We provide comprehensive legal support to family-owned and closely held businesses, helping them navigate unique challenges and opportunities. Our services cover succession planning, governance structures, dispute resolution, and strategic transactions, all tailored to the specific needs of family enterprises.
Overview
Family and closely held businesses form a significant part of the Australian economy, ranging from small local enterprises to large, multi-generational corporations. These businesses face distinct challenges, including balancing family dynamics with business decisions, managing succession, and maintaining harmony among shareholders who often have close personal relationships.
In Australia, these businesses operate within a complex legal framework that includes the Corporations Act 2001, partnership laws, and trust legislation. Additionally, family law considerations can significantly impact business operations and ownership structures. The intersection of business and personal interests in these enterprises requires a nuanced approach to legal advice and strategy.
Our approach
We take a holistic and long-term view when advising family and closely held businesses. Our approach begins with gaining a deep understanding of the family’s values, business goals, and interpersonal dynamics. We work closely with other professional advisors, such as accountants and financial planners, to ensure comprehensive strategies that address both business and personal objectives.
In succession planning, we help families develop robust plans that ensure business continuity while addressing equitable treatment of family members. This often involves crafting shareholders’ agreements, establishing family councils, and structuring trusts to manage wealth transfer effectively.
For governance matters, we assist in developing structures that promote clear decision-making processes and manage potential conflicts of interest. This may include creating boards with independent directors, establishing family charters, or implementing dispute resolution mechanisms.
When conflicts arise, we prioritise resolution methods that preserve relationships while protecting business interests. We are experienced in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution techniques tailored to the sensitive nature of family business disputes.
Representative experience
- Developed a comprehensive succession plan for a third-generation manufacturing business, including restructuring ownership, establishing a family council, and creating a management transition strategy.
- Assisted a family-owned retail chain in resolving a shareholder dispute, negotiating a buy-out agreement that preserved family relationships and ensured business continuity.
- Advised on the restructuring of a closely held property development company, implementing a trust structure that facilitated efficient profit distribution and asset protection.
- Guided a family business through a generational transition, including drafting a new shareholders’ agreement and establishing a board with independent directors to professionalise governance.
- Represented family members in a mediation to resolve conflicts over business strategy and dividend policy, resulting in a mutually agreeable solution that avoided litigation.
- Advised on the sale of a family-owned business to a larger corporation, structuring the transaction to meet the family’s financial and legacy objectives.