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Family Business General Counsel Seminar

Family Business General Counsel Seminar

Our strategic partner Katten hosted a day of learning and mingling dedicated to current and aspiring family business general counsels! The program featured a strong mix of industry giants and favorites, family business friends, and LUC alumni and faculty.

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Agenda

8:15 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Welcome
8:35 a.m. Governance Considerations for Family-Owned Businesses
In this session we will discuss pain points in implementing family business governing documents, director and manager fiduciary duties, and merger and acquisition considerations for directors and managers.

Speakers:
9:25 a.m. Estate and Wealth Transfer Planning for Family Business Owners 
In this session we address core estate planning considerations and the importance of coordination with the governing documents of the family business; Federal and Illinois estate tax landscape and the exemption changes on the horizon at end of 2025; estate tax savings strategies business owners can use to preserve, protect, and tax-efficiently transfer their wealth

Speakers:
  • Adam Damerow, Partner - Private Wealth, Katten and LUC alumnus
  • Charles Harris, Partner - Private Wealth, Katten
  • Tye Klooster, Partner - Private Wealth, Katten
  • Mary Buddig (moderator), member of the Loyola Family Business Center (Carl Buddig & Co.), former in-house counsel for Town & Country Homes, and LUC alumna
10:15 a.m. Break
10:25 am. Developing and Expanding a Family Office
This session will analyze the various practical and legal considerations family business owners and other high-net-worth families evaluate when developing or expanding an existing family office. Specific topics to be covered include breadth and depth of services a family office provides; different types of family office structures, including business and tax considerations; considerations for outsourcing family office services, rather than providing in house; when a family should consider/not consider creating a family office.

Speakers:
  • Robin Letchinger, Former Chief Legal Officer and Assistant Secretary, Sasser Family Holdings, Inc.; current Board Member, UCW Logistics and Hoffberger Holdings, Inc.; and Partner, Family Enterprise Practice Chair, Litigation Practice Co-Chair, Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres
  • Josh Kanter, CEO and Founder, leafplanner and President, Chicago Financial, Inc.
  • Saul Rudo, Partner and Chair - Transactional Tax Department, Katten
11:15 a.m. Lessons from Ethics Counsel
When do you bring in an expert outside the business? Join us for a conversational presentation between a family business general counsel and her ethics counsel. The panel will speak to the ethical issues facing family counsel, providing scenarios, insurance considerations, and various places to seek counsel. The group will also discuss budget planning and managing legal fees.

Speakers:
12:05 p.m. Networking Lunch (provided)
12:35 p.m. Practical Considerations & Hybrid Role
Learn more about unique issues facing legal leads in family held businesses. How can you effect change for the business from this role? Topics will inculde title, authority, and getting the job done; establishing a culture of responsibility and respect; addressing employment contracts, compensation, performance evaluation, and severance for NFEs and family members; creating or updating bylaws; managing legal fees and responsibilities.

Speakers:
  • Laurel Bellows, Former President, American Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association; Founding Managing Principal, The Bellows Law Group (focused on senior executive employment); LUC alumna
  • Lauren Novak, CHRO and Employment Counsel, Corrugated Supplies Company
1:25 p.m. Corporate Transparency Act 
This session will provide an overview of the Corporate Transparency Act, its effective date, and implications for family business owners; an analysis of common business structures and reporting requirements of the same under the CTA; and recommendations for compliance with the CTA.

Speaker:
  • Caitlin Kelly, Associate - Private Wealth, Katten
  • Dan Cotter, Attorney and Conselor, Howard & Howard and Former President, Chicago Bar Association
2:30 p.m. Event concludes

Event info

Date: Thursday, June 22
Time: 8:15 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Katten Chicago Office, 525 W. Monroe Street, Chicago

Katten is an accredited provider of MCLE in Illinois and California. Katten has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an Accredited Provider of continuing legal education in the State of New York. This program is pending approval in these states for up to 4.5 Illinois and California General CLE credits and up to 6 NY Professional Practice credits subject to review of final presentation materials and attendance documentation. (Katten will seek ethics credit approval for any segment(s) that might potentially qualify for ethics credit). This program is suitable for transitional and non-transitional attorneys. If any attendees are licensed in TX, Katten will apply for CLE credit with the State Bar of Texas, post-program. Our firm is not accredited for any other jurisdictions or professional accreditations; however, we will make agendas, speaker biographies and presentation materials (contingent upon speaker consent) available to those attorneys who wish to file an individual CLE application in their licensed jurisdiction. Katten makes no promises as to whether other states will approve this content for CLE.