Listed by order of appearance.
Samuel A. Donaldson
Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Administration, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, GA
Session Title: Federal Tax Update
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 8:30 AM
SAMUEL A. DONALDSON J.D. University of Arizona; LL.M. (Taxation) University of Florida is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Administration at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where he teaches a number of tax and estate planning courses, as well as courses in the areas of property, commercial law, and professional responsibility. Prior to joining the Georgia State faculty in 2012, he was on the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle for 13 years, where he served as the Director of the law school’s Graduate Program in Taxation as well as Associate Dean for Academic Administration. In addition to Georgia State and the University of Washington, Professor Donaldson has taught law school classes at Northwestern University, the University of Florida, and Emory University. He has won nine “professor of the year” awards from three different law schools. He is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the Bar in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. He currently serves as the Tax Editor for the Probate Practice Reporter, a monthly publication from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Among his scholarly works, Professor Donaldson is a co-author of the popular law school textbook, Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach, and a co-author of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning reference volume published by Wolters Kluwer. An amateur crossword constructor, his puzzles have been published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets. A perennial contender for People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” honor, Professor Donaldson was recently notified by email of his selection to receive substantial sums of money from high-level Nigerian business officials in exchange for his bank account information.
Michael M. Gordon
Director – Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware
Session Title: Planning with Directed Trust
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 10:50 AM
MICHAEL M. GORDON works with clients throughout the country in connection with their trust and estate planning. Michael’s practice focuses on how clients can achieve estate planning and tax benefits through the use of Delaware trusts. Michael routinely works with clients across the country to transfer the situs of trusts to Delaware and to modify those trusts to take advantage of Delaware’s favorable trust law. Michael’s practice is unique in that although he does work with clients locally to assist them in the construction of their estate plans he spends the majority of his time working with high net worth clients through the country, their advisors, and attorneys to assist them with Delaware-centric trust and estate planning. Michael advises his clients on complex federal wealth transfer techniques that can be accomplished through the use of Delaware trusts. Michael also assists clients throughout the country in connection with income tax planning through the use of Delaware trusts including Qualified Small Business Stock planning and state income tax planning. Michael is recognized as one of the preeminent estate planning attorneys in the country. He is ranked by Chambers and Partners among the top attorneys in Delaware for Private Wealth Law. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national organization of peer-selected lawyers and law professors who are at the top of their profession and committed to maintaining excellence in the field of trust and estate law. Michael routinely speaks at the top estate planning conferences and events throughout the country on trust and estate planning topics.
Sarah B. Bowman
Partner, K&L Gates LLP, Seattle, WA
Session Title: Modifying Irrevocable Trusts: Consider TEDRA and Decanting
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 12:50 PM
Sarah Bowman is a partner at K&L Gates LLP. She serves as the firm’s Co-Practice Group Coordinator for the worldwide Tax practice group and co-leader of the firm’s Family Office Industry Group. As a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Sarah focuses her estate planning and trust administration practice on complex estates with multifaceted legal complexity. She assists clients with estate planning, probate estate and trust administration, family office structuring and management, charitable planning, and resolving estate and trust disputes.
William Grady IV, J.D., CLU®, CFP®
Director, Private Wealth / Baker Tilly US, LLP, Milwaukee, WI
Session Title: Community Property Issues in Estate Planning and Administration
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 1:50 PM
With more than 20 years of experience working with affluent clients, families and business owners, Bill brings extensive knowledge in estate planning, business planning, retirement planning, financial planning, life insurance and investments.
Michael Lum, J.D.
Director, Washington Tax Counsel / Baker Tilly US, LLP, Frisco, TX
Session Title: Community Property Issues in Estate Planning and Administration
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 1:50 PM
Michael has a diverse background working with high-net-worth individuals spanning over a decade. Before joining Baker Tilly, Michael worked in wealth management as a senior wealth planning strategist at Wells Fargo Private Bank. Before that, Michael practiced law in the Dallas office of the international law firm of Foley & Lardner, LLP (formerly Gardere Wynne Sewell, LLP) and the boutique estate planning firm of Jeffrey Burr, Ltd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. Education Doctor of Law (J.D.) UNLV Master of Science, accounting with an emphasis in tax UNLV Bachelor of Science, finance UNLV Michael has extensive experience with developing estate and wealth transfer plans and reviewing and drafting legal documents. Michael also has experience in representing beneficiaries and fiduciaries in trust and estate litigation. Prior to becoming an attorney, Michael worked for over a decade in bank operations and lending.
