McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Bobbi J. Bierhals has built her practice by developing creative and customized solutions for her clients. Her experience centers on tax and business planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. Her clients range from executives and first-generation entrepreneurs to multi-generational families, with net worth from $100 million to many billions of dollars, and include a number of individuals listed in the Forbes 400.

Bobbi’s breadth of experience across a wide range of client profiles enables her to help them identify and structure tax-advantageous structures for transferring wealth and business interests to younger generations. While many other estate planners focus almost exclusively on tax issues, Bobbi takes a holistic approach that balances tax and family considerations to fit each individual client’s goals. With a geographically diverse client base spanning the United States, Bobbi adeptly navigates the nuances of local law while addressing broader federal tax considerations.

Because of her extensive experience working with multi-generational, business-owning families, Bobbi is an expert in assisting owners of closely held businesses and their family offices with their unique planning needs. She advises her clients on private trust companies, corporate governance, succession planning, wealth transfer planning and family office structuring. She also coordinates other legal needs of family offices, from corporate transactions and real estate, to direct investing, employment law and aircraft acquisition, bringing in lawyers from McDermott or identifying external counsel as appropriate to provide the highest level of quality and service to her clients. Bobbi also has a particular interest in family law issues and has significant experience negotiating pre-marital agreements and partnering with family law attorneys to obtain desirable results in high-net-worth divorces.

Bobbi has received numerous accolades and industry recognitions, with Chambers High Net Worth reporting from its sources that Bobbi is “wicked smart and very strong technically…if you need the right answer and your life and company depend on it, you call Bobbi…her reasoning and attention to detail are industry-leading.” Leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week, MSN Money, Private Wealth magazine and Financial Advisor magazine have quoted Bobbi frequently on various family office and estate planning topics. A member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Bobbi has also taught legal research and writing at Harvard Law School.

Nathan R. Brown focuses his practice on counseling individuals, families and business owners in the development and implementation of estate planning strategies designed to maximize and protect the transfer of wealth to future generations. Nathan also acts as a senior adviser and “general counsel” to many family offices, coordinating a wide array of legal services.

In addition to advising clients on tax planning strategies, Nathan works closely with multi-generational families to design and implement business succession plans and family governance structures (such as private trust companies and family offices).

Nathan speaks frequently across the country on many estate planning topics and has published articles in The Florida Tax Review, The Tax Lawyer, The Florida Bar Journal, Probate & Property Magazine (American Bar Association), Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal (Tax Management) and Trust & Estates, Taxes - The Tax Magazine and Estate Planning. Nathan focuses many of his speeches and articles on family office and private trust company structuring and planning with carried interest for investment fund principals.

In law school, Nathan served as an extern for the Honorable Kermit V. Lipez of the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Richard (Dick) A. Lang delivers the Firm’s wide array of legal services to many of the wealthiest individuals and families in the United States. He concentrates on wealth transfer and income tax planning for venture capital and entrepreneurial clients, as well as counseling for family offices.

Dick has extensive experience fashioning customized trusts and navigating the many issues that arise in “decanting” old, irrevocable trusts into new trusts that better reflect clients’ current goals. Additional areas of experience include charitable planning and planning for owners of art. His decades of work helping high-net-worth individuals and families address their myriad personal and tax issues have placed him on a national short list of practitioners with the experience and judgment suitable for the most demanding private clients.

Dick maintains an office in the Firm’s Chicago office and is a frequent visitor to the Firm’s Silicon Valley and New York offices, enabling him to provide efficient and effective counsel almost everywhere his clients have financial, professional and personal interests. He lectures frequently on a variety of estate planning subjects and was an early contributor to the development of zCalc™, an Excel add-in that delivers sophisticated spreadsheet functions for estate planners.

Patrick J. McCurry concentrates his practice on the corporate and tax aspects of complex business and investment transactions, with a particular focus on transactions involving single-family offices, private equity funds and other financial sponsors (on both buy and sell-side), emerging businesses, partnerships and strategic joint ventures, limited liability companies and closely held corporations.

Patrick has extensive experience in working with single-family offices in connection with the formation and/or restructuring of family offices and private trust companies, the creation of investment funds, the establishment of incentive equity programs for key employees and related income tax planning.  He also routinely works on complex tax planning for high-net-worth individual and families, tax structuring healthcare services transactions and tax controversy matters.

Patrick is Co-Leader of the Firm’s Closely Held and Passthroughs Affinity Group.

