ARIS
Protecting the world’s
wealthiest families
Asset Protection
Reputation Management
Intelligence
Security
Key Contacts
Nick Warr
[email protected]
Mustafa Hussain
[email protected]
ARIS
This brief is a concise and practical guide for wealthy individuals
and families. It addresses some of the unique legal protection
issues you face, including advice on how to:
Protect
Your Assets
Create robust legal structures to minimise risk of
attack against your assets through taxes or claims
(see Asset Protection on page 4)
Manage Your
Reputation
Build goodwill and deal with crises, whether in the
media, online, affecting yourself or your business
(see Reputation Management on page 16)
Procure
Intelligence
Gather and analyse insightful and strategic
information that is vital to informing your decision
making (see Intelligence on page 34)
Ensure
Security
Understand and prepare for the risks you
and your family or business face
(see Security on page 42)
The brief also highlights key issues in other legal services areas
that may be relevant for wealthy individuals and families including:

Commercial Disputes; and

Corporate
Taylor Wessing is a leading full service law firm with a
network of offices around the world. We offer a fully
integrated service for high net worth individuals and families.
We are one of the few international law firms able to assist
clients with both Private Client and Corporate Law advice
as one. We would be delighted to discuss with you your
legal protection needs.
Key Contacts:
Nick Warr
Partner
+44 (0)20 7300 4232
[email protected]
Mustafa Hussain
Partner
+44 (0)20 7300 4924
[email protected]
Please contact us for further information or to
arrange a confidential briefing tailored to your
particular circumstances.
Contents
Asset Protection�����������������������������������������������������������������04
Reputation Management������������������������������������������������16
Intelligence����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 34
Security������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 42
Legal Services����������������������������������������������������������������������50
Taylor Wessing���������������������������������������������������������������������55
Protecting the world’s
wealthiest families
02
>
ARIS
03
Asset Protection
Asset protection involves structuring your
assets, through a variety of vehicles, in
order to confidentially protect those assets
from third party claims. Potential areas of
exposure that an asset protection structure
would seek to mitigate include insolvency,
divorce, inheritance, forced heirship rules,
political instability and tax.
The ways in which assets are structured and the
vehicles used within the structure will very much
depend on the client, his/her needs and the assets
concerned. However, commonly, this will include
the use of a trust, or foundation, or family limited
partnership, or company, or a combination of all
or any of the same.
The risks associated with not taking steps to protect
your assets are that they are vulnerable to claims by third
parties (be they creditors, divorcing spouses, heirs) and
may, as a consequence, be significantly eroded.
04
Protect Your Assets
Protect
Assets
05
Protect Your Assets
It makes no difference if you are based in the UK or
otherwise. The same risks in terms of the vulnerabilities
of assets will remain the same to some degree,
irrespective of location. However, if you are based
outside of the UK (and even if you are based in the
UK) it may well be the case that UK structures are not
suitable for your asset protection needs. Factors to
take into account will include: where you are currently
living, where you were born, where your assets are
located, the type of vehicle(s) suitable for your asset
protection structuring and the jurisdiction that is best
suited to fit those factors.
The degree of complexity involved in an asset
protection structure will vary according to your
particular situation (and can be tailored according to
your tolerance of complexity). For example, a simple
asset protection structure might comprise a trust
of some form, holding the relevant assets. However,
this may be more complicated by, for example, the
introduction of one or more companies, used to hold
the assets for the trust; or by the introduction of
a private trust company to run the trust (and the
introduction of other structures to hold the private
trust company).
06
Protect Your Assets
Asset protection is worth considering irrespective of the
number of assets that you own. It may be that you have
only one or two assets of significant value, or you may
have a multitude of lower value assets, which together
equate to something of significant value – either way,
the need to put in place a structure to protect those
assets and their values from erosion are equally valid.
An asset holding structure can take into account
concerns regarding vulnerability of your assets on
divorce, claims to your estate that might be made on
your death and the mitigation of tax.
Divorce
Where divorce is concerned, an asset holding structure,
controlled by someone other than yourself – for example
a trust, a foundation or, to some extent, a family limited
partnership – is a step towards protecting your
assets from a claim by a divorcing spouse. Additional
considerations, which could serve to increase the
protection offered by such a structure, would include:
(i)the powers and rights granted to you and ensuring
that these cannot be interpreted as giving you
effective ownership of the assets or rights to call
for the assets; and
(ii)choice of jurisdiction governing the asset holding
structure (see below).
07
Protect Your Assets
Inheritance
In many countries, inheritance law is such that certain
persons are entitled to a portion of a deceased’s
estate on their death, irrespective of the terms of the
deceased’s Will. Even in the UK, where there is the
principle of “testamentary freedom” (that is, a principle
that you are free to leave your estate to whomever
you should wish), this principle is tempered to some
extent by the Inheritance (Provision for Family and
Dependants) Act 1975 – which allows widows and
widowers and certain dependants of the deceased
to make a claim against the deceased’s estate in the
case that there has not been reasonable financial
provision made for them under the deceased’s Will.
Structuring all or part of your estate in such a way
that, essentially, your assets fall outside of your estate
during your lifetime – i.e. by transferring those assets
to an asset protection structure – should assist
in protecting those assets against any such claim.
Considerations such as your domicile and the location
of your assets will need to be taken into account in
deciding the best structuring method; and it may
be that it is better to leave some assets out of the
structure, for example assets that are located in the
jurisdiction of your domicile.
08
Protect Your Assets
Fiscal
An asset protection structure can serve to mitigate
your exposure to tax; and indeed, in all structure
planning, we would look to recommend the most tax
efficient structure. Common types of tax mitigation
through structuring would include:
(i)protecting assets from UK inheritance tax for long
term UK resident, non-UK domiciled individuals –
i.e. to protect the individual’s worldwide assets
from UK inheritance tax in the event of the
individual becoming ‘deemed domiciled’ in the UK;
(ii)protecting assets from inheritance tax (be that
inheritance tax due in the UK or another country)
by segregating them from your free estate;
09
Protect Your Assets
(iii)protecting yourself from duplication of
multi‑jurisdiction taxes; for example, where you are
a US citizen or green card holder and consequently
subject to US income tax on a worldwide basis,
whilst also being subject to local taxes in another
country where you are currently residing.
Although most asset protection structures will require
you to hand over the control of your assets to a third
party, it is possible to structure the arrangements
so that you have some comfort in doing this. Where
trusts are concerned, options would include giving you
power to appoint and remove your trustee, giving you
investment powers, appointing a protector with a power
of veto over certain of the trustees’ powers, and using
a private trust company (that is ultimately controlled by
you and/or other family members) as trustee.
Alternatively, you might wish to consider other asset
