Best Lawyers in America for Litigation - Trusts and Estates
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John is the owner of Skabelund, PLLC. His practice focuses on asset protection. Utilizing various tools, he enables his clients to protect their wealth from lawsuits while also reducing federal estate taxes and promoting family harmony. His clients are typically real estate investors, business owners, executives, high profile professionals (doctors, lawyers, professional athletes, actors, etc.), or have inherited/won a large sum of money. However, John is not a typical lawyer. As a previous a...
Mac McLean has been a Certified Tax Specialist for over 25 years and practices as a tax attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Greenville office. He works primarily in the areas of estate planning, corporate tax planning and retirement program planning. Mac has significant experience in structuring retirement plans for governmental bodies, including plans that provide specific groups of employees with the ability to make contributions in excess of regular deferral limits.
Ilene Sherwyn Cooper is a partner practicing litigation and estate planning in Surrogate’s Courts throughout Metropolitan New York. Before joining Farrell Fritz, she served for ten years as the Chief Law Assistant of the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court. Her responsibilities there included preparing judicial opinions on complex and novel issues; acting as the Trial Assistant to the Surrogate, preparing pretrial memoranda, jury charges, evidentiary rulings and post-trial decisions;...
John G. Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment, Litigation - Municipal and Litigation - Trusts and Estates. John G., who practices law in Montgomery, Alabama, has been recognized since 2017. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John G. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bernard A. Jackvony is a nationally recognized fiduciary litigator and Of Counsel with Pannone Devereaux & O’Gara LLC. He concentrates his practice in the areas of trust and estate planning, litigation and administration for individuals, families, fiduciaries and charitable organizations and has represented clients in fiduciary litigation in Rhode Island, Florida, New Jersey, California, New York, Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Mr. Jackvony served the citizens of Rhode Island as Lieute...
Keith Lapuyade has more than 30 years of litigation experience. His knowledge of insurance law and bad faith, coupled with his extensive understanding of medical issues, is of particular value in medical malpractice litigation and often brings this special skill-set to bear in the personal representation of physicians, attorneys, and other professionals for purposes of establishing their rights with respect to their insurance coverage and financial well-being. Keith Lapuyade, of the law firm ...
Eric W. Penzer is a trust and estate litigator representing high-net-worth individuals and families. Eric is a trusted advisor for clients involved in complex challenges related to generational wealth and asset transfer. As an experienced trial lawyer, Eric provides strategic representation in contested probate proceedings, fiduciary accounting disputes, discovery and turnover proceedings, and other trust and estate matters. He is known for being responsive, fair, and committed to achieving f...
Hirschel Abbott concentrates his practice in estate planning, closely held businesses and entity selection, fiduciary litigation, charitable planning, and tax-exempt organizations. He currently serves as a co-chair of the firm’s Tax, Trusts and Estates Practice Group. As a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist and a Certified Public Accountant, Hirschel counsels businesses and other high net worth individuals and families on matters related to property, tax, and estate planning. He also ad...
Bob Kirkland is a founding partner of Kirkland Hochstetler PLLC and practices in Kansas City, Missouri. He is licensed to practice law in Missouri, Kansas and Florida. Mr. Kirkland represents individuals, families, and fiduciaries in a wide range of trusts and estates matters, including estate planning, trust formation, and estate and trust administration. His work includes the preparation of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, charitable trusts, and trusts fo...
Mr. Merline is a shareholder in the firm. Mr. Merline has been with the firm since 1983. He is a certified specialist in the fields of both Taxation Law, and Estate Planning and Probate Law by The Supreme Court of South Carolina. He is listed in the book The Best Lawyers in America in the following fields: Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Employee Benefits Law, Litigation - ERISA, Litigation - Trusts and Estates, Litigation and...
John A. Hartog is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Trusts and Estates. John A., who practices law in Orinda, California, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Mr. Backer concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate and trust administration and fiduciary litigation. He brings over forty years of specialized experience to his representation of individuals, owners of closely held businesses, executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries. He aggressively manages will disputes, will construction proceedings, accounting and other fiduciary litigation for individuals and New Jersey-based bank trust departments. He advises and implements we...
Daniel P. Wheeler is a partner with the firm of Kembell Woods & Martinsen LLP. Mr. Wheeler focuses his practice on fiduciary litigation, probate administration, adult and minor guardianships, and mediation in cases throughout Missouri and Kansas. Mr. Wheeler served as a Probate Commissioner for the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri for more than fourteen years. As Probate Commissioner, he presided over family and fiduciary disputes in trust and probate matters, including fiduciary...
Griff Leschefske’s practice centers on estate planning, charitable giving, and probate, trust, and fiduciary litigation, in which he represents individuals, families, fiduciaries, and institutional clients in all aspects of trust and estate planning, administration, and controversy. Griff also represents charitable organizations, educational institutions, and corporate clients with respect to planned giving and philanthropy matters. In his estate planning practice, Griff provides counse...
Miriam Wogan Henry is a partner in the Tax Practice Group and a member of the firm’s board of directors. She focuses on estate planning, including family wealth transfer plans, charitable planning, and business succession planning, along with advising clients regarding fiduciary litigation and transfer tax controversy matters. Miriam advises on trust and estate planning matters such as drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and marital property agreements. Advising clients in conne...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.