Ranked as “Band 1” by Chambers High Net Worth in its national Family Offices & Funds Restructuring category, clients praise Patrick for being “a lucid communicator, even of incredibly complex tax and legal concepts.” Other clients note that Patrick “brings a level of knowledge and expertise in family office and partnership taxation” and he “never brings up an issue without thinking about multiple potential solutions.”

While in law school, Patrick served as an extern for the Honorable Ronald A. Guzman, US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also was a member of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal.

David G. Noren focuses his practice on international tax planning for multinational companies. David advises clients on a wide range of "outbound" and "inbound" issues, with a particular focus on the subpart F anti-deferral rules, the application of bilateral income tax treaties, and the treatment of cross-border flows of services and intellectual property rights under transfer pricing and other rules.

Prior to joining the Firm, David served as legislation counsel to the Joint Committee on Taxation in the US Congress where he advised the House Ways & Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and other members of Congress on proposed international tax legislation. He played a major role in the development of several international tax bills, including those culminating in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.

David also advised the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the review and ratification of several tax treaties and protocols, carried out the international tax aspects of special investigations and studies requested by members of Congress, and assisted in the Joint Committee staff's review of large tax refunds in the international area. Prior to working in Congress, David taught in the tax program at the New York University School of Law.

David has testified in congressional hearings on international tax issues and is a frequent writer and speaker on such topics. While in law school, David was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Adam K. Sherman provides legal counsel on a wide range of wealth transfer, tax, estate planning and business succession matters for high-net-worth individuals and business owners.

Adam has extensive experience structuring and implementing sophisticated wealth transfer techniques and working with owners of closely held businesses to develop customized succession plans. Adam also advises clients on a range of issues relating to the formation and maintenance of family office and private trust company structures.

Adam counsels executors, trustees and beneficiaries in all aspects of estate and trust administration, including the preparation of federal estate tax returns and judicial and non-judicial trust accountings. He has also been involved in numerous estate and gift tax audit proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has successfully obtained favorable private letter rulings for his clients on a range of income and transfer tax issues.

On international matters, Adam has advised multinational families on compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and counseled US-based clients participating in the IRS's Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP).

Adam has spoken extensively on estate planning topics, including wealth transfer planning, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax reporting, and exercising powers of appointment.

While in law school, Adam was a staff member of the Chicago Journal of International Law, in which he has his note (on the international legal status of drone operators) published in 2004.

Joseph advises clients on all matters pertaining to the intergenerational transfer of wealth, including estate planning, succession planning, tax planning, trust and estate administration, audits, examinations, controversy avoidance and litigation. He also guides clients on the formation, governance and operation of private trust companies and family offices. His clients are located throughout the United States and include high-net-worth individuals and families, private trust companies, family offices, family office executives and large banks.

Joseph has successfully argued before trial and appellate courts in multiple jurisdictions. Due to his unique background in tax, planning and litigation, clients turn to Joseph to advise them in complex disputes involving family members, spouses, employees and business partners. A significant part of his practice involves counseling family offices and private trust company executives on strategies and best practices for avoiding personal liability. Joseph is frequently able to favorably resolve disputes without litigation. If necessary, however, he vigorously defends his clients’ interests in the courtroom.

Joseph is a frequent contributor to the bar. In addition to publishing numerous articles and book chapters, he is the principal draftsman of the forthcoming Michigan Trust Company Act. He also assisted with drafting the Michigan Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act and the Model Civil Jury Instructions Regarding Undue Influence, among other legislative matters.

Thomas (Tom) P. Ward advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on the income tax, corporate and compliance aspects of complex business and investment transactions, with a focus on family office management companies, private investment funds and complex incentive equity programs.

Tom has extensive experience in establishing and working with family offices and investment entities, ranging from first-generation entrepreneurs to multi-generational families, with net worth from $40 million to many billions of dollars, including a number of individuals listed in the Forbes 400. Tom works closely with the entire advisor team to implement the optimal structure for a particular situation and has extensive experience working with private trust company, airplane, transfer tax and security law considerations.

Tom is a frequent speaker on trends impacting family offices and high-net-worth individuals.

Ranked as “Band 1” by Chambers High Net Worth in its national Family Offices & Funds Restructuring category, clients praise Tom for being “a very thoughtful and knowledgeable attorney that truly understands the needs of an SFO. Tom's approach is very thoughtful and always tries to find creative ways to accomplish his client's goals."

While in law school, he was an editor of the Michigan International Law Journal.