Family Offices Rush To Hire Legal Counsel In Time For Regulation

Just under a third of all Family Offices say they will hire a legal professional for their Family Office over the next 12 months.

This comes as the community ramps up its protection to impeding regulation set to shake the very foundation of Family Offices in the near future.

Family Offices across the world were hit with the Archegos Scandal in 2021 which sent shockwaves throughout the entire community. It was met with talk of a lobby to increase regulation and disclosure which was then followed by a Democrat-approved bill to require Family Offices with more than $750M to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Now, the US Treasury Department has proposed that corporations and LLC’s disclose their name, date of birth, address and proof of identification in a bid to combat money laundering which only adds further concern to Family Offices who are claiming they will be uniquely susceptible to theft, fraud and kidnapping if passed.

While regulation will be both difficult to pass and even harder to enforce, Family Offices are arming up. They are after all a uniquely risk adverse group of individuals and are looking to legal professionals for the answer.

29% of Family Offices told Agreus that they would be looking to hire a legal professional for their Family Office to take on this role over the next 12 months and so we thought it might be useful to offer a little information about this type of Family Office professional.

An in-house legal counsel can offer a wealth of value to a Family Office which looks to hire them. They can review and advise on current investment structures, planning and succession opportunities. They can provide a comprehensive range of legal services across the Family Office, its transactions or initiatives. They can avoid damage to a family’s reputation and financial interests, help to coordinate between service advisors and the family, help to coordinate internal meetings, advise on legal compliance and simply, offer a perspective that no other family member or employee can bring.

They also cost considerably less than outsourced legal partners. In-house Legal Counsel receive an average salary of £150,000 in the UK. They receive an average bonus of 21% – 30% bringing their average take-home at £195K. In the USA, this differs slightly as the same group of professionals receive an average salary of $198,000 and an average bonus of 0% – 50% (with an equal number of professionals receiving no bonus and half of salary as a bonus). This puts the average take home for US Family Office Legal Counsel as $297K compared.

Helping you save on costs, and reputational damage, is it time for you to join the 29% of Family Offices hiring a legal professional this year?