The Partnership Charter: A Tool for Planning and Prevention 

• Business Partners Need Mediation – Before They Know It
  NC Bar Dispute Resolution Section
  John Sarratt
  November 21, 2014
  The media is littered with stories of business partner and family business disasters. "If it bleeds, it leads," as they say. Despite these unfortunate stories, thousands of entrepreneurs join forces every year, often against the advice of their trusted advisers, family, and friends, who’ve seen many partnerships end badly.
• Clearing the ‘Heir’: Defuse Conflicts Before the Handoff!
  Textile Rental
  David Gage
  June 2011
  The future value of many successful businesses rests on next-generation partners having not only solid business skills, but also the ability to work as a team and avoid destructive conflicts. Including multiple successors in a business-transfer plan can help ensure success. However, it also can create risks that aren’t present when assets are transferred to one heir alone. Partners must cooperate or the transfer ultimately will fail. This article describes a structured, collaborative process, called a Partnership Charter, for minimizing risks, improving the odds of success, and preventing future partner wars long before they start.
• Improving the Partnership Relationship
  The Lawyers Weekly
  Jay Brecher
  October 31, 2008
  BMC's David Gage is interviewed about the use of the Partnership Charter in lawyers' professional partnerships. While law students are taught all of the key substantive legal principles in every area of practice, little to no time is spent on how to work effectively within the partnership structure, nor has there been much written on the subject. The Charter Process can fill this void for many attorneys and many firms.
• Want a Business Partner for Life? Get a Prenuptial
  Washington Business Journal
  Jennifer Nycz-Conner
  May 14, 2007
  This article explores the risks that face new and potential business partners as they create their critical partnership relationship. Jennifer Nycz-Conner focuses on the Partnership Charter as a tool for getting off on the right foot — using the image of a pre-nuptial agreement "both for business people already in a marriage of financial sheets and those considering one." Ed Kopf provides insight into the substance and logistics of developing a charter with BMC.
• Avoiding Pitfalls When Partnering with a Friend
  StartupJournal
  Kelly Spors
  April 6, 2006
  Business partnerships are more like marriages than most people realize going into them, and they frequently end in bitter divorce. But it's especially heartbreaking when a friendship is lost along the way. Prospective partners need to acknowledge that conflicts will arise in a business relationship and they should set guidelines for how to deal with every kind of potential unsavory scenario.