06-02-2008
Resolving Family Disputes
Business disputes can be highly charged and emotional at the best of times and none more so when you add into the mix potential sibling rivalry and possible parent-child conflict.
Philip Radford, head of BPE Solicitors’ dispute resolution team, offers some words of wisdom to family businesses in Gloucestershire looking to keep business fall-outs under control.
As the family business case studies included in this supplement have illustrated, Gloucestershire is blessed with a number of highly successful family businesses.
But talk to any number of them on an “off-the-record” basis and I am sure that many would admit to having had to resolve a number of potential disputes along the way. Those that have survived to tell the tale are likely to have managed potential disputes proactively, rather than sweeping disagreements under the carpet.
It is impossible to manage conflict by avoiding it. Planning ahead and thinking about how you would resolve a potential business fall-out is time (and therefore money) well spent for most family businesses, whatever their size. Some of the most successful family businesses that BPE has worked with over the years have relied upon a family constitution or charter to help govern family participation.
This can include everything from outlining leadership and management issues, voting rights, succession rules (always a bone of contention), how individual’s performance will be evaluated and a possible salary and equity guide. It should certainly reflect a family’s shared ethic and business culture.
This document does not need to gather dust; it should be treated as a working, living document, which should be referred to regularly and certainly at the first sign of a family conflict.
Successful family businesses keep lines of communication open and do not allow issues to fester. Those involved need to be prepared to talk and listen. It may sound obvious but regular family meetings, where grievances can be aired, can often tackle issues before they become too big for a family to handle on their own.
Bringing someone in from the outside, to help resolve a dispute, may be impossible to avoid for some family businesses. Relying upon the support of a professional, with a toolkit of potential solutions, including negotiation, litigation and mediation, can often speed up the resolution process, before the family, and business, at the middle of the dispute, suffers as a result of internal wrangling.
No business is worth causing irreconcilable damage to family relationships. However, in my experience, most families rarely fail to reach consensus, even if it means accepting a little outside help along with way.
Philip Radford is a partner within BPE's Commercial Dispute Resolution team. Companies wanting advice should contact him on 01242 248 247 or email philip.radford@bpe.co.uk
Philip Radford, head of BPE Solicitors’ dispute resolution team, offers some words of wisdom to family businesses in Gloucestershire looking to keep business fall-outs under control.
As the family business case studies included in this supplement have illustrated, Gloucestershire is blessed with a number of highly successful family businesses.
But talk to any number of them on an “off-the-record” basis and I am sure that many would admit to having had to resolve a number of potential disputes along the way. Those that have survived to tell the tale are likely to have managed potential disputes proactively, rather than sweeping disagreements under the carpet.
It is impossible to manage conflict by avoiding it. Planning ahead and thinking about how you would resolve a potential business fall-out is time (and therefore money) well spent for most family businesses, whatever their size. Some of the most successful family businesses that BPE has worked with over the years have relied upon a family constitution or charter to help govern family participation.
This can include everything from outlining leadership and management issues, voting rights, succession rules (always a bone of contention), how individual’s performance will be evaluated and a possible salary and equity guide. It should certainly reflect a family’s shared ethic and business culture.
This document does not need to gather dust; it should be treated as a working, living document, which should be referred to regularly and certainly at the first sign of a family conflict.
Successful family businesses keep lines of communication open and do not allow issues to fester. Those involved need to be prepared to talk and listen. It may sound obvious but regular family meetings, where grievances can be aired, can often tackle issues before they become too big for a family to handle on their own.
Bringing someone in from the outside, to help resolve a dispute, may be impossible to avoid for some family businesses. Relying upon the support of a professional, with a toolkit of potential solutions, including negotiation, litigation and mediation, can often speed up the resolution process, before the family, and business, at the middle of the dispute, suffers as a result of internal wrangling.
No business is worth causing irreconcilable damage to family relationships. However, in my experience, most families rarely fail to reach consensus, even if it means accepting a little outside help along with way.
Philip Radford is a partner within BPE's Commercial Dispute Resolution team. Companies wanting advice should contact him on 01242 248 247 or email philip.radford@bpe.co.uk
