The Royal Method™

Three phases. One framework. The same standard at every step.

The Royal Method is the firm's proprietary engagement framework. Every matter begins with a Phase 1 Assessment, proceeds to strategy only after the underlying exposure is understood in writing, and is implemented through aligned counsel admitted in the relevant jurisdiction or credentialed in the relevant discipline.

The Standard

Not a retainer in search of a problem.

Material legal issues for cross-border families, founders, and enterprises usually live at the intersection of legal, tax, governance, and ownership decisions. The Royal Method is designed to find them in writing, under privilege, before strategy or implementation begins.

Royal does not take on engagements without a Phase 1 Assessment. The discipline is the firm's product.

Privilege first.

Every assessment is structured to attach attorney work-product and attorney–client privilege to the underlying analysis before any structural decision is made.

Sequencing matters.

Structural, tax, and IP decisions must be made in the right order. Wrong sequence forecloses later options and converts reversible exposure into permanent loss.

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One framework, every matter.

The same Phase 1 → Phase 2 → Phase 3 architecture governs an estate, a founder structure, an IP portfolio, or a multi-jurisdictional restructuring.

Phase 1 Assessment

A forensic legal and tax review.

The gateway to every Royal engagement. A structured review across five dimensions, producing a privileged memorandum with prioritized findings and a scoped path to Phase 2.

DeliverablePrivileged memorandum

FeeFlat legal fee

Timeline~21 business days

Phase 1 reviews five dimensions of legal, tax, and structural exposure in writing. Each finding is documented, prioritized, and connected to the structural decisions it informs. The deliverable is a privileged legal and tax memorandum that becomes the foundation of every matter that follows.

Tax exposure Domestic and cross-border, including reporting posture, treaty positioning, and prior-filing review where relevant.
Structure Entities, trusts, holding vehicles, beneficial ownership, governance, and continuity. Where the existing architecture forecloses options, the assessment says so in writing.
Intellectual property Feasibility, viability, ownership integrity, and IP valuation exposure across jurisdictions. Coordinated through Royal's IP of counsel and technical specialists.
Controversy Examination risk, prior filings, trade-secret and confidentiality integrity, and litigation exposure. Anticipates how positions will be tested by counterparties, the IRS, and acquirers.
Sequencing The order in which structural, tax, and IP decisions must be made to avoid foreclosing later options.

Phase 2 Strategy

Cross-border tax and governance work.

Where Phase 1 confirms action is warranted, Phase 2 produces a written roadmap supported by quantitative modeling and scenario analysis. Co-counsel and specialists engaged where jurisdiction or discipline requires.

DeliverableStrategy memorandum & model

CoordinationCo-counsel as required

Phase 2 converts the prioritized findings from Phase 1 into an executable strategy. The work is quantitative where the question is quantitative — modeling under multiple assumptions, scenario-testing structural choices, and documenting the rationale that supports each recommendation.

Modeling Tax, valuation, and continuity scenarios under multiple assumptions, with explicit sensitivity to law and treaty changes.
Scenario analysis Comparison of structural alternatives across U.S. and non-U.S. tax, regulatory, and governance regimes.
Coordination Aligned counsel admitted in the relevant jurisdiction or credentialed in the relevant discipline are engaged into the strategy as needed.
Output A written strategy memorandum and supporting model that frames the decision Royal recommends, the structures that implement it, and the sequence in which they should be executed.

20%

Phase 1 fee credited toward Phase 2 within 30 days.

Where Phase 2 follows Phase 1 within thirty days, Royal applies a 20% credit of the Phase 1 fee to the Phase 2 engagement. The credit is automatic on engagement letter execution and reflects the firm's commitment that the assessment work informs — and is not duplicated by — the strategy that follows.

Phase 3 Implementation

Execution through aligned counsel.

Phase 3 delivers the strategy through senior counsel admitted in the relevant jurisdictions, with ongoing trustee, governance, and reporting oversight.

DeliverableExecuted structure & oversight

CoordinationAligned counsel by jurisdiction

Implementation is where most law firms stop coordinating and start executing in parallel. Royal continues to coordinate through the firm's framework — drafting and execution are delegated to aligned counsel admitted in the relevant jurisdiction, but standards, sequencing, and final review remain with the firm.

Drafting & execution Documents are drafted by counsel admitted in the relevant jurisdiction and reviewed against the strategy memorandum from Phase 2.
Trustee & governance Ongoing oversight of trustee actions, governance bodies, and reporting obligations where the firm continues as counsel of record.
Reporting Coordination of cross-border reporting obligations (FBAR, FATCA, foreign-trust reporting, transfer-pricing, and analogous regimes) where applicable.
Continuity Engagements continue per matter or under structured oversight as the client's position, structure, or jurisdiction profile evolves.