Evolving in Corporate Governance - CASE 2

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BUSINESS

Legal services office formed by a small family group.

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CHALLENGE

There is no clarity of governance practices and processes compatible with their size and maturity. Two partners accumulating functions, facing the need to better direct the business and practice their roles both as governance agents - strategy drivers - and as management agents.

DEVELOPMENT

Considering the size, history, moment and maturity of the firm, the project addressed, among other aspects of strategic and management nature, the relations between the two partners as members of a family (aspects of family governance), as agents of corporate governance (partners as drivers of strategy), as management agents (partners as managers of their respective teams) and the proposition of responsibilities between them.

Due to the characteristics described above, it was necessary to deal only with aspects of family and nascent corporate governance. A conceptual and programmatic formalism incompatible with the circumstances was avoided.

After interviews and analyzes, it was recommended:

• Separate the status of family members from that of members;
• Alignment between the partners to obtain uniformity in the purpose and the general strategy of the office;
• Ratified the responsibility of the partners to provide strategic guidance to the office and to exercise this guiding role with convergence and clarity;
• The need for partners to align governance and management concepts, practices and processes among themselves.

 

DELIVERABLE

• Explicit guidance on the roles of members as members of the family, the family office and as agents of governance and management.
• Recommendations for the practical exercise of the roles mentioned by the partners.

RESULTS

Greater clarity on the strategic direction of the office.

Ratification of the separation between the status of family members, partners and managers.

Evidence of the operability of these roles with less potential for conflict and greater productivity.