Our Services

Family Business

Head of service Susan Hoyle

WJM is the market leading law firm for family businesses because everything we do is based on the reality that the interests of a family and their business are inseparable.  The complexity caused by the overlapping interests in a family business demands that we provide comprehensive help, covering what the family and the business need at all times. 

Many of the services on this website will be relevant to our clients, but we also provide services that are not readily available elsewhere such as:

  • Family constitutions that clarify how relationships among the owners, the board and the wider family can be governed.
  • Policies on employing and remunerating family members
  • Help with setting up a Family Council or Family Office
  • Facilitating family meetings
  • Practical advice about succession and retirement planning - a time when it can be challenging to balance the competing interests of the different generations and the business.

How we’re different:

  • We have several years’ experience in this field and have made a substantial contribution to the development of family business services in the UK.
  • Our lawyers maintain up-to-date technical knowledge in different specialisms and the latest thinking from the international field of family enterprise and entrepreneurship.
  • We give advice that balances the interests of the business, the family and individuals.
  • We communicate openly in clear, simple language, helping educate family members when appropriate.
  • We seek to know the family in depth and like to work with more than one generation of a business family.
  • We believe that empathy, patience and trustworthiness are important attributes of our services.
  • We try to be resourceful on clients’ behalf, spotting opportunities when we can and sharing information and contacts.
  • We promote collaboration among advisers.
  • We avoid conflicts of interest and respect client confidentiality.
  • We do not sell solutions or make decisions for our clients; we help them work out what’s best for their business and their family and then implement their solutions.

Why WJM?

We are enthusiastic champions of family entrepreneurship.  As well as providing practical help to our clients we are involved with other influential bodies that aim to improve the overall awareness of the economic and social contribution made by enterprising families.

Our Group