Family enterprise advisory · Chicago
Counsel for families
who intend to last.
Prospect Park advises a small number of families on governance, shareholder relations and the decisions that hold a family enterprise together across generations.
Begin a conversationWhom we serve
Families who think in generations, not quarters.
We work with founders, their families and the principals who serve them. Often there is a significant operating business, a recent liquidity event, or a third and fourth generation coming of age.
Our differentiator is simple. We have done this work from inside a family, not as its outside lawyer or accountant. We have set up a private trust company, moved capital from an operating business into an investment portfolio, and sat in the room with the founder, the children, the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren.
We work with founders, their families and the principals who serve them. We have done this work from inside a family: set up a private trust company, moved capital from an operating business into a portfolio, and sat in the room with four generations.
We take on few engagements, and we stay with them.
Our philosophy
Capital appreciation builds family wealth. Capital preservation protects it. Governance provides the discipline to balance the two, and to keep that balance aligned with the family’s goals as generations and circumstances change.
Where we work
Five areas, one concern: a family that can decide together.
I
Governance
Family constitutions, boards, councils and the rules that let a family decide well together. We build structures a family will actually use.
Constitutions, boards and councils a family will actually use.
II
Family and shareholder relations
Clear communication between the family members who own, those who manage, and those who do neither. Informed shareholders make better owners.
Informed shareholders make better owners.
III
Conflict resolution
Disagreement is normal in a family enterprise. We help families surface it early, address it directly, and keep it from becoming a rupture.
Surface disagreement early. Keep it from becoming a rupture.
IV
Succession and continuity
Preparing the next generation to lead, to own, or to step back with dignity. Continuity is planned, not inherited.
Continuity is planned, not inherited.
V
Capital transitions
Moving from an operating business to an investment portfolio, forming a private trust company, or preparing for a sale. We advise the family on the decisions, alongside its lawyers, bankers and investment advisors.
From operating business to portfolio: advice on the decisions, alongside the family’s other advisors.
Experience
Nearly two decades
Inside The Duchossois Group, a multi-generational Chicago family enterprise.
$5.1 billion
Lead counsel on the 2021 sale of The Chamberlain Group to Blackstone.
Private trust company
General Counsel and Director of The Travers Trust Company, the family’s private trust company.
NYSE: NLY
Independent Director, Annaly Capital Management.
Contact
Conversations begin privately.
Introductions from families, their principals and their advisors are welcome.
Introductions from families, their principals and their advisors are welcome.