IU law school to offer program on protection of families of high net worth

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is taking advantage of a growing need for a specialized field of law for families with very high net worth.

The law school has launched a program that trains students interested in working for family offices.

Families that have very high net worth often require specialized services for wealth protection, tax advisement and succession planning, all of which are based in law. Given this range of assets, family office structures help insulate the family’s wealth from potential liabilities.

“The number of family offices in the U.S. is increasing at a dramatic rate,” said Austen Parrish, dean of the Maurer School of Law. “They are capable of conducting sophisticated transactions that were traditionally the province of big companies or private-equity firms, and they also provide a complete range of traditional estate planning, real estate, tax planning, and wealth-advising services.”

The law school plans to admit about five students to the new program beginning in the fall of 2020. Parrish says qualified candidates will either have experience in the business or investment field.

“This innovative program should be ideal for talented and ambitious students who are applying to law school from accounting firms, investment banks or financial institutions, and who understand how working with family offices can be an attractive and intellectually challenging career path,” said Michael Flannery, CEO of Duchossois Capital Management and an IU alum.

Flannery will serve on the advisory council for the program. IU says the Maurer law school will be the first in the U.S. with a program focused specifically on this growing area. The program will offer a wide range of courses, placements and mentoring experiences.