Wright Johnston and Mackenzie Solicitors

Family Governance

As the family grows and becomes more complex, a more sophisticated governance structure is required.

While there are a small number of family members, important discussions concerning the family can usually still take place spontaneously which usually means they take place over dinner, at weekends or on holiday. However, this becomes more difficult as the family expands.

In the report "Benchmarking the Single Family Office: Identifying the Performance Drivers", the Wharton Global Family Alliance at the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with IESE Business School recognised that:

“The more you invest in a governance structure for your [family office] the more you communicate and interact with the family members and the more you invest in the education of the next generation, the better the performance will be. Moreover, we found these families to be happier than others as they were able to balance their personal wealth with entrepreneurial creativity, philanthropy and leadership in society, to serve as positive role models.”

Recognising that no two families are the same, we work with families to develop bespoke systems of governance which will serve the specific needs of their families and allow them to achieve their own goals and aspirations.