Adapt and thrive.

Cunningham, James

Abstract

Family businesses are unique, peculiar and without question set-aside from non-family rivals. Dealing with them can be an emotional roller-coaster for both practitioner and client. The academic discussion surrounding family firms over the past fifteen to twenty years has attempted to develop a particular understanding of their support requirements. However, by way of a disclaimer, much of the academic research in this area has been sporadic in nature. Inconsistent views on best practice when dealing with family business clients is symptomatic of a broader concern in the field of family business research; where definitional warring and scholarly bias do little to clarify the minefield of issues a practitioner may come across. Pragmatically, this article refines the academy's understanding of family businesses by illuminating the evolving roles of the legal advisor and presenting some of the more specific ways in which advisors must adapt their approach when dealing such special clients.

Citation

CUNNINGHAM, J. 2014. Adapt and thrive. Private client advisor, 20(1), pages 16-19.

• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Nov 30, 2014
• Publication Date: Nov 30, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jan 20, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 20, 2015
• Print ISSN: 2045-8142
• Publisher: ARK Group
• Keywords: Family businesses; Legal advice; Litigation; Mediation; SMEs
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1121
• Contract Date: Jan 20, 2015