I
Family Office Coordination
Standing counsel to single-family offices — governance documents, investment entity structuring, and coordination with in-house CFOs and external fiduciaries. We serve as the legal seat at the family table.
Private Client Services
By Referral · Annual Retainer · Standing Counsel
For the
quietly consequential.
A private tier of engagement for Texas families whose affairs require singular discretion, coordination, and continuity.
Signed by the PartnerBy Darryl V. PrattManaging Partner
9 min read
·Reviewed February 2026
·Private Client
A Signature Detail
The heirloom watch, the family bible, the wax seal — the quiet instruments of a name held across generations.
The Standing Retainer
Not a matter.
A relationship.
Most legal engagements are transactional — a document drafted, a matter closed, a file archived. Private Client engagement is different. Retained on annual terms, our Private Client relationships extend beyond discrete matters into standing counsel: the legal seat at the family table.
We coordinate with your CPA, wealth advisor, trustee, and family office CFO to ensure every decision is deliberate, documented, and durable. We are called first — before the transaction, before the conflict, before the tax year closes — and briefed once, so the family's judgment is preserved across generations of advisors.
The Six Pillars
What a Private Client
engagement includes.
II
Multi-Generational Wealth
Dynasty trusts, GST-exempt planning, and generation-skipping structures designed to endure across three generations without reformation. Texas 300-year perpetuities utilized where advantageous.
III
Concierge Legal Counsel
Direct-line access for matters personal, familial, and enterprise — from a discreet real-estate closing to a delicate family conversation. Called first, briefed once, resolved quietly.
IV
Fiduciary Oversight
Independent review of trustees, executors, and investment advisors. We audit fiduciary conduct, verify accountings, coordinate with beneficiaries — and, when necessary, remove and replace.
V
Legacy Governance
Family constitutions, heir councils, and succession charters that transmit not merely assets, but the judgment, values, and standards of stewardship that produced them.
VI
Cross-Border Coordination
For families holding interests in India, the U.K., or the E.U. — coordinated planning across jurisdictions, with local counsel of record engaged as needed. Pre-immigration tax structuring and EB-5 investor coordination.
How We Begin
Four steps,
measured in weeks.
New Private Client relationships are limited each year — typically three to five — to preserve the standard of service that defines the engagement.
- 01
Referral or Introduction
New relationships arrive through a trusted advisor — a CPA, wealth manager, private banker, or existing client. Cold intake is rare and by exception.
- 02
Preliminary Conference
A private conversation — often over an unhurried lunch or at the family's residence — to determine whether the fit is mutual. Complimentary. Under no obligation.
- 03
Engagement Letter
If both parties elect to proceed, a bespoke annual retainer engagement letter is executed. Scope, standard of communication, and terms are set explicitly.
- 04
Standing Counsel
Direct-line access. Monthly touch-points at minimum. Coordinated meetings with your CPA, wealth advisor, and trustee at least quarterly. Documented decisions, filed and retrievable.
Retainer & Terms
Terms furnished
on request.
- Annual retainer engagement. Scope, coordination cadence, and communication standards set explicitly in the engagement letter.
- New Private Client relationships accepted by referral from an existing client, CPA, wealth advisor, or trusted intermediary. Cold engagement is rare and by exception.
- All Private Client work handled personally by Darryl V. Pratt. Of Counsel affiliates engaged only for matters requiring particular specialty (out-of-state probate, cross-border tax, niche litigation).
- Retainer terms are individually structured — informed by scope, coordination complexity, and the depth of standing service required.
- Discretion is a covenant of the engagement. Names, holdings, transactions, and family circumstances are not publicized and are shared only within a small credentialed circle.
Inquire Privately
Begin a
private conversation.
All inquiries are reviewed personally by Darryl V. Pratt. A response is furnished within two business days. This inquiry is privileged from the first keystroke.