Owners of family businesses face the same challenges as any entrepreneur: building a management team, growing the business, facing competition, managing cash flow and capital needs, employee issues and tax obligations. In addition, family-owned businesses face other challenges that are unique to balancing the goals and needs of the business with those of the family. Examples include the intrusion of personal issues into business matters, tensions over various members’ roles in the business, balancing the financial rewards of family members active in the business with the interests of those outside the business, and tensions between family and key non-family employees.

Over the years, the FBL Group members — Ken Luer, Joan Velazquez and Reeve Chudd — have represented all types of family businesses, from start-ups to large, well-established companies that are leaders in their markets. Ken, Joan and Reeve combine their broad expertise and their special perspective to guide you and your business through all the challenges you will face, working with you and your other advisors in the following areas:

• Defining the roles—ownership, management and otherwise—of various family members in the business.
• Forming a well-planned legal structure—as a corporation, partnership or limited liability company—for the family's liability protection and tax savings.
• Taking steps to ensure that ownership of the business remains completely within the family in the event of the death or divorce of family members.
• Creating incentive-based compensation arrangements for both family members and key non-family employees.
• Guiding you through the minefield of employment law and the typical employment issues that arise with both family and non-family employees.
• Providing sound legal advice in your negotiation of financings, leases, strategic alliances and other significant agreements.
• Reducing business and personal taxes through well-tested planning techniques.
• Leasing and acquiring real estate for your business operations and family investments.
• Protecting and exploiting your trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property.
• Expanding your enterprise, through acquiring other businesses and/or creating new subsidiaries and operating units.
• Fashioning a carefully constructed estate plan to meet your objectives of fair distribution of family assets and tax savings.
• Helping you plan and execute your exit strategy, through an orderly transition to the next generation or a successful sale of the business.

Ken, Joan and Reeve have each practiced for over 25 years and have combined expertise in corporate and business law, tax, financing, real estate and estate planning.  Their broad experience is supported by the full range of Ervin, Cohen & Jessup’s resources. ECJ is one of Southern California's premier law firms, serving family-owned businesses and other entrepreneurial clients with practical, hands-on advice and representation for the full range of their legal needs. For more information about our representation of family-owned businesses in Los Angeles and throughout California, contact us.

For our recent publications concerning Family owned businesses, click here.

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