BMC Associates help business partners and owners of family and non-family businesses deal with conflict and build collaboration.

The Partnership Charter
Mediation
Business Succession Plans
Collaborative Estate Planning
Other Services

The Partnership Charter
Start partnerships out on a solid foundation of comprehensive agreements.
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Mediation
Resolve conflicts among business owners and principals through facilitated negotiations.
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Business Succession Plans
Successfully transferring leadership in business and family to the next generation.
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Collaborative Estate Planning
Families planning together to preserve and build a legacy.
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Other Services
Enhance productivity, strengthen relationships and enhance teamwork.

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The Partnership charter

Millions of people co-own closely held companies, family businesses, and business partnerships, but establishing them and keeping them together is never easy. Here, finally, is the guide they have been waiting for.... Read More

Welcome to BMC Associates

BMC Associates helps business partners and owners of family and non-family businesses deal with conflict and build collaboration. BMC’s interdisciplinary and non-adversarial approach helps strengthen working teams’ overall business and interpersonal performance.

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Recent News & Updates

New Publication: O Partner, Where Art Thou?

May 14, 2012

David Gage, Principal and Co-Founder of BMC Associates, is the author of “O Partner, Where Art Thou,” an article in the latest issue of Kogod Now, the highly regarded print and web-based publication of the Kogod School of Business at American University. Gage, adjunct professor at the Kogod School, discusses the status (and relative paucity) of academic study of business partners’ collaboration as a key driver in the American economy.

BMC Associates Announces Addition of Stewart Christ as Principal

February 22, 2012

BMC Associates is pleased to announce that Mr. Stewart Christ has joined the firm as a Principal. In joining BMC, Mr. Christ adds significant strength to a team comprised of the current Principals and Co-Founders Dr. David Gage and Dr. Edward Kopf and an outstanding group of Associates, all mediators with expertise in a variety of related disciplines.

“We are very excited Stewart is joining the firm.

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?: Brothers in Family Business

February 17, 2012

Posting by Ed Kopf, Ph.D., Principal at BMC Associates

Sibling-partners’ relationships are among the most challenging in family businesses. Such siblings are often second-generation co-owners of an inherited business. This means

They may not have had a free choice as to who their partner would be.
They may be 50/50 owners – a demanding arrangement under any circumstances.
Finally, they have a lifetime of emotions and experiences to deal with in their relationship in addition to the demands on all business partners.

Drafting a Family Business Bill of Rights: Try Your Hand at It

September 23, 2011

Posting by: Edward J. Kopf

The genius of the American political system is that it tries to assure every individual at least enough fairness and respect to keep us working within the system. Even if we are unhappy with current policies and practices, almost all of us are willing to address our grievances by the rules – so long as we know we can speak our piece, be treated fairly in the legal system, and be reasonably secure in our persons and property.