holding vehicles, such as foundations (where the
structure is more akin to a company and you have
certain rights over the council members), or family
limited partnerships (where you would retain legal title,
where appropriate, to and control of the assets but
for the benefit of other family members as well as, to
some extent, yourself). Custody arrangements may
also be of interest – where, although the administrator
of the structure would need to be the ultimate
10
Protect Your Assets
controller of the assets concerned, those assets could be placed
with a custodian with whom you are familiar and feel comfortable.
Simple steps such as requiring your administrator to provide you
with regular reports should also help.
Your choice of jurisdiction is important for a number
of reasons:
(iv) Legal infrastructure;
(v) Regulation of the industry;
(vi)Privacy;
(vii)Asset protection; and
(viii)Tax.
Choosing a country with good legal infrastructure
will give some element of certainty in the treatment
and outcome of any legal situation that might arise.
Choosing a country with good regulation of the
relevant vehicle (i.e. trust or foundations) will mean
that you can take comfort that the person you are
appointing to administer your structure is subject to
strict regulations and therefore is less likely to ‘run off’
with or embezzle your assets. If privacy is a concern,
then a jurisdiction where there is no requirement to
register your asset holding structure will be a priority.
And finally, different jurisdictions treat third party claims
against asset holding structures in different ways.
11
Protect Your Assets
Therefore, thought would need to be given to your
choice of jurisdiction – both for the governing law of
your structure and the place of administration. For
example, Bermuda, Cayman, Bahamas and the British
Virgin Islands have specific trust laws that protect
against foreign claims (for example where that other
jurisdiction does not recognise trusts or where there
are forced heirship issues), whereas, although the
Channel Islands also have similar laws, their courts
have been known to approve orders granted by foreign
courts. Tax is also relevant (as always) and generally
we would seek to locate the asset holding structure in
a nil or low tax jurisdiction.
It may be difficult advice to receive, that you must
divest yourself of all your assets and put these in
the control of a third party, who you do not know
personally and, in all likelihood, who may not even be
in the same country as you. The question that often
arises in this case is “what safeguards are there to
ensure that the administrator does not run off with
all my assets?”. Generally speaking, it is impossible to
give you absolute comfort in this respect, because one
of the key elements in asset protection structuring is
the ability to show that you no longer have effective
ownership of the assets or rights to call for the assets.
12
Protect Your Assets
However, there are a number of checks that can be
put in place to increase your sense of comfort – such
as retaining certain limited powers (i.e. appointment
and removal of the trustee), choosing a highly
regulated jurisdiction for the administration of the
structure and indeed a jurisdiction where there is a
good legal infrastructure (should you need to bring an
action against the administrator), and ensuring that
your administrator has professional indemnity insurance
of a satisfactory level.
What is a trust?
A trust is a separate legal arrangement, which is distinct from
the original owner of the assets. Owners can settle their
assets into the trust and independent trustees will then be
responsible for the preservation, growth and distribution of
that wealth. Trustees can include close friends or members of
family such as spouses and children. This gives the owner the
comfort of knowing his or her wishes will be carried out.
The separation of ownership enables tax efficiency
(particularly in respect of inheritance tax) and avoidance
of legalities, publicity and unwanted probate procedures
when the owner passes away. The trust can continue after
the death and is flexible enough to provide for dependants,
make distributions or carry out defined functions.
13
Protect Your Assets
What is a foundation?
In the same way as for a trust, a foundation is a separate
legal arrangement, which is distinct from the original owner
of the assets. It is seen as a hybrid of a company and a trust.
The foundation is administered by a council and that council
is monitored by a guardian. The foundation can be established
for the benefit of individuals, or simply for a particular purpose.
In the same way as for a trust, a foundation enables tax
efficient avoidance of legalities and unwanted probate
procedures. Generally speaking, a foundation will need to be
registered and so the degree of privacy is somewhat less
than with a trust. In the same way as for a trust, a foundation
can continue after the death of the founder and is flexible
enough to provide for dependants, make distributions or
carry out defined functions.
14
Protect Your Assets
What is a family limited partnership?
A family limited partnership (or “FLP”) is a limited partnership
tailored to the needs of the family concerned. A FLP is
governed by a limited partnership agreement and is made up
of one general partner (who is responsible for the day-to-day
administration of the FLP) and one or more limited partners
(who are essentially ‘silent partners’).
Unlike a trust or foundation, the partners of the FLP have
an absolute right to a share of the underlying assets and the
FLP is treated as transparent for fiscal purposes. However,
restrictions and constraints concerning access to the FLP
assets are built into the partnership constitution, so as to
protect against third party claims and against depletion by the
partner himself (for example where the partner is a minor or
young adult). A FLP can continue after death of the general
partner, albeit that that partner’s interest in the FLP will pass
according to his Will (or the relevant succession laws).
15
Reputation Management
For both individuals and businesses alike,
reputation is a significant asset. It requires
care and attention and active management.
Reputation in a trading name, brand name
or individual’s name, when nurtured,
protected and managed, is what generates
goodwill and market presence for an entity
or individual. From a personal perspective,
reputation is obviously very important in
shaping the relationships we form (whether
personal or business relationships).
Once reputation has been established, it must be
protected. While it often takes years to build an
enviable reputation, it can take just moments for it
to come toppling down. With online publishing ever
increasing and with the ability of news to spread
throughout the world at huge speed via social media,
this becomes ever more the case.
16
Manage Your Reputation
Manage
Reputation
17
Manage Your Reputation
If reputation comes under threat or is damaged by a
crisis, it is essential to ensure the right strategy. There are
many strands to designing and implementing a reputation
management strategy. These can broadly be broken
down into two different categories: proactive measures
and reactive measures. Clearly, the more that can be
done at the proactive stage, the better.
Proactive Reputation Management
Effective reputation management is not just about
recovering from a crisis. Individuals and businesses that
are prepared for adverse events are ultimately better at
managing those events, protecting their reputation and
any fall out.
Assembling a team
In order to prepare, it is essential to have a team at
hand to advise both on day-to-day operations and the
accompanying legal risks, and also on how an individual
or business presents itself to the media.
The team – usually a combination of lawyers and a
Public Relations (“PR”) agency – should work together
to devise a strategy so that they all understand their
own and each others’ roles if a crisis happens.
18
Manage Your Reputation
To do this effectively, it is essential to choose a team
that understands the individual’s or the business’
motivations and industry.
Reputation management audit
A reputation management audit can also be a very useful
starting point. The focus is on maintaining or taking control
of an individual’s or a business’ reputation. These are the
sorts of matters that such an audit could concentrate on:

