Testimonials From Clients' Trusted Advisors
"Chris Reichert and I share several clients in common and I have participated in several of the family meetings he facilitates with them.
We work really well as a team; he performs a role that I do not with my clients. As a lawyer, I must represent my client, which might be a specific corporation within the structure, or a specific family member at the table. Chris is not encumbered by the constraints lawyers face. He is there as a trusted neutral party who can work on behalf of the entire family.
He is masterful in the way he helps families navigate what could easily become highly contentious issues. He helps families develop their own values statement and then refocuses them on these common values while guiding the process until a well-thought-out path forward is reached. I depart these meetings with clarity regarding what strategies and structures are needed to help families achieve their long-term planning goals. - I wish more families would pursue this facilitated approach to planning; the outcomes I’ve seen families achieve with Chris have been excellent."
Steven Kohn
Partner, MLT Aikins
“Our rural law firm has represented farmers since we started in 1970. The size of their operations and the value of the assets managed by those clients has grown exponentially, particularly in the last 15 years. Almost all of them are incorporated now and involve two or even three generations - grandparents, sons and daughters, grandchildren and in-laws. They are great people and great clients but we can see the iceberg that is on the horizon - no succession plan.
All too often we see family situations where they just cannot get out of the gate; they will listen to us and their accountants tell them repeatedly why they need to have a plan and they promise to work on it “when they are done combining”; rinse and repeat annually. Perhaps the clients have this perception: the accountants focus too hard on the numbers and the lawyers focus too hard on rights and remedies. People don’t like hearing about either of those.
If they will let him, Chris Reichert can get the clients talking about themselves, their needs and dreams, and what is important to them (and that usually isn’t reading financial statements or legal documents). That is a big step towards a good succession plan. Without a plan, their operations can end in bitterness and litigation - not a result I would want any of my clients to suffer.”
Bjorn ('Barney') Christianson, Q.C.
Managing Partner, Christianson TDS
