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The FAMILY OFFICE – a term that is surrounded by mystique.
It conjures notions of massive wealth, mahogany infused offices, private jets and money that has reached escape velocity. When one probes deeper, it connotes secrecy, exotic opportunities and risks, mixed with rigid control and discretion.
But what is the reality behind the term “family office”? At what level of wealth do families bring it all in house? What functions do they actually perform? How much do they cost?
For families that are intrigued, what questions should they ask before going down that process and what should they focus on?
We’re going to speak with EDWARD MARSHALL, Head of the Global Family Office at Dentons, the international law firm. Ed has deep experience in the space and is a terrific starting point for families looking to engage the process of developing their own structure.
Ed and his white papers and research can be found at DENTONS' site here: ED MARSHALL and his twitter account is here: ED MARSHALL TWITTER. A link is here for his informative book (with Bill Woodson): FAMILY OFFICES: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR ADVISORS, PRACTITIONERS, AND STUDENTS
Here are some of the areas we hit on:
When a client comes to you looking for a family office, what problems are they trying to solve?
What is your process for helping them define what they need?
Why not outsource everything?
How do you make this a digestible process?
Build, Buy, or Partner?
Cost
Talent
Confidentiality
Regulation
Scope Creep
The Rule of 3:
It's could take 3 years to build
It could costs $3 Million
You will probably want to shut it down 3 times before it's up and running
Below is a brief summary of the question and answer process from Dentons to help families get their bearings around the family office process:
Focus areas
Getting started
General Investing
Investing and owning real estate
Venture capital and private equity
The Lender Management strategy (US-based family offices)
Taxes
Litigation
Operations and governance
Employment
Impact investing and philanthropy
Trusts, estates and wealth preservation
Public policy
Risks and threats
Specialty areas
Getting started
What experience do you have working with family offices and family businesses?
Is your experience local, national or global?
What are the legal services that you typically provide to family offices that look like ours?
Does your experience with different family offices provide you with best practices that you can share with us?
What are the key legal issues to consider before, during and after a liquidity event?
Are all of your legal services billed hourly or can you deliver work on a flat-fee-per-project basis?
How would you build a team to handle the legal and non-legal matters relating to my family office?
It conjures notions of massive wealth, mahogany infused offices, private jets and money that has reached escape velocity. When one probes deeper, it connotes secrecy, exotic opportunities and risks, mixed with rigid control and discretion.
But what is the reality behind the term “family office”? At what level of wealth do families bring it all in house? What functions do they actually perform? How much do they cost?
For families that are intrigued, what questions should they ask before going down that process and what should they focus on?
We’re going to speak with EDWARD MARSHALL, Head of the Global Family Office at Dentons, the international law firm. Ed has deep experience in the space and is a terrific starting point for families looking to engage the process of developing their own structure.
Ed and his white papers and research can be found at DENTONS' site here: ED MARSHALL and his twitter account is here: ED MARSHALL TWITTER. A link is here for his informative book (with Bill Woodson): FAMILY OFFICES: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR ADVISORS, PRACTITIONERS, AND STUDENTS
Here are some of the areas we hit on:
When a client comes to you looking for a family office, what problems are they trying to solve?
What is your process for helping them define what they need?
Why not outsource everything?
How do you make this a digestible process?
Build, Buy, or Partner?
Cost
Talent
Confidentiality
Regulation
Scope Creep
The Rule of 3:
It's could take 3 years to build
It could costs $3 Million
You will probably want to shut it down 3 times before it's up and running
Below is a brief summary of the question and answer process from Dentons to help families get their bearings around the family office process:
Focus areas
Getting started
General Investing
Investing and owning real estate
Venture capital and private equity
The Lender Management strategy (US-based family offices)
Taxes
Litigation
Operations and governance
Employment
Impact investing and philanthropy
Trusts, estates and wealth preservation
Public policy
Risks and threats
Specialty areas
Getting started
What experience do you have working with family offices and family businesses?
Is your experience local, national or global?
What are the legal services that you typically provide to family offices that look like ours?
Does your experience with different family offices provide you with best practices that you can share with us?
What are the key legal issues to consider before, during and after a liquidity event?
Are all of your legal services billed hourly or can you deliver work on a flat-fee-per-project basis?
How would you build a team to handle the legal and non-legal matters relating to my family office?