Study Groups

Study Groups provide FFI members with local opportunities to network, share experiences and explore critical issues on an ongoing basis. If you are interested in starting a study group, please read the Study Group Guidelines.

For first-hand information on forming a study group, please contact the FFI office.

Boston Study Group

This Boston Study Group, known as Metro-West Study Group # 1, meets quarterly at 8:00am - 9:30am. The format includes a discussion of an article or two and related case materials in a cross-disciplinary fashion, with particular members taking lead roles at various meetings. The meetings are held at the offices of:

Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP
34 Southwest Park
Westwood, MA 02090
(781) 407-0300

The dates for the study group are:
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, October, 6, 2010

Boston Study Group - North Shore

The North Shore Study Group meets monthly at 8:00am to 9:30am at the offices of Colucci/Norman,LLP in Beverly, MA. Discussion topics are selected at each meeting and presented at the next meeting with a cross-disciplinary discussion following. This group was founded in May 2007 and our mission is professional development. Typical topics: How to make referrals stick The How and Why of Business Valuation Selling a Family Business Minority Shareholder Rights Genograms Family Business Conflict & It’s Impact on Our Client Engagements Insurance use in Estate Planning Book/Movie reviews Member Profiles We currently have 7 members and look to expand as North Shore FFI/NEC membership grows. We meet the first Wednesday Morning of each month.

Boston Study Group - West

The Boston (West) Study Group meets 8AM to 10AM on the last Thursday morning of every other month beginning with January at the offices of Sapers and Wallack, 275 Washington Street, Newton Corner, MA.

Cincinnati (OH) Study Group

Study group meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 12pm-2pm in downtown Cincinnati. New members are welcome.

Connecticut Study Group

The CT Study Group was formed in February 1999 by founding members Jim Murphy, Vivien Blackford and Paul Sessions to provide an opportunity to learn from fellow professionals in the various disciplines.

Mission Statement: "To promote an active dialogue among an intimate group (10 to 12) of professionally diverse practitioners in the family business field to explore and share the systems, techniques and experiences that are of concern and interest to the group."

Meetings are held occasionally and usually run from 8:30am-11:30am to allow thorough discussion of the agenda items.

Recurring topics of discussion include:
1) collaboration and the desire to work with, as well as learn from, each other;
2) learning and support for the case study method as a means to achieve it; and
3) networking--admission that at least a part of the group's attraction is the opportunity to network together and strengthen working relationships.

Florida Study Group

Grand Rapids Study Group

The Grand Rapids Study Group meets once a month - excluding summer months. The format includes outside speakers, case studies and book readings/reviews. Participants come from a mix of backgrounds encompassing the multi-disciplines serving and working with business-owning families. Our members also share from their personal expertise and their own "real life" case studies.

New York Study Group

The New York Study Group generally meets on the first Tuesday of every other month from 9:00am - 11:00am at the offices of Herrick, Feinstein LLP in New York. The group is interdisciplinary and meetings often feature interactive, case-based presentations led by individual members.

North Texas Study Group

The North Texas FFI Study Group meets once or twice a year in Dallas. Anyone interested in attending, please contact John Kober for meeting location and time. Non-FFI members are welcome.

Portland (OR) Study Group

The Portland Study Group meets approximately five times per year at a member's location. Membership is approximately 20 and is limited to FFI members who may, from time to time, bring guests to the meetings. A guest may attend the study group twice without first becoming a member of FFI. While the group is interdisciplinary, program topics tend toward the psychological and systemic issues of clients. A combination of case studies and special topic presentations are selected by group members for each meeting. Topics, presenters and locations are chosen at the November meeting of the study group.

San Francisco Study Group

The San Francisco Study Group meets five times a year. The meetings run from 3:00 -5:00 p.m. The format includes a case presentation/discussion.

Washington (DC) Study Group

The Washington (DC) Study Group meets at least three times a year (winter, spring and fall following the FFI conference). Meeting times are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Meeting locations rotate among Washington, Baltimore and Richmond, although most of the meetings are held in downtown Washington. The group and its organized discussions are inter-disciplinary. Case studies, presentations on special topics and professional updates by the members are components of every meeting. To ensure equal opportunities for each member to participate fully, the group limits participation to 18 members, although new FFI members are invited as guests to learn the value of FFI study groups.