understanding that the objective is to support the family’s own decision-making, not to replace it.

We understand you want to know the cost, before we get started.

We will map out our process, from beginning to end, so you know what the journey will look like before you get started.

We will provide you with a clear and detailed Work Proposal covering each step along the way.

Our fair fees are all-inclusive. No hidden costs for telephone calls, emails, photocopying, couriers, or coffee.

Our great lawyer guarantee

We want to be part of your team over the long term. We achieve this by adhering to these core principles:

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve. Then we thoroughly explain our advice and step you through the documents. You can be sure you know the full consequences.

Share our knowledge

We will pass on as much knowledge as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions. We want to make you truly independent.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we're good at. You can be confident that we know what we're doing and don't pass on the cost of our learning.

Work as one team

Someone will always be available to answer your questions, or point you in the right direction. You will also benefit from a range of perspectives and experience.

Fair pricing

For advice and documents, we provide a fixed or capped quote so you don't take price risk. If you're in a dispute, we map out the process and costs so you know what to expect.

It's your show

We're not in this for our egos. We're in it for a front row seat to witness your success.

Ready to engage ongoing legal participation in your family office governance?

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