McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Steven Hadjilogiou focuses his practice on tax optimization of business operations and investments with a specific emphasis in the areas of international tax and real estate. Steven provides advice on international inbound and outbound tax planning for multinational companies, family offices, private equity and ultra-high net worth individuals. He also advises funds, family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals in connection with complex real estate structuring and investment issues, including in the areas of opportunity zone funds, 1031 transactions and qualified small business stock.

Steven has represented various Fortune 500 companies and major privately held businesses in their tax planning and supply chain projects, and also has substantial experience advising on transfer pricing, tax-related intellectual property matters, Subpart F, GILTI, foreign investment in US real property and outbound investment in real property. Steven also advises clients on pre-immigration planning and cross-border wealth succession. Steven has also worked on the taxation of partnerships and corporations, mergers & acquisitions and international corporate reorganizations.

Since 2013, Steven has been an adjunct professor of International Inbound Taxation at the University of Miami Graduate Tax Program. He is the co-chair of the annual Florida Bar/FICPA International Tax Conference. Steven has written numerous articles and presented on topics related to tax. He was a primary drafter of the amicus curiae brief submitted to the US Supreme Court on behalf of the Florida Bar Tax Section in Knight v. Commissioner in 2008.

L. Timothy Halleron focuses his practice on high-net-worth tax and estate planning matters. Tim advises individuals and family offices in planning for the preservation and transfer of wealth within families without the imposition of gift, estate or generation-skipping transfer tax.

Tim’s practice includes:

• Advising on design and drafting of estate planning documents, including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts (including charitable trusts), family limited partnerships, shareholder agreements, and intra-family sale agreements
• Pre-liquidity event tax planning, including leveraged sales of interests in private companies to dynasty trusts, transfers to grantor retained annuity trusts, and pre- and post-sale charitable planning
• Advising on investment diversification, asset protection, and corporate and family governance issues, including the reorganization of private companies to improve the tax efficiency of those organizations
• Counseling on the formation and administration of a variety of tax-exempt and charitable entities
• Transfer situs of trusts to more favorable jurisdictions to take advantage of tax efficiencies and modernized trust laws, and advise clients with respect to state fiduciary income tax issues
• Structuring and implementing judicial and non-judicial modifications of irrevocable trusts
• Advising on the structuring and formation of private trust companies in various jurisdictions
• Preparing and reviewing estate and gift tax returns, including complex reporting and valuation issues, and negotiate settlements with the IRS on audited estate and gift tax returns
• Advising on litigation disputes between trustees and beneficiaries and in contested trust and tax matters, and consult with fiduciaries in probate and trust administration

Tim is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (“ACTEC”), and Tim frequently writes and speaks on a variety of tax and estate planning subjects.

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.

Elise J. McGee advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on all aspects of wealth-transfer planning, including estate and trust administration, leveraged wealth-transfer techniques, tax matters, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, real estate transactions and closely held business matters. Elise has extensive experience working with owners of closely held businesses to develop governance and succession plans, and on corporate, tax and compliance matters relating to those businesses.

Elise specializes in the formation and operation of private trust companies, and has advised clients on these structures in multiple jurisdictions. Elise has worked with state regulators to develop customized private trust company structures for clients, including for international families. Most recently, she co-drafted Wyoming’s 2019 trust company legislation including 2021 legislative updates. Elise has analyzed SEC and regulatory compliance issues facing private trust companies, and has helped clients develop policies and procedures for their private trust companies. She also advises clients on the litigation and regulatory risks facing private trust companies and their decision-makers.

Elise works with clients, including registered investment advisers and multi-family offices, to establish and transition trusteeship to retail trust companies. She also advises retail trust companies on cryptocurrency custody matters. She helps clients structure the multi-jurisdictional relationships between trust companies, family offices and closely held businesses.

Elise speaks frequently on the subject of estate planning, state income tax strategies, digital assets and trust companies. She has lectured at the University of Wyoming College of Law and serves on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Bar Association Trust Law Committee.

While in law school, Elise was an executive editor for The Michigan Journal of Race & Law. Prior to law school, she worked as a senior research analyst for Lexecon, where she performed research and statistical analyses focusing on the application of economics to litigation.

Jonathan W. Motto focuses his practice on counseling families, family offices, business owners, executives and individuals on all aspects of estate and gift planning, wealth transfer issues, estate and trust administration, and business succession issues. His experience includes preparation and administration of wills and trusts, formation and reorganization of closely held corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, implementation of leveraged wealth transfer techniques, and formation and operation of family offices and private trust companies.

While in law school, Jonathan served as the editor in chief of the Children's Legal Rights Journal, president of the Student Bar Association and president of Phi Alpha Delta International. He also received a Tax Law Certificate for extensive course work in the areas of income, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax.

Victoria (Tori) Pambianco Ose advises high-net-worth individuals and families on all aspects of wealth-transfer planning, including estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax matters, estate and trust administration, business succession and charitable giving techniques.

Tori has extensive experience designing customized estate plans for individuals and families and implementing complex wealth-transfer techniques. She also has significant experience advising clients on a variety of philanthropic issues, including the development of charitable giving strategies, structuring and negotiating large charitable gifts, and the formation and operation of charitable trusts and foundations. In addition, Tori has experience advising families with international ties and non-US business interests.

Tori regularly speaks to regional and national audiences on issues related to philanthropy and on a variety of other topics in estate planning.

Sarah advises high-net-worth clients on a broad range of testamentary and inter vivos estate planning matters. She has extensive experience drafting and customizing wills, revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts. She is fluent in the administration of complex estate planning strategies including GRATs, CLATs, QPRTs, installment sales, intra-family loans, closely-held companies, charitable vehicles and leveraging techniques. She excels at designing transactions with unique assets or to accomplish specific planning objectives. Sarah also has experience administering large and complex estates and trusts.

Sarah enjoys working with numbers and using financial models and tax projections to guide clients in their planning. She develops complex models to project the impact of wealth transfer transactions, or assess the interaction between clients’ balance sheets and their estate plans. She uses those models to spot issues that may arise during the administration phase, such as liquidity shortages, and devises and implements solutions to those problems.

Sarah distills complex transactions and concepts into simple terms, and explains them to clients in summary fashion, whether through graphics, diagrams or bullet points.

Sarah is highly approachable and adept at developing relationships with clients of all ages and backgrounds. She is well-suited to advise multi-generational families, and particularly enjoys educating younger family members about estate and asset protection planning. Sarah regularly prepares premarital agreements and advises on other family law matters that may intersect with a client’s estate planning.

While in law school, Sarah was awarded the Edward H. McDermott Scholarship. She was president and founder of the Real Property/Trust & Estates Club. She was also a co-chair of the Northwestern Student Bar Association Admissions Committee and a member of the Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy.

Susan E. Ryba focuses her practice on federal tax controversy matters and tax litigation, particularly advising clients in the technology, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as high-net-worth individuals and complex partnerships.

Susan has substantial experience in all stages of federal tax controversies, including audits, administrative appeals, alternative dispute resolution proceedings, and litigation. She has resolved most of her matters at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examination level or through the IRS Independent Office of Appeals (IRS Appeals) and other dispute resolution forums. She advises clients on a broad range of domestic and international tax issues, including transfer pricing, research credit, effectively connected income, passive activity losses, Subpart F, Section 965, economic substance and other related doctrines, worthless stock and debt deductions, foreign-derived intangible income, foreign tax credits, summons enforcement, and penalties.

Susan frequently speaks at seminars sponsored by the Tax Executives Institute and teaches trial skills for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

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.

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.