Identifying the message(s) that an individual or
business wants to portray to the public;

Assessing what information is already out there which
impacts on reputation. Starting close to home, first
things to consider are communications over which the
individual or business has direct control, for example its
own website(s) and Facebook profile/Twitter account(s).

Where an individual or business wants to enhance its
reputation, ensuring a good working relationship with
the media. When individuals and businesses fail to
communicate clearly, honestly or effectively with the
media, the media is sometimes prompted to delve
into the situation and push their findings (particularly,
negative findings) up the news agenda.
19
Manage Your Reputation
Assessing whether an individual’s privacy is adequately
protected. In order to do this, an assessment must be
made of what is publicly known about that person’s
personal life and where there is potential for private
information to be leaked. We are increasingly seeing
press revelations of the private misdemeanours or
relationships of business men and women. Aside from
these revelations being extremely upsetting for the
individuals concerned and their families, they can also
seriously damage any business connected to that
individual, with a detrimental effect on share price.
Recently, the courts have made it clear that those
who court publicity, and who speak to the media about
aspects of their private lives, will find it harder to prevent
publication of revelations about their private lives, and
also sometimes photographs supporting those stories.

Ensuring confidentiality agreements are put in place
or at least confidentiality clauses inserted into the
employment and/or service agreements of anyone
working with or for the individual concerned.

Identifying appropriate spokespeople and ensuring
that they are media trained. The right spokesperson
is critical. Where more than one spokesperson is
appointed, it is important that a policy is agreed and
that a consistent message is given out to the media.
Who is permitted to talk to the media and who is not?
20
Manage Your Reputation

Managing employees’ use of social networking sites
and implementing appropriate social media polices
and procedures, including organising appropriate
training to ensure that employees are aware of and
understand such policies.

