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Warner Norcross + Judd LLP is a corporate law firm with over 230 attorneys serving clients in nine offices throughout Michigan. Among the largest law firms in Michigan, Warner works in virtually all areas of business law.

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Has your family postponed this year’s family meeting because some members are not yet comfortable getting together or traveling? Thanks to the easy availability of video conferencing software, you can still host a family meeting this year.

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In Part 1 of this series we discussed meeting ideas that allow the family to use technology to gather virtually for fun and development (<a href="http://wnj.com/updates/family-meetings-go-virtual-in-2020-part-1-putting-the-family-into-virtual-family-meetings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">click here to read this post</a>). In this Part 2, we discuss how to plan for the business aspects of a family meeting that uses video conferencing.

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9 Best Practices for Virtual Family Meeting Sessions

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Certainly, the family meeting best practices we have discussed in our previous blog posts (<a href="http://wnj.com/updates/5-best-practices-for-planning-successful-family-meetings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">5 Best practices for Planning Successful Family Meetings</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://wnj.com/updates/four-best-practices-for-holding-successful-family-meetings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Four Best Practices for Holding Successful Family Meetings</a>) still apply to virtual meetings, but we may need to apply them in a different way, as outlined below.

Decide what topics you need to discuss now via video conference.&nbsp;Identify those topics that may be better suited to discuss another way such as through email or telephone calls. Also consider topics that are better discussed in person and consider holding those topics for a later time.&nbsp; &nbsp;

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Invite the right people for the topic. Only invite people who are absolutely necessary to each meeting to keep the meetings a manageable size. Notes and meeting information may be circulated to other family members who either cannot attend or who are not necessary to attend.&nbsp;

Space meetings over a few days&nbsp;instead of scheduling everything in one day. “Zoom fatigue” is real, as video conferences require more focus than in-person meetings do. After a few hours of back-to-back virtual meetings, no one is operating as effectively as if the meetings were in person.

Design meetings to keep participants engaged. Reduce the information presented to focus on necessary updates and the decisions you need to make now. Use graphics to provide easier understanding of material. Use polling software or other technology to promote participant engagement. Keep the meetings short.

Use the features of your technology.​

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Train family members to effectively use the meeting technology.

Create an agenda for each session which also shows who is participating&nbsp;– This helps people know what they are there to accomplish and who is participating in the meeting with them (since you can’t always see everyone on the screen). It also allows the presenters to tailor the information discussed and provide the necessary confidentiality to those who are present.

Use a facilitator – Just as in a regular family meeting session, a facilitator can be helpful in a virtual meeting session. Facilitators can:

Provide “Zoom Guides” for speakers and for participants – Your family likely has communication rules for your meetings, but a virtual meeting may require a few extra rules. Items in the guide for participants might include:

&nbsp;Start Preparing for Your Virtual Family Meeting

Warner can assist as you prepare to host family meeting sessions via video conference software. Our attorneys have facilitated virtual meeting sessions for families and helped plan their virtual family meetings. Reach out to your Warner attorney for assistance or contact Jennifer Remondino, Chair of the Trusts and Estates Practice Group, at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jremondino@wnj.com">jremondino@wnj.com</a>&nbsp;or at 616.396.3243.&nbsp;

Legacy Matters

Private Client and Family Office

Executive Partner

Jennifer L. Remondino

Trusts and Estates

It’s Not Too Late to Hold a Virtual Family Meeting This Year: Series Part 2 – Best practices for virtual family meetings

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It’s Not Too Late to Hold a Virtual Family Meeting This Year: Series Part 2 – Best practices for virtual family meetings

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