Anthony J. McCormick
Partner / Perkins Coie, Seattle, WA
Session Title: Privacy in the Age of the CTA
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 3:10 PM
Tony McCormick counsels his clients in both the tax and non-tax aspects of estate planning, with a specific focus on estate planning strategies to efficiently minimize taxes through the creation of wills, trusts, business entities, and charitable organizations and the use of gifts, sales, and other wealth-transfer strategies. Tony‘s practice also includes advising individuals and tax-exempt organizations on the wide range of legal issues affecting charitable giving, the formation of nonprofit organizations, and the organizational steps required to maintain a charitable organization’s tax exempt status.
Steven J. Schindler
Partner / Perkins Coie, Seattle, WA
Session Title: Privacy in the Age of the CTA
Session Date/Time: Thursday, November 6th at 3:10 PM
Steven Schindler helps estate planning clients navigate an increasingly complex legal and tax environment. He provides clients with comprehensive strategies to achieve successful family, business, and charitable objectives. He advises clients on estate and tax planning, planned charitable giving, estate and trust administration, nonjudicial dispute resolution, and the preparation of gift and estate tax returns. In his estate planning work, Steven creates solutions tailored to each client‘s unique circumstances and goals, assisting clients in sensitive matters including wealth transfer, asset protection, and legacy preservation. With more than 17 years of experience, he is adept at managing the nuances of tax law, helping clients minimize tax liabilities while maximizing benefits. He applies his knowledge of tax codes to structure trusts, implement gifting strategies, and manage tax compliance. Additionally, Steven assists in developing charitable giving plans that reflect clients’ values and aspirations, while also optimizing tax advantages. An active member of the community, Steven serves as treasurer of the King County Cultural Development Authority (4Culture) and formerly served as president of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle.
Anna M. Cashman
KHBB Law PLLC, Seattle, WA
Session Title: Washington Probate & Trust Update
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 8:30 AM
ANNA M. CASHMAN is a partner at KHBB Law PLLC in downtown Seattle. Her practice focuses on estate planning, taxation, probate, and trust administration matters. She enjoys working with a broad range of clients, from young families looking to secure their children’s future, to clients in need of sophisticated tax planning, and fiduciaries needing representation in contentious probate matters. Ms. Cashman graduated from Seattle University School of Law, magna cum laude, and earned her Masters of Law in Taxation from the University of Washington. She currently serves as the Chair of the Washington State Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate, and Trust Section, and is the past Chair of the WSBA Taxation Section’s Estate and Gift Tax Committee. Ms. Cashman is a past member of the Executive Committee of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle and is the former Chair of the Planning Giving Advisory Committee of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Ms. Cashman has been recognized by Chambers High Net Worth, nominated by her peers as Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch, and as a Rising Star and Superlawyer since 2016.
Dawn S. Spratley
VP, Senior Trust Officer, Washington Trust Bank, Seattle, WA
Session Title: Rubber Hits the Road, Implementing Estate Plans
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 9:30 AM
Dawn is a Vice President and Senior Trust Officer for Washington Trust Bank’s Wealth Management& Advisory Services, working un our Western Washington offices to serve her clients. Her responsibilities include consulting with individual clients and trust relationships on current estate, tax and financial planning strategies. Prior to Washington Trust Bank, Dawn was a practicing lawyer advising high-net-worth clients and corporate and individual fiduciaries on privacy trusts, asset acquisition, estate and trust litigation, drafting prenuptial, cohabitation and postnuptial agreements, probate, and domestic and international estate planning. As a member of your wealth management team, Dawn uses her over 20 years of experience as a lawyer in private practice to work with your existing legal and tax advisors in expertly implementing the best wealth planning strategies for your unique circumstances and goals.
Karolyn A. Hicks
Stokes Lawrence, P.S., Seattle, WA
Session Title: Rubber Hits the Road, Implementing Estate Plans
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 9:30 AM
KAROLYN HICKS is an experienced negotiator and litigator, focusing her practice primarily on trust and estate disputes, business disputes, and mediation. Karolyn is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (“ACTEC”) and serves on ACTEC’s Fiduciary Litigation Committee. She has been recognized by Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Band 1, for Private Wealth Disputes – Washington. She has been rated Top 100 by Washington Super Lawyers four times, and Top 50 Women seven times in the past ten years. Karolyn has worked at Stokes Lawrence for the past 23 years and just finished a 3-year rotation on the Firm’s Executive Committee.
Professor Karen E. Boxx
University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA
Session Title: Late in Life Romance: Estate Planning and Personal Implications
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 10:50 AM
Karen Boxx is a Professor at the University of Washington School of Law, where she teaches in the areas of trusts and estates, community property, property, conflicts of laws, cannabis law and professional responsibility. She is also of counsel at Keller Rohrback LLP, Seattle, Washington. She was co-reporter for the Fifth Edition of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and is reporter for the Sixth Edition of the Commentaries. She is a Uniform Law Commissioner for the state of Washington and past Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and the WSBA Elder Law Section. She has been active in legislative reform, including chairing a WSBA Task Force that drafted major revisions to Washington trust law enacted in 2011. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Chair of its Elder Law.
Lauren J. Wolven
Attorney, Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC, Chicago, IL
Session Title: Greasing the Squeaky Wheel: Managing Difficult Beneficiaries
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 1:00 PM
Lauren Wolven is a partner in the Trusts & Estates Group of Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC in Chicago. She concentrates her practice on estate planning, tax and succession for privately held businesses, charitable planning and fiduciary risk management. A Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and a Regent and past Illinois State Chair for ACTEC, Lauren is a frequent lecturer and author on a variety of estate planning and trust administration topics. Lauren is a past president of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and a former Board Member of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. She was named by Law Bulletin Publishing Company as one of its “40 Under 40” in 2010, has been included in Chambers USA since 2015 and in Best Lawyers since 2012. Lauren has been listed by SuperLawyers as one of the Top 50 Women in Illinois and as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Illinois. Lauren is a 1996 graduate of Indiana University and was part of the 3rd class of Wells Scholars. She earned her J.D. from University of Illinois College of Law. Lauren is actively involved with several charitable organizations, including as a member of the Board of Directors of The Anti-Cruelty Society.
M. Read Moore
Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, San Francisco, CA
Session Title: Estate Planning Strategies for QTIP Trust Assets
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 2:00 PM
M. Read Moore is a partner in the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and provides legal counsel on all aspects of estate planning, estate and trust administration, tax controversy, and privately owned business governance and succession planning. Read works with clients across the United States and around the world on innovative planning and tax and nontax controversies for private companies, domestic and foreign trusts, and wealthy family groups. Read acts as an outside general counsel to many U.S. domestic and international single family offices, and has considerable experience in the international aspects of the private client practice, including inbound investment and wealth transfers to the United States, the U.S. tax and legal aspects of non-U.S. private company and wealth management structures, and U.S. tax compliance for clients with global investments and assets. Read joined McDermott in July 1997 in its Chicago office and relocated to the firm’s Bay Area offices in January 2013.Read is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is an Academician and President-Elect of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law. Read is listed in Best Lawyers in America, which named him 2012 and 2018 Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year for Chicago and 2021 and 2023 Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year for San Francisco. Read is also a member of the Advisory Committee for the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. Read is an active member of the bars in Illinois, California, Oregon, and Washington. A native of Seattle, Washington, Read received his B.A. magna cum laude from Rice University in 1987, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Read received his J.D. in 1990 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review.
Ronald J. Scalise Jr.
John Minor Wisdom Professor of Civil Law, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, LA
Session Title: Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 3:20 PM
Ronald J. Scalise Jr. is the John Minor Wisdom Professor of Civil Law at Tulane University Law School. Professor Scalise is a member of the American Law Institute, an associate member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, the Treasurer of the American Society of Comparative Law, and an academic fellow to the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel. He writes extensively on civil and comparative law topics, including the law of successions, and currently serves as the editor for Thomson Reuter’s annual edition of the Louisiana Civil Code as well as the author for the annual updates for five volumes in the Louisiana Civil Law