Inside the Family Business: Law and Legacy | School of Law

Thursday, February 26th, 2026
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Add to Calendar: Add to Calendar: 2026-02-26 16:30:00 2026-02-26 17:30:00 Inside the Family Business: Law and Legacy Event Description Family enterprises play a vital role in the U.S. economy, but they face unique internal challenges because their owners must reconcile family and business perspectives. Using case studies to illustrate, Professor Means will examine why some family firms succeed across generations while others fail. He will explain how attorneys can work with family owners to establish governance structures that integrate corporate law, family law, and estate planning considerations. For family businesses, the goal is to achieve a competitive edge in the marketplace while also safeguarding the values that make business ownership worthwhile. About the Speaker Benjamin Means is a Professor of Law, the John T. Campbell Chair in Business and Professional Ethics, and Director of the Family & Small Business Program at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. Professor Means focuses his research on corporate governance and family-owned businesses. He is chair-elect of the AALS Section on Agency, Partnership, LLCs, and Unincorporated Business Associations. His articles have been published in periodicals such as the Georgetown Law Journal, the Washington University Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, the Iowa Law Review, the Harvard Environmental Law Review, the Emory Law Journal, the Boston College Law Review, the U.C. Irvine Law Review, the William & Mary Law Review, the U.C. Davis Law Review, and the Ohio State Law Journal. His article Nonmarket Values in Family Businesses was selected for inclusion in the Junior Faculty Forum sponsored by Harvard, Stanford, and Yale law schools. Four of his articles have been selected for reprinting in the Corporate Practice Commentator. Professor Means is the author of The Principles of Family Business Law (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2026), and, with Eric Chiappinelli, of Cases and Materials on Business Entities (Aspen Casebook Series, Sixth Edition, forthcoming 2026). He has been quoted in articles published by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Professor Means received his AB cum laude from Dartmouth College and his JD magna cum laude from Michigan Law School, where he served as an articles editor for the Michigan Law Review. He clerked for the Honorable Rosemary S. Pooler of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before entering academia, Professor Means practiced law in New York at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Satterlee Stephens LLP. Download the Reading Materials. CWRU School of Law Moot Courtroom School of Law School of Law America/New_York public

Event Description

Family enterprises play a vital role in the U.S. economy, but they face unique internal challenges because their owners must reconcile family and business perspectives. Using case studies to illustrate, Professor Means will examine why some family firms succeed across generations while others fail. He will explain how attorneys can work with family owners to establish governance structures that integrate corporate law, family law, and estate planning considerations. For family businesses, the goal is to achieve a competitive edge in the marketplace while also safeguarding the values that make business ownership worthwhile.

About the Speaker

Benjamin Means is a Professor of Law, the John T. Campbell Chair in Business and Professional Ethics, and Director of the Family & Small Business Program at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. Professor Means focuses his research on corporate governance and family-owned businesses. He is chair-elect of the AALS Section on Agency, Partnership, LLCs, and Unincorporated Business Associations.

His articles have been published in periodicals such as the Georgetown Law Journal, the Washington University Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, the Iowa Law Review, the Harvard Environmental Law Review, the Emory Law Journal, the Boston College Law Review, the U.C. Irvine Law Review, the William & Mary Law Review, the U.C. Davis Law Review, and the Ohio State Law Journal. His article Nonmarket Values in Family Businesses was selected for inclusion in the Junior Faculty Forum sponsored by Harvard, Stanford, and Yale law schools. Four of his articles have been selected for reprinting in the Corporate Practice Commentator. Professor Means is the author of The Principles of Family Business Law (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2026), and, with Eric Chiappinelli, of Cases and Materials on Business Entities (Aspen Casebook Series, Sixth Edition, forthcoming 2026). He has been quoted in articles published by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Professor Means received his AB cum laude from Dartmouth College and his JD magna cum laude from Michigan Law School, where he served as an articles editor for the Michigan Law Review. He clerked for the Honorable Rosemary S. Pooler of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before entering academia, Professor Means practiced law in New York at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Satterlee Stephens LLP.

Download the Reading Materials.

Event Location

CWRU School of Law Moot Courtroom

Benjamin Means, Professor of Law, the John T. Campbell Chair in Business and Professional Ethics, and Director of the Family & Small Business Program