Private Clients and Family Offices

Overview

We advise private clients including families, high net worth individuals and family offices on trusts, wealth management, estate planning, tax planning, asset protection, Canadian immigration and Hong Kong immigration as well as on the making of investments. Our work in this area leverages our market leading practices in financial services regulation, hedge funds and private equity, for which we have been consistently internationally recognized by leading industry publications including the International Financial Law Review 1000 (IFLR1000), the Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and Asialaw Profiles.

Our work includes advising on the following:

• helping clients set up trusts as a means to protect wealth and family assets from erosion through taxation or creditor action (including by hostile former spouses), including the creation and administration of family trusts, offshore trusts, discretionary trusts, testamentary trusts and reserved power trusts

• assisting clients in setting up family offices and advising on applicable regulatory issues, including the potential need to apply for SFC licenses from the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (“SFO”), and possible options for structuring family offices to minimize the possibility of triggering SFC licensing requirements

• helping clients unlock capital from their businesses or raise capital for their businesses, including by advising on borrowing and lending arrangements to be secured by clients’ businesses and assets to provide personal liquidity or liquidity for their businesses

• advising on outside investments into client businesses, whether by private equity or strategic investors and guiding clients through the structuring of deals and helping them address due diligence enquiries and prepare investment documentation, including share subscription agreements and shareholder agreements so as to maintain an appropriate level of control or influence for the client and their family

• advising on investments into hedge funds or private equity, including reviewing limited partnership agreements (“LPAs”), private placement memoranda (“PPMs”) and term sheets, negotiating side letters, preparing investment agreements or shareholder agreements to facilitate stakes in general partners (“GPs”) or investment management groups, reviewing co-investment arrangements to invest alongside private equity funds in which commitments have been given and providing tax advice on appropriate tax neutral or tax optimal structure for investments into hedge funds and commitments to private equity

• advising on the opening of accounts, including discretionary asset management accounts, with private banks and other private wealth managers.