Family Business Consulting Services

McDermott Will & Emery's Family Business Consulting practice emphasizes personal interaction and communication, which results in recommendations and solutions that are responsive to your particular needs and goals.

We have no "pat" answers to any problem or set of circumstances. Rather, our approach is to examine all sides of the situation to determine your objectives and concerns. Our ultimate goal is to develop and implement a plan to achieve these objectives. It is important that our client understand all the ramifications of a plan before we embark on a course of action.

Our years of experience in working with family-owned as well as publicly owned businesses enable us to bring a unique and unusually broad perspective to the problems and opportunities confronting the family business. Additionally, our many engagements as special counsel have given us keen insight into many specific problems that are important to the family-owned business. Specifically, we offer assistance in the following areas:

Planning for management succession and changes in ownership and control
Identifying company and shareholder cash needs and advising on steps to develop liquidity, including organizational changes, divisions of businesses, and debt or equity financings in the public markets or through private sources
Structuring U.S. and international acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and sales of businesses
Counseling on family estate planning issues, including the minimization of transfer taxes in the planned succession
Advising on business structures, control techniques and distribution of shares; and counseling on family disputes, deadlocks and other shareholder planning issues
Designing suitable incentive compensation programs for both family and nonfamily members of management
Designing qualified retirement plans and deferred compensation plans consistent with the company's needs
Advising on issues relating to labor unions and all other employment matters, including counseling on nonlegal personnel problems
Advising on issues involving family shareholders who are not active in the business
Evaluating opportunities presented by existing family trusts
Establishing an effective method of shareholder communication and development of the owners' common sense of purpose
Counseling on federal and state tax matters, such as seeking private rulings on transactions, assisting in audits and representation in administrative appeals and litigation
Advising on federal and state securities laws
Counseling on antitrust and environmental matters when needed

Our principal focus is to identify and develop responses to opportunities for the family-owned business ultimately leading to a comprehensive plan. As one of the world's leading law firms, we ensure that we utilize those attorneys in our Firm whose experience uniquely matches your issues.

Our resources and geographically disperse practice are available in either a principal or supplemental capacity. We are prepared to work closely with your current lawyers, accountants, financial planners and other advisors. In addition to the resources of our own lawyers and highly trained paralegal staff, we also are able to draw upon our network of contacts with investment bankers, insurance advisors, valuation consultants, business brokers and others who work with family-owned business groups.