Where there is a brand at issue, the following can
be relevant:
>> Adopting and implementing a trade mark
filing strategy;
>> Implementing a watch service to alert clients
to any misuse of their brands;
>> Registering domain names; and
>> Advising on advertising compliance issues pre-launch.
21
Manage Your Reputation
Reactive Reputation Management
Of course, things don’t always go to plan…
Employing the strategy
Hopefully, when things do go wrong, the carefully
thought-through reputation management strategy can
be brought into play. At this stage, it is all about containing
and counteracting bad news, as quickly and (often) as
discretely as possible.
Strategy is crucial at this point. Selecting the right
approach is a fine art, and a different approach is often
needed depending on the source of the unwelcome
publicity – for example, whether it is in the mainstream
press, social media (for example, Twitter) or a content
sharing website such as YouTube.
In the case of the mainstream media for example, a discrete
and co‑operative approach can often prove more effective in
the first instance than an aggressive approach, which could
backfire by drawing even more attention to the problem.
The following factors are some which will need to be
considered with both the PR team and the lawyers when
reacting to a crisis:
22
Manage Your Reputation

Assessing the big picture: if the issue has not yet
been picked up by the mainstream media, how is it
likely to be portrayed if it is? For example, are there
obvious victims and villains?

Where the individual could be portrayed as the villain,
what can be done to counteract that?

Where the media has not yet picked up on an issue
but this is likely, is it worth taking the initiative and
putting news out there in the best possible light?
This may help to take the “heat” out of the story.

Has a spokesperson been appointed? Has that
spokesperson been briefed on how to respond
to the media in relation to this event?
Is legal action necessary? Will it look unduly defensive
or (if threatened to, for example, private individuals
using Twitter) too aggressive?
Legal causes of action
Where legal action is necessary, there tend to be
several main bases for complaint:
Defamation
Any statement in a publication (whether online or not)
published in the UK runs the risk of being defamatory
if it contains an untrue allegation or imputation which
damages or is likely to damage the reputation of another.
23
Manage Your Reputation
English law has considerable sympathy for the concepts
of free speech and freedom of the press. However, the
law also seeks to protect those with a reputation in the
UK from the publication of false allegations which may
harm their reputation. Where an allegation of fact, or the
facts underlying a statement of opinion, are untrue, the
law may intervene and decide that it is defamatory in
the absence of a recognised defence.
Privacy
English law recognises that everyone has the right to
respect for their private and family life, their home and
correspondence. On the other hand, English law also
recognises the right to freedom of expression. Where an
individual’s privacy has been invaded, the court must
balance the right of freedom of expression against
the right of privacy. To determine if the information
is ‘private’, the court will ask if the person in question
has a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to
that information (e.g. particular facts or photographs).
The courts have noted that there are certain categories
of information which tend to be inherently ‘private’
in nature: for example, information relating to health,
personal relationships (especially sexual relationships) and
finances. A person could still potentially have a reasonable
expectation of privacy in information that is untrue, such
as a false allegation about an alleged extra-marital affair.
24
Manage Your Reputation
Once it is established that the proposed or actual
publication contains private information, the next question
is whether or not publication should be allowed by
weighing up the individual’s (and potentially their families’
and children’s) right to privacy against the publisher’s right
to freedom of expression. The courts will have regard to
the ‘public interest’ in publishing the information. ‘Public
interest’ does not simply mean ‘interesting to the public’.
There are a number of factors which will be of relevance
when considering what is in the public interest, including
the degree of intrusion caused by the disclosure to
the individual concerned, and potentially any harm that
may be done to others by publication (for example, if the
individual has young children). Recent cases have shown
that publication is more likely to be allowed where the
individual is a ‘public figure’ and the disclosure reveals a
wrongdoing which the public has a right to know about.
Breach of confidence/contract
There is a general rule in English law that a person who
receives information in confidence has a duty to keep
that confidence and not to disclose the information
to others. As mentioned above, that duty can be (but
does not have to be) spelt out and put on a contractual
basis in the form of a confidentiality agreement or
a confidentiality clause in an employment or service
agreement. Where the confidence and/or the contract
are breached, this may well be actionable.
25
Manage Your Reputation
Malicious falsehood
In order to succeed in an action for malicious
falsehood, a claimant must prove the statement was
false, published maliciously and that actual financial loss
or likely financial loss has occurred to his or her office,
profession or business. Broadly speaking, malice here
means that the publisher published the statement with
a dominant improper motive, knowing it was untrue or
with reckless indifference as to its truth.
Other causes of action
Depending on the circumstances, there may be other
bases for complaint, including harassment, malicious
communications act and breach of data protection laws.
26
Manage Your Reputation
Legal action in practice
If legal action is necessary, there are many different
tools that can be deployed depending on the particular
circumstances and the type of publisher involved.
There are typically two different stages to a reputation
management crisis: the first is pre-publication and, in
some cases, the second is post-publication:
Pre-publication legal tools

Direct contact with publisher – Once it becomes
clear that publication of negative material is
imminent and potentially in breach of an individual’s
or business’ rights, the next step is often to make
contact with the media to try and avoid publication
or, at the very least, to ensure both sides of the story
are published so that the article is more balanced.
The way this contact is made can be managed in a
variety of ways, depending on the circumstances.

