Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates
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Nichole Wilk brings over a decade of business and legal expertise. She began her law career working in commercial litigation and now uses those skills and knowledge gained to better assist and protect her clients in business and real estate transactions. Her practice includes both litigation and transactional representation. Real Estate: Nichole assists clients in a wide range of real estate matters. Her experience includes assistance with the purchase and sale of real property, leasing, and ...
Tom has over 30 years of experience in helping clients efficiently and effectively define their estate planning goals and to arrange their affairs accordingly. His expertise includes facilitating the direction of a client-centered and directed strategy and then drafting clear and understandable legal documents to implement it, thereby protecting client wealth, closely-held businesses, and families from taxes, post-mortem chaos and expense, and unnecessary complexity. He has expertise and expe...
Stephen Brown focuses his practice on business formation and structuring, wealth transfer planning, and litigation involving fiduciaries, trusts, estates and guardianships. He is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. Stephen regularly advises individuals on a range of estate planning strategies, including the use of simple and complex trust arrangements to achieve their personal and charitable objectives in a tax advantaged manner. He also has extensive experience a...
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. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/lang-richard-a/
Michael A. Silva is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Michael A., who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jay C. Glickman, a Partner in the Law Firm of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg and Gifford has been a member of the firm since 1972 and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court the same year. Mr. Glickman's practice focuses on wills, estate planning, estate administration, and elder law. He received his undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and his law degree from Temple University School of Law. He is an active member of the Community, serving as a member and/or board membe...
Scott B. Peatross is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Scott B., who practices law in Memphis, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Scott B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Carol A. Harrington advises clients on a variety of matters, including estate, gift and generation-skipping tax issues, closely held businesses and succession planning, family office structures and issues, private trust companies, private foundations, trust and estate administration, and contested trust and tax matters. Carol is the former global head of McDermott’s Private Client Practice. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/harrington-carol-a/
Eva V. Kliegman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Eva V., who practices law in Greenwich, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Eva V. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area. Eva V. Kliegman is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group and is based in the firm’s ...
John J. Grundhauser is a shareholder of Dunwody White & Landon, P.A. Mr. Grundhauser graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and also served on the University of Miami Law Review as an Associate Editor for two years. John received his undergraduate degree from Lindenwood University with a double major in mathematics and communication arts. John is a member of the American Bar Association: Real Property, Probate and Tru...
Jay Waxenberg has been with the Personal Planning Department of Proskauer Rose LLP since 1984 and is now Chair of the Department. A former member of the firm’s Executive Committee, he focuses his practice on estate and tax planning and estate and trust administration. Jay primarily represents individuals and their estates. He represents many families with significant multigenerational wealth, and has assisted them in the structuring of their estate plans so as to minimize gift, estate a...
Paul L. Bourdeau is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. He joined the Firm in 1980 and was the founder of the West Hartford office. Paul advises clients in the areas of estate planning, tax efficient wealth transfer, estate settlement, trust administration, business succession planning, taxation and charitable giving. In addition, he has extensive experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. His clients include corporate e...
Bradley J. Dougherty is a partner in the Corporate Department of the Indianapolis, Indiana office of Barnes & Thornburg. Bradley concentrates his practice in the areas of business transactions, estate planning and estate administration. He represents individuals, closely held businesses and family businesses. Bradley provides services for the formation and operation of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, and representation of these entities as corporate/legal couns...
Alan A. May is a shareholder with Kemp Klein in Troy, Michigan. His practice focuses on Litigation - Trusts and Estates , Tax Law , and Trusts and Estates , including matters involving guardianships and conservatorships. Mr. May has written and lectured on probate and fiduciary issues and has taught courses at Wayne State University and Oakland University addressing these topics. Mr. May has received numerous peer recognitions within the legal community. He was selected for inclusion in Michi...
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.