2017 West Coast Private Client Forum - Los Angeles

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.

Julie Miraglia Kwon advises wealthy individuals, families, closely held businesses, charities and corporate fiduciaries on all aspects of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, trust and estate administration, business succession, charitable planning and governance, and contested trust and tax matters.

Julie formerly was the Philanthropic Advisor for Stanford University, where she collaborated with the Office of General Counsel and Stanford Management Company regarding endowment and charitable trust investment, complex gifts and bequests, and contested matters. Previously, she also was a national director with Bernstein Global Wealth Management, where she developed quantitative research regarding the effect of investment volatility on wealth transfer, and was the fiduciary counsel and Legacy Planner for the Midwest Region for Bessemer Trust Company. Julie is a former member of the board of directors of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the largest in the country.

Julie co-authors the tax treatise, Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (by Harrington, Plaine, Zaritsky & Kwon, for Warren Gorham & Lamont), and the Tax Management Portfolio titled Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (by Harrington & Kwon, for Bureau of National Affairs). Julie speaks frequently before and writes regularly for professional publications and organizations, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Dow Jones, Journal of Taxation, Trusts & Estates, the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the Internal Revenue Service, the American Bar Association, the American Law Institute and numerous regional organizations.

While in law school, Julie was executive editor of the Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities.

Carlyn S. McCaffrey provides legal counsel on domestic and international tax and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals. She also advises individuals and institutions on charitable planning matters. Carlyn is co-head of the Private Client practice in the Firm's New York office.

A frequent lecturer on subjects relating to tax law, trusts and estates, foreign trusts and matrimonial law, Carlyn is also an extensively published author on these topics.

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.

Michael (Mike) Morgan is recognized as one of the nation’s leading lawyers in cybersecurity and data privacy. He has guided clients through some of the largest and most complex data breaches, breaches involving more than 50 million records, incidents affecting persons in over 100 countries around the world, and incidents involving sensitive defense-related information. He counsels clients on compliance with US and international regulations relating to cybersecurity and data privacy, including compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and China’s Network Security Law. Mike leads the firm's Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity Group.

Mike has particular experience on complex legal issues arising from advanced technologies. He represents companies on privacy and cybersecurity issues arising from vehicle autonomy and connectivity and is an expert on the fast-changing regulatory environment relating to autonomous vehicles and in the US and around the world. He also advises clients on matters relating to international data transfers (e.g., EU model clauses and Privacy Shield), cryptocurrency, e-commerce security and blockchain applications. He represents clients in a range of industries, including financial services, big data, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance and automotive, as well as defense contractors and subcontractors subject to requirements under DFARS and the CMMC Framework.

Mike has handled scores of privacy and cybersecurity-related cases, including more than one hundred lawsuits involving claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practice (UDAAP) statutes; and consumer protection statutes. He has particular expertise in the defense of cases involving claims for statutory damages and advises clients on mitigation of legal risks arising from the CCPA’s statutory damages provisions applicable to data breaches. He has defended against government investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Communications Commission and state attorneys general. Mike is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

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.

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.