General Concept
Professional advisers should be an investment in peace of mind. Basic compliance work excepted, their value should comfortably exceed the cost of their fees, in respect of their contributions to some or all of:
- Family success – financial, social and reputational.
- Family harmony – facilitating communication, problem solving and conflict management processes.
- Family longevity – building an admirable legacy for future generations.
- Business success – profitability, sustainability and reputation.
- Business efficiency – guidance, support and encouragement for best practices across the business.
- Business continuity / life cycles – economic challenges and generational transitions (succession planning).
- Risk avoidance and risk management – legislative, commercial and other complexities and threats.
Types of Adviser
Advisers come in several flavours. These reflect their individuals styles and functions, relative to the purposes and circumstances for which they’re to be used. Competence AND suitability are major determinants of their ability to perform as required – the world’s best tax lawyer may be the worst choice you could possibly make to advise on family relationship issues.
Lead Adviser – organises and project manages some or all of the advisers the family needs, through to successful outcomes. They require:
- Awareness of the big picture issues, needs, interests and dynamics that affect families in business at the individual, family and business levels.
- Ability to gain and maintain the trust of all family members and to regarded as everyone’s friend, and nobody’s advocate.
- Facilitation and communication management skills.
- Ability to speak with knowledge and authority to Technical Advisers (subject matter specialists) and to direct the nature, not the content, of their work.
Family Business Adviser – provides professional skills in one or some areas of practice, combined with extra training in and experience of working with families in business. They require:
- Technical abilities in one or more professional areas (eg: accounting, tax, estate planning, law, psychology, psychotherapy, financial planning etc).
- Awareness of the big picture issues, needs, interests and dynamics that affect families in business at the individual, family and business levels.
- Willingness to work collaboratively with complementary advisers from other disciplines.
Technical Adviser –
Guidelines for selecting trustworthy advisers
Understand your, your family’s and your business’s needs …. thoroughly, from every reasonable perspective. List them by major category (see below) . If you need help with this process, do get it. Ask around, read and research as much as you can, because having a good understanding of your needs provides focus and avoids a lot of angst, embarrassment, money and time. Time spent here is rarely wasted.
Based on Step 1 above, determine what type of attorney you need and what skills he/she should have. Also decide whether you prefer to work with a solo practitioner, a small firm, medium firm or large firm. This choice can have many implications on how your case is handled. All sizes of firms have pros and cons. If necessary, get help with this decision-making process. It is worth it!
Get personal recommendations from friends, relatives and business associates to advisers with great reputations in the area(s) you need to address. The world’s best litigation lawyer won’t be any use if you’re trying to increase family cohesion and a terrific estate planner can’t help a family member in need of psychotherapy.
Personality and style are important. Meet your prospective attorney and get a feel for his or her personality.
Communication style matters! How prompt is your prospective attorney at returning phone calls and/or e-mails? Is he/she clear in his/her communications with you?
Research your prospective attorney. Verify his/her bar standing with the bar association of the state where he/she is licensed. Google him/her. Ask questions. Check out Utah attorneys at http://utahbar.org/public/lawyer_referral_service_main.html.
If hiring an attorney who works for a law firm, find out how stable the firm is. Find out how long this firm’s present attorneys have worked for the firm. Try to track down former employees of the firm and ask questions. A high attorney turnover rate in a law firm may be symptomatic of dysfunctions that may impact your case.
Interview several attorneys. Steer clear of attorneys who seem primarily motivated by financial gain or who “badmouth” other attorneys. In addition to the objective criteria listed above, take into consideration your intuition.
Take the time to choose the right attorney for your case. Whether you need an attorney to help you with a short-term problem, or seeking to establish a long-term relationship with a firm or attorney, the time you invest in this process is a valuable investment.
They are smart. They understand business and can speak your language clearly.
There is good chemistry. When you talk to them, you feel understood. You feel you can trust them to be your advocate.
They are experienced. Look for the more senior partners in a law firm, and be sure that they will not be delegating your work to their junior partners.