Advising families with sophisticated needs
Indiana Law's family office program — the first of its kind anywhere in the U.S. — prepares lawyers for careers in family offices and firms with family office service practices.
The family office program
Indiana Law's new family office program provides training for students interested in working for family offices and firms with family office service practices. The Law School is the first in the United States with a program focused specifically on this growing phenomenon.
Family offices 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. Family offices are estimated to hold assets exceeding $4 trillion, and a significant number of the most prestigious law firms have established family office practices. By capitalizing on this trend, the Law School is helping meet the growing demand for lawyers by offering a wide range of courses, placements, and mentoring experiences.
The law school plans to enroll about five highly credentialed students to the new program beginning in the fall of 2020. Students who are selected to participate in the program will have been admitted to the Law School with a significant scholarship and will have had experience in the business or investment field or an interest in earning a JD/MBA. They will also receive:
- A mentor from the program’s advisory council;
- A second-year research assistantship with the school’s business or tax law faculty;
- A third-year clinical position with one of the school’s business-related clinics.
The Law School expects to be able to offer students in the program summer placements and other positions with family offices, law firms, and other organizations with family-office service practices. The school also plans to develop a one-week intensive course during fall break in Chicago focused on family office practice and services.
Students who are selected for the program will benefit from a range of other opportunities, including taking courses at the Kelley School of Business and participating in the school’s Business Law Society, Tax Law Society, and transaction drafting competitions. The school is in the process of naming affiliated faculty to design and teach family office–related courses. An advisory council to advise the school and serve as mentors to students will also be appointed.
Students interested in learning more about the the family office program should contact the Office of Admissions at lawadmis@indiana.edu.