Families that have created significant wealth need counsel that offers both sophistication and simplicity. Via elegantly structured tax and estate planning strategies, family capital stacks, investment vehicles, and fierce adherence to family values, Carrington Coleman delivers this elusive combination for our clients. And we do so in a way that is both finely attuned and specifically tailored to them.

Whether for “classic” family operated businesses, family investment offices, or any structure in between, Carrington Coleman can meet the full range of a family office’s needs. Here’s how:

We make molehills out of mountains

Family offices have little time or patience for inefficient legal machinations. They count on Carrington Coleman for sleekly streamlined services, and solutions to even their toughest business and personal challenges. Clients can also count on our discretion, as well as our sensitivity to both family hierarchy and complex multi-generational dynamics.

Whether a family’s wealth originally stems from real estate, oil and gas, Wall Street, or other sources, we provide sage counsel in the context of that industry. We accomplish this by staffing smartly and partnering seamlessly with colleagues who possess significant knowledge and experience in those fields. We keep the big picture, and long term client relations, in mind at all times.

We are up to the task—and the test

Most family offices are extremely careful when it comes to doing due diligence on any advisor. They tend to start slowly, perhaps with a single, small matter. Or they may want a referral to another professional with suitable credentials and experience.  They assess our approachability and responsiveness, common sense, how we work with other advisors, how resourceful and efficient we are in terms of staffing, and the insight we bring them.

We understand and welcome tests of our mettle, and truly enjoy being assessed in this way. We are willing to put in the work.  We are confident we will demonstrate our value.

We are resourceful

We listen carefully to our family office’s need for professional assistance inside and outside the legal profession.  Daily we take the measure of the family’s operating style, priorities in professional relationships, legal compliance goals, and need for responsiveness.  We apply our rich understanding of the family office values in referring our clients to other trusted professionals.  For legal matters, we have built our firm’s professional capabilities to match the demands of our family office clients, but we cannot be all things to all people. So, when we lack expertise or have insufficient experience to support a client’s needs, we pride ourselves on having a deep well of bar contacts to get our clients expert, timely, and efficient assistance. Our clients appreciate this dimension of our service and our willingness to act without self-interest in guiding them.

Our clients are our legacy

We understand and respect our clients’ stewardship goals, as well as their desire to create and preserve a legacy. Therefore, we nurture a family’s history and values—or the hopes, fears, and motivating factors that can trump even significant tax savings.

Perhaps more than any other area of our practice, the family office space is all about relationships. We are honored to have served multiple generations of some of the most dynamic and influential families in Texas and across the country – some for more than 30 years. We consider our clients, and the work we collectively do for them, to be our legacy—and we work hard to build upon that legacy every day.