James E. "Jay" Hughes Jr., Esq., a sixth-generation counselor-at-law, was the founder of Hughes and Whitaker, a law partnership in New York, where he focused on the representation of private clients throughout the world. Now retired from active practice, he frequently facilitates multigenerational family meetings, with an emphasis on governance issues. He serves on the boards of various private trust companies and is an adviser to numerous investment institutions. Before starting his own practice, Hughes was a partner of the law firms of Coudert Brothers LLP and Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (now Jones Day), both in New York.

Hughes's articles on family governance and wealth preservation appear in professional journals, and his series of reflections on related issues are featured on his Web site. He is the author of Family: The Compact Among Generations (Bloomberg Press, 2007) and a member of the editorial boards of various professional journals. A widely recognized speaker, Hughes is frequently called on to address international and domestic symposia on helping families to avoid the fate of the shirtsleevesto- shirtsleeves proverb and to instead flourish through the growth of their human, intellectual, and financial capital.

Hughes is an emeritus member of the Board of the Philanthropic Initiative, a counselor to the Family Office Exchange, an emeritus faculty member of the Institute for Private Investors, a retired member of the Board of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, and former adviser to New Ventures in Philanthropy. He is also a member of the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a member of the Roundtable of the Hastings Institute, a former member of the board of the Spiritual Paths Foundation, and a former member of the board of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Educated at the Far Brook School, Hughes is a graduate of the Pingry School, Princeton University, and the Columbia School of Law.

Readers may contact the author and learn more about his ideas at www.jamesehughes.com.