Seek an injunction – Where the negative material
relates to an individual’s private life or reveals
confidential information, it may be possible to
prevent publication or, in some circumstances,
further publication by seeking an emergency
preliminary injunction from the court to prevent
publication. This option may be appropriate if it is not
27
Manage Your Reputation
possible to obtain voluntary undertakings from the
media entity not to publish the material. These sorts
of injunctions are generally unavailable to prevent
the publication of defamatory allegations and are
limited to instances of breach of privacy/confidential
information. Before a court will grant an injunction
like this, there will be a hearing (often at very short
notice). If the judge does grant an injunction, it will
be a temporary injunction, pending a full hearing.
This route is not without complications and so needs
very careful consideration before any steps are taken
in this regard:
>> It is by no means certain whether the courts
would be willing to grant an injunction preventing
publication or further publication, in particular
where the individual is a ‘public figure’. In these
circumstances, courts tend to be much more
willing to find that it is in the public interest to
reveal quite personal information about them, in
particular where that information shows some sort
of wrongdoing by the individual. Having said that,
an individual who has vigorously maintained their
privacy rather than courted the media – even
if they are otherwise a ‘public figure’ – stands a
better chance of persuading the court to prevent
publication of private information about them.
28
Manage Your Reputation
>> If the application for an injunction is unsuccessful
and the judge does not agree to grant the
injunction, this can backfire on the unsuccessful
applicant. It will become public knowledge that the
individual has applied for an injunction to prevent
publication. The recent trend is for individuals
who fail to obtain injunctions to receive a lot of
criticism from the press for seeking to silence
them. This has particularly been the case with
so-called ‘superinjunctions’ (usually understood to
mean privacy injunctions which contain a provision
preventing reporting of the fact that the injunction
exists). The result of this is that what might have
been a small story can become a much bigger story.
>> Even if the application for a temporary injunction is
successful, a judge may lift the injunction at a later
hearing, with ensuing publicity.
>> There have also been cases of Twitter users
naming individuals with anonymised privacy
injunctions and giving details of those injunctions,
even though doing so arguably amounted to
contempt of court.
29
Manage Your Reputation
>> A further consideration is that an injunction
obtained through the English courts does not prevent
publication outside this jurisdiction. As a result,
if the information is of potential interest to readers
outside England and Wales (because, for example,
the individual is well-known internationally), the
injunction is likely to have little or no effect in
discouraging publication in those territories.
30
Manage Your Reputation
Post-publication legal tools
Where it has not been possible to contain the story
and avoid publication, there are various options that
can be explored post-publication:

Correction/apology, Statement in Open Court,
undertakings, damages, costs – Post publication,
lawyers are commonly instructed to seek some or all
of the following:
>> a prominent and published correction (where the
allegation was incorrect) and an apology;
>> with a libel or privacy claim, a Statement in Open
Court, which is a statement (either agreed by both
parties or sometimes written just by the claimant)
read out in open court, which the media can then
report on;
>> undertakings from the publisher not to repeat the
allegations again;
>> a payment representing the amount the individual
would have been awarded by a court in damages if
the matter had been pursued to trial; and
>> a contribution to his or her legal costs. 31
Manage Your Reputation

Preventing further online publication – Given the
ability of news to spread throughout the world at
huge speed via the internet and social media, a key
concern is often to secure removal of the offending
content from the internet (both the original and any
subsequent publication). To do this, it is necessary to
identify those responsible for publication in order to
direct the complaint.
>> It is sometimes not a straightforward task to
identify the author – for example, where someone
has posted offending content on Facebook,
Twitter or YouTube. In some cases, it may be
necessary to seek a court order requiring the
relevant ISP to disclose the author’s details.
These are known as “Norwich Pharmacal Orders”.
Even with the IP address, it may sometimes be
necessary to appoint IT experts to help identify
the individual so that action can be taken to
prevent further publications.
>> Where the publisher and/or the author are known
but do not respond to the complaint, one option
may be to complain to the ISP or the website host.
>> Even where the offending matter is removed, it is
sometimes necessary to work with search engines
to stop URLs containing that matter from featuring
in search results.
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Manage Your Reputation

Litigation – If it is not possible to achieve these
results without commencing legal proceedings, it
may then be appropriate to do so. The decision to
sue is not one to be taken lightly. Aside from the
uncertainties of litigation and the inevitable cost
associated with vindicating reputation, there are
some key factors to consider:
>> Litigation can sometimes take several years. During
this time, the offending material may continue to be
discussed because of the ongoing litigation, rather
than forgotten.
>> In many cases, the individuals who are the subject
of the litigation will have to stand up in open court
and be cross examined on the allegations or events,
possibly in the presence of the media.
>> During the course of the litigation, under English
law, both parties will have to disclose to the other
any material which assists the opponent’s case,
whether or not it prejudices his or her own case.
This material may then be referred to in open
court and so be open to public and press scrutiny.
These uncertainties mean it can often be preferable to
try and negotiate a solution as swiftly as possible.
33
Intelligence
To make an informed decision is to make
the correct decision. For that reason,
having the right information and facts at
the appropriate time, from reliable sources
and in an understandable format is key to
preparing yourself and your business for the
important decisions and strategic direction
you wish to pursue.
When used appropriately, intelligence can make the
critical difference between following a path that will
benefit you or cause untold issues and detriment.
Getting the right accounting, factual or personnel
data can ensure you make deal-critical or evaluative
decisions having considered all relevant circumstances.
As a wealthy individual, family or business owner,
it would be a mistake to dismiss the importance of
gathering appropriate intelligence before committing
to a critical decision. The time and cost involved
in gathering, reviewing and then acting upon data
may in many cases be more efficient than taking an
ill-informed or incorrect decision with its subsequent
effects. The nature and volume of information that you
require may range from simply verifying background
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checks on a senior hire or staff member who is in
close proximity to your family to undertaking a detailed
due diligence with forensic accounting and review of
material legal contracts and press history or online
‘hits’ of a business you are investing in or with.
At the very least, suitable intelligence information can
identify vulnerabilities or risks that may otherwise
have affected you financially, reputationally or legally.
Beyond these basics of risk management, it is often
the case with contentious and transactional matters
that strategically relevant information can make the
difference between winning a case or concluding a deal
at the right price with the right party. From an executive
perspective, members of the board of directors of a
company and those persons holding positions of senior
responsibility can be under a fiduciary duty to fully
investigate facts and circumstances before resolving
on a course of action. It may well be the case that not
having the appropriate intelligence required to make an
informed decision leaves such person in breach of their
duty and perhaps even liable.
Businesses and persons are now bound by strict
anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and anti-corruption
rules and regulations. In some cases, not knowing that
an offence was taking place is not a valid defence to
prosecution or penalties. Monitoring activity through
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suitable intelligence gathering systems or specifically
undertaking lines of enquiry can therefore be key to
protecting yourself from action by authorities and the
consequential reputational damage that can arise.
Intelligence you may require could include
information on:

Executive hires or employees in sensitive positions;

Target companies and due diligence;

Social media, including anonymous posters;

Activist shareholders and or campaigners;

Competitors and market share;

Claimants;

Financial status;

Security breaches;

Liability issues;

Joint venture partners or agents representing you;

Intermediaries handling your confidential affairs/data;

Perpetrators of corporate fraud or harassment
and blackmail;

Source integrity (including source of funds)
and client identification;

Suspicious transactions; and

Asset tracing.
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Vetting individuals or companies can reveal information
that has to be acted on before a decision or matter
can be concluded. We can advise on how to limit your
liability, ring fence risk, obtain warranties or indemnities
and prepare waivers or reserve rights using the
information gathered from intelligence searches.
If you seek to take action in response to the intelligence
learned, we can advise on injunctions, contentious legal
action, defamation or re-negotiation of contracts and
the viability of claiming damages or other remedies.
We can arrange forensic accounting services for you
and work with the forensic advisors to ensure that their
findings are suitably provided for in your contracts in
a manner that ensures you are shielded from liability.
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In circumstances where a member of your family or
your business is affected by hacking, a leak, fraud or
threats, gathering detailed and insightful intelligence
regarding the facts of the matter and the parties
you are dealing with or acting against can be key to
handling emergencies or breaches in an effective and
contained manner. Acting quickly is just as important
as appointing the right advisors and agents to gather
and analyse appropriate and relevant information.
Regardless of external pressures, take the time to
calmly assess with your advisors the best course of
action given all the circumstances and with a long
term view as well as bearing in mind the need for
immediate results. Reputational harm can often be just
as costly as financial loss. But on careful analysis of
the relevant facts, what may seem like insolvable crises
can be managed. If you are faced with a situation
where intelligence information has revealed important
information that you are required to share (whether
with a board, or authorities or others) take advice
on how to word releases carefully so as to give the
information required whilst containing the situation
wheresoever possible and not overreacting.
We can arrange the engagement (directly or indirectly)
for you of intelligence services who have expertise
in political analysis, market intelligence, partner
identification and integrity due diligence. We work
seamlessly with these specialists to ensure that your
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legal, commercial and intelligence advice is relevant,
all encompassing and targeted. Our investigators draw
upon local knowledge, contacts and research sources
to retrieve and vet information in a strictly ethical and
confidential manner and we work alongside them to
adapt your contracts and negotiation strategy in real
time to account for the intelligence retrieved. Emerging
and frontier markets are a specialist area for us and our
affiliates and we focus on discretion, low key approaches
and delivering information within the protection of
professional privilege. Effective intelligence can, at the
very least, identify the risks and vulnerabilities you need
to be aware of and may even bring strategic benefit
that makes the exercise well worthwhile.
Amongst other areas, we advise clients on complex
commercial litigations involving multi-jurisdictional
issues and global name companies/individuals as well
as large fraud cases and global asset tracing exercises.
Our affiliates have links to the intelligence community
and resources around the world and we combine their
effective service with our analysis and advice to ensure
the right results for our clients.
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Security
The best approach to ensuring security
for your family, your business and yourself
is to be practical, prudent and prepared.
The emphasis should always be on the
prevention of risks materialising. However,
when they do arise, sensitive situations
need to be dealt with strategically and
decisively in order to maximise protection
and minimise damage or exposure.
Response times can be absolutely key to controlling
outcomes. Yet a startling number of wealthy individuals
and families leave security policy aside when effecting
the infrastructure of their private affairs, assets and
businesses. A reactive approach, such as acting after
a breach has already occurred, can often be too late
to prevent damage or liability. That is why undertaking
a review of your security contracts, controls and
systems is both prudent and important. A review need
not be a major exercise and can commence simply
with a questionnaire or interview with yourself or
your mandated persons to understand what security
measures are in place for risks such as:
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Threats & Duress
How to respond to threats of blackmail, violence, extortion
or aggressive legal action. What options are available for
injunctions, managing exposure and situations where you
or someone affecting your business is acting under duress
or coercion.
Data Leakage
Dealing quickly and effectively with leaks of sensitive
information or disparaging content including restraining
employees or contracting parties, taking action against
agents or service providers and handling social media exposure
(including cloaking, astroturfing, remote wiping and piracy).
Audit Trails
Understanding the terms and conditions pursuant to which
your business or personal finances are reviewed, by whom and
what information is replicated, passed on to third parties and
disclosable to authorities.
Data Storage & Backups
Ensuring that your family, personal and business information
is securely and safely stored pursuant to legally binding
contracts that are enforceable in a location relevant to
you and with adequate compensation for breach or loss.
This includes advice on protecting data, understanding
