The high-net-worth population is a growing segment throughout the world. It is one that is emblematic of how wealth is being generated globally. These clients often have family members, assets, businesses and, consequently, complex legal interests throughout the world — in many ways, legal needs similar to those of large global companies. They demand integrated, holistic global legal representation, and McGuireWoods’ multidisciplinary Global Private Client team delivers just that.
The Global Private Client practice taps into resources across the firm to provide families, family offices and trust companies with a wide range of legal services tailored to their unique needs. Whether advising on a large cross-border real estate acquisition or developing a tax-efficient global plan to transfer family wealth to future generations, the Global Private Client team has the knowledge, experience and resources to represent these clients in everything they do.
The Global Private Client practice represents U.S. and non-U.S.-based families and family offices, with deep experience advising these clients on their cross-border financial and personal interests involving the United States. With respect to non-U.S. families this may include family members possessing U.S. citizenship or residency, ownership of U.S.-based property (such as vacation properties, automobiles, yachts and aircraft), acquisition and disposition of U.S. businesses and real estate, establishing a U.S.-based family office or immigration to the United States. Similarly, for U.S. families, this may include acquisition and disposition of global investments (both businesses and financial assets), expatriation from the United States, ownership of global personal property and establishment of family offices and global tax structuring.
In addition to representing families, individuals and family offices, our Global Private Client team represents the financial institutions that service these groups, including some of the world’s most well-known and respected trust companies and private banks. We understand trust companies’ role as fiduciaries and their need for first-class, multidisciplinary global legal service.
Tax lawyers serving on the Global Private Client team include members of McGuireWoods’ top-ranked Private Wealth Services group and lawyers from our highly-ranked transactional tax practice. Our team routinely develops global structures designed to holistically address U.S. estate tax exposure, while also mitigating global income taxes. Our experience in this area includes leveraging global tax regimes to reduce global tax burden, use of tax treaties and strategic deployment of global investment structures, managing global tax reporting, global taxation of trusts and managing global information reporting, including counseling clients on compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standards as they are adopted throughout the globe. The Global Private Client team has deep experience assisting families manage, and often minimize, their obligations under newly-enacted tax reporting and information exchange regimes throughout the world.
Members of McGuireWoods’ corporate and business law teams are an integral part of the Global Private Client practice. Our corporate lawyers specialize in representing families and family offices in all aspects of their business and investing needs. We help our clients navigate the complex cultural, legal, tax and business challenges posed by cross-border transactions. The Global Private Client team routinely assists families and family offices develop and execute direct investing plans involving all industries including real estate, hospitality, oil and gas, life sciences, technology and manufacturing.
McGuireWoods’ Global Private Client practice leverages the firm’s global reach. With more than 1,100 lawyers in 22 offices, and lawyers who speak more than 35 languages, the Global Private Client practice delivers comprehensive legal services on a global scale.
McGuireWoods is consistently ranked as one of the top law firms for wealth management in leading legal publications across the globe. The firm received the highest ranking—Band 1—for Private Wealth Law (nationwide and in Washington, D.C.) in Chambers and Partners’ inaugural High Net Worth Guide, with five of our lawyers recognized as notable practitioners. In Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, McGuireWoods has earned Band 1 recognition in Nationwide Wealth Management eight times. Our London office is recognized on Legal 500 UK’s list of top law firms in the Private Client: Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate category.
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