Family Business Conflict Resolution - Legal Mediation

Conflicts in family businesses often have non-legal causes and therefore require non-legal solutions. For this reason, George Burns Esq. who has acted as mediator or arbitrator for over 100 cases, has joined Thomas Davidow & Associates, experts on family dynamics in a business setting. Mr. Burns and Dr. Davidow advise families on when the law can help, when it is not likely to help, and when a combination of legal and non-legal counseling will yield the best results.

Mr. Burns and Dr. Davidow provide conflict resolution for family businesses on two parallel tracks: They help families discern when a business or legal issue is a symptom of a deeper underlying family issue, and when it is genuinely an issue for lawyers and other business advisors. At the heart of their team approach is their readiness to move back and forth, at the right times, from situation to situation, between family and business concerns.

In the process, as issues large and small are resolved, family members learn how to communicate more effectively with each other, develop trust and thereby reduce the incidence and severity of conflict in the future. Over time family members can gather the strength and resolve to put into place planning strategies to address such issues as management selection and succession; governance; hiring of family and non-family officers, directors, and advisors; and more formal methods of dispute avoidance and resolution.