when you must (or would be better off strategically)
release information and reviewing cloud storage.
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Contingency Planning
Having plans in place for rapid response to natural disasters,
political risk, succession or media invasion, including
securing key information, dealing with evacuation of
personnel and assets, diplomacy, media and safety issues.
We advise on technology and outsourcing contracts,
immigration, employment and visa issues, contentious
matters and media relations amongst other areas of law
for private clients and companies.
Personal Security
Understanding how (and on what terms) to recruit or contract
security personnel including bodyguards, private contractors,
staff and service companies. Reviewing and feeling comfortable
with the information and locations contractors will have access
to and knowledge or awareness of. Handling cross-border
issues including governing law, jurisdiction, sanctions and
travelling in high risk areas where safety, insurance cover
or corruption is an issue. Even if personal security is not a
constant requirement, undertaking awareness training or
taking advice on how to deal with demonstrations, actual
or threatened violence, kidnap risk, curfews and ransom
demands can be beneficial. Of course, notifying authorities of
situations as they arise is a key concern – but knowing how
to do that, who to inform, what to say and how to contain
the information is also important.
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Contentious Actions
Dealing with vexatious claims, nuisance actions, intrusion
and major or minor fraud, bribery and corruption situations
including advice on how to understand and comply with
relevant regulations and document your compliance and
adequacy of safeguards.
Confidentiality
How to contract for the protection of your confidential
information, ensuring it is kept secret, not utilised for
inappropriate means and understanding when and how you
must disclose data to authorities. We also advise on how
to lower your profile on the internet and maintain discretion
or change visibility.
Specialist Contracts
Wealthy individuals and families often require specialist
legal contracts for their construction projects, acquisitions,
finance needs and employment of personnel. These contracts
often include legal provisions aimed at ensuring maximum
protection and scope for meaningful action in the event that
something goes wrong. The standard terms and conditions
of supply used by many agencies either seek to limit liability
in an unreasonable way or simply do not go far enough to
restrict what could constitute inappropriate action that in
practice affects a family or business. Furthermore, whilst
suppliers such as architects or designers often seek to use
their standard form contracts for projects, in the case of
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specialist projects for wealthy clients those contracts may not
provide for blueprints to be handed over, security information
or access codes to be restricted or data retention checked.
We advise on a wide range of commercial contracts and have
a dedicated due diligence affiliate to assist with such reviews.
Security Policy
A security policy is a document which sets out the
governance and guidance or best practice for acting and
reacting to security concerns in your business. It can include
consideration of non-disclosures/confidentiality, exclusivity,
information retrieval and storage, specialist supplies and data
transfer. Provided the document is workable, enforceable
and reasonable it can be a useful tool for your business.
When linked to corporate governance or delegation of
authority policies, it can be a helpful benchmark and guide
for what protocol your personnel should be following.
Digital Signatures
When and how to use them, understanding their validity,
applicability and risks.
Hacking
Understanding the risks, putting in place measures to prevent
hacking, identifying the key information that must be protected
as priority and using test scenarios to evaluate the strength of
your systems.
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Whether you are concerned with having a robust
confidentiality agreement in place or planning for
the effects of political uncertainty on your family
and assets, the key is not to leave security as an
afterthought. The increasingly cross-border nature
of business has meant that taking sound advice and
contracting with the best possible service providers
for your security needs is key to preparing for risk that
may materialise anywhere that you do business at any
time. Electronic means of communication have enabled
the fastest possible transmission of data around the
world – which can be a benefit when you wish to
receive intelligence but could be a hindrance if you
need to halt a leak of sensitive information. Identifying
that information which, if compromised, would be the
costliest to yourself or your business is key.
Our recommendation is always to be measured and
proportionate in your preparation and response to
security concerns or issues. Pay attention to security
provisions in contracts before you sign them and in
particular, for online contracts, do not simply tick
terms and conditions as agreed without having them
reviewed. Standard terms may contain unacceptable
limitations on liability or exclusions of remedies that
may be key to helping you maintain security and taking
action directly.
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49
Legal Services
Legal Services
Commercial Disputes
Even if they may be infrequent, disputes are a fact of
life for wealthy individuals, families and family business
owners. We are extremely experienced in resolving
disputes quickly and cost effectively with the minimum
distraction to business management or personal life.
We take a strategic approach, positioning you at the
outset for the best result – ideally by settling the dispute
before it escalates but if that is not possible, taking
swift decisive action to protect your interests through
the courts, arbitration, mediation or any other method
of applicable dispute resolution. We have substantial
experience in acting for high net worth individuals and
family businesses on a wide range of disputes including:

Shareholder and joint venture disputes, including
where a minority shareholder is being oppressed
by the majority;

Trading disputes, including for example supplier
and customer disputes or disputes concerning
the quality of a product or service;

Investment disputes, particularly where a bank
or other financial institution or adviser has
recommended an investment which has lost value;
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Legal Services
Taylor Wessing
Legal Services
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Legal Services

Fraud claims, sometimes in the context of a joint
venture, or where a business partner or employee has
misappropriated assets or cash to your detriment;

Breach of contract claims;

Claims against your professional advisers –
accountants, auditors, bankers, solicitors etc;
Financial disputes including disputes around loan facilities,
security enforcement, financial product and services;

Disputes where a business owner wishes to prevent
seizure of a corporate asset used by him such as a
holiday home;

Trust disputes;

Tax disputes; and

Enforcement of judgments or arbitration awards and
ways to minimise the risk of this.
These are the main areas we advise on frequently for
wealthy individuals or family businesses but we would
be delighted to discuss any other potential problems or
disputes when they arise. We also work with clients to
manage their dispute risks, including reviewing important
contracts to make sure they are clear and protective
of your interests. Disputes comprises one third of
Taylor Wessing’s turnover and so we have the resources to
suit the issue, whether that is an hour’s work advising on
the meaning of a contract through to complex high value
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Legal Services
international litigation. We run lean teams, with the client
having 24/7 access to the partner supervising the case
and we ensure that clients do not have any surprises on
the costs involved in resolving disputes.
Corporate
Family owners wish to secure commercial benefit in their
portfolios, minimise costs and maximise value. Structuring
assets correctly can enable the owner to benefit from:

Limitation of liability

Separation of asset classes
Separation of geographic territories where assets are held

Facilitation of bank lending (whilst avoiding
cross collateralisation)

Minimisation of risk

Allowing assets to be bought or sold easily

Using politically sound jurisdictions for asset holding
Family business owners often have a requirement for
a unified ownership structure to hold their core family
assets outside the jurisdiction they are resident and
domiciled in. This can be for reasons of confidentiality,
ease of control, in order to mitigate the risks of the
local political or business environment or simply for tax
and cost efficiency.
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Legal Services
In addition to estate planning and tax law we provide
advice on:

Partnerships

Corporate law and group holding structures

Real estate investment

Shareholders agreements

Funds

Asset finance (including yachts,
jets and hotels amongst others)

Commercial litigation & dispute resolution

Wealth structuring

Contentious trusts

Press management and defamation

International corporate project management
It is important to note that if you or any members
of your family are resident in the UK and/or are a
US citizen (or intend to become one) this will have a
material effect on the advice relevant to your business.
Please contact us for further details.
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Taylor Wessing
Taylor Wessing
About Us
Taylor Wessing is a leading international law firm in
Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Our clients include leading financial institutions,
major corporations, public sector bodies and wealthy
individuals and families.
What makes us different is our forward-thinking
approach to serving clients.
We think creatively about business issues and are
constantly looking for new and better ways to add
value. By doing this, we come up with truly innovative
solutions that help to grow our clients’ business.
Our focus for the future is set firmly on those sectors
that we believe are the industries of tomorrow:

Technology, Communications and Brands;

Life Sciences and Healthcare;

Real Estate and Infrastructure;

Energy and Environment; and

Financial Institutions and Services.
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Taylor Wessing
Our Wealth Group
Our Wealth Group in London works closely with our
colleagues in mainland Europe, the Middle East and
Asia. We are highly experienced in advising international
families, private banks and fiduciary groups. We have
particular expertise in advising royal families, wealthy
entrepreneurs and members of the finance industry,
as well as landed estates and trading dynasties.
Our team includes specialists in financial services
who are experts in advising on the establishment and
management of a wide range of bespoke investment
structures. It also includes property specialists who can
advise on the purchase, financing, occupation and sale
of all types of residential and agricultural property.
Our Wealth Group practice has received some fantastic
accolades during recent years, reflecting the hard
work and success of the growing team. We have been
nominated for every mainstream private client award
over the last 12 months. The leading legal and industry
directories acknowledge Taylor Wessing as one of the
leading Private Client firms in the UK and amongst the
best Private Client firms globally.
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Taylor Wessing
Contact Details
We would be delighted to discuss your legal protection
needs in confidence with you. Please contact us for
further information.
Key Contacts
Nick Warr
Partner
+44 (0)20 7300 4232
[email protected]
Mustafa Hussain
Partner
+44 (0)20 7300 4924
[email protected]
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Notes
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www.taylorwessing.com
Europe > Middle East > Asia
www.taylorwessing.com
© Taylor Wessing LLP 2012
This publication is intended for general publication and to highlight issues. It is not intended to apply
to specific circumstances or to constitute legal advice. Taylor Wessing’s international offices operate as
one firm but are established as distinct legal entities. For further information about our offices and the
regulatory regimes that apply to them, please refer to : www.taylorwessing.com/regulatory.html
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