Katrina (Katy) Crafton Fluet advises ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families and charities on all aspects of federal and state estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax matters, charitable planning, estate and trust administration and succession planning for closely-held companies. Katy frequently counsels clients on the structure and implementation of complex, leveraged wealth-transfer techniques, often with a focus on state income tax planning. In addition, she has extensive experience in planning for qualified small business stock (QSBS) and cryptocurrency.

Katy currently serves as the Hiring Partner for the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Offices, and participates in McDermott’s Diversity & Inclusion and Pro Bono & Community Service committees. In addition, she currently serves on the California Lawyers Association’s Trusts and Estates Executive Committee.

Katy has lectured to regional and national audiences on a broad variety of topics in estate planning, tax reporting, the effect of spousal rights for property law and tax purposes and the impact of state legislation specific to same sex couples for federal and state transfer and income tax purposes. Katy was a recipient of the Firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Award in 2010.

While in law school, Katy was an editor of The Elder Law Journal and a Harno Scholar.

Nicole M. Pearl advises clients on estate planning, wealth transfer planning, marital property agreements, business succession planning and post-death administration. Her clients include family offices, entrepreneurs and business owners, real property investors, private equity fund managers, and entertainment industry figures.

Nicole helps high-net-worth individuals pass wealth to the next generation, while minimizing their tax burden. To that end, she creates estate plans and charitable giving programs designed to meet her clients’ family succession and wealth management objectives. She also advises families in the creation and ongoing administration of their family offices, and works with business owners to maintain control of their companies through buy-sell agreements or to relinquish control via responsibly conducted transition of ownership to family members or employees.

Nicole primarily works with clients throughout Southern California, but also maintains a statewide practice that includes a strong Northern California client base.

• Represents prominent families, family offices, fiduciaries, charitable organizations, and closely held businesses in complex private wealth and family disputes across the United States
• Advises clients on trust, estate, fiduciary, conservatorship, guardianship, and elder abuse litigation
• Guides clients through high-stakes disputes involving multigenerational wealth, family businesses, and significant assets

Laurelle M. Gutierrez has a diverse practice representing high-net-worth individuals and their families with respect to all aspects of gift, estate and generation-skipping wealth-transfer tax planning, as well as trust and estate administration.

Laurelle has extensive experience in the design and implementation of sophisticated intergenerational wealth-transfer planning strategies. She advises domestic and multinational high-net-worth clients and families to develop and orchestrate innovative solutions around wealth transfer, philanthropic giving and multifaceted estate planning needs. She has advised trustees and executors with complex probate and trust administrations, including successfully representing clients in estate tax and gift tax audits.

While in law school, Laurelle served on the University of San Francisco Law Review. She frequently writes and speaks on sophisticated estate planning and fiduciary income tax issues for professional organizations, including the American Law Institute, the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the State Bar of California and CalCPA.

Daniel (Danny) J. Bell focuses his practice on domestic and international estate, gift and income tax planning. He has assisted clients with cutting-edge estate, income and gift tax mitigation strategies, including domestic and offshore tax compliance, tax controversy and litigation, pre-immigration, expatriation and business succession planning, estate and trust administration, as well as family multigenerational wealth preservation. Danny has also advised high-net-worth individuals with sophisticated tax and wealth transfer planning and implementation.

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.

Trusted advisor to ultra-high-net-worth individuals, multigenerational families, family offices, founders, and business owners on estate planning, philanthropy, governance, and succession

Represents individuals, families, and their charitable entities on the design, implementation, funding, operation, audit, succession, and sunset of tax-exempt entities

Counsels clients on sophisticated estate and wealth transfer planning; business, fiduciary, and family office succession; and the administration of large and complex trusts and estates

Guides families and family offices during critical times, including major family life and business events, transitions, and succession

Advises single-family offices on formation, restructuring, incentive equity structures (i.e., profits interests, co-investments, and phantom equity plans), private trust companies, and investment fund creation

Counsels family offices and other investors on buy-side and sell-side transactions

Handles complex tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, families, and closely held businesses

Advises on tax controversy matters

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.

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.

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.

Designs, amends, and administers pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership, and 403(b) plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements

Counsels plan fiduciaries on ERISA Title I matters, including investment policies, private equity, hedge funds, and other alternative investments

Advises multinational clients on global employee benefits and compliance issues

Represents clients before the IRS, Department of Labor, and PBGC on benefit plan audits, corrections, and plan terminations

Kate Vera Coverdale focuses her practice on executive compensation matters related to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring plans, initial public offerings, carve-outs and other business transactions. She leads the employee benefits and executive compensation practice in our New York office.

Kate regularly counsels private equity firms and their portfolio companies, as well as public companies, individual executives and management teams, on all aspects of executive compensation across industries, including executive employment agreements, severance arrangements, incentive equity plans and other compensation programs. Clients rely on her nuanced counsel to navigate complex issues such as compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 409A (relating to deferred compensation) and Internal Revenue Code Sections 280G and 4999 (relating to the deductibility limits on executive compensation and the excise tax imposed on excess parachute payments).

Kate has extensive experience advising on executive compensation issues in the bankruptcy, restructuring and insolvency contexts, helping clients navigate the challenges associated with implementing effective arrangements and retaining key talent in a distressed environment. She also advises clients regarding compliance with proxy disclosure and corporate governance regulations as they relate to executive compensation.

Kate is a member of Chief, a private membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders. She also speaks frequently to industry organizations on topics such as preparing for initial public offerings and executive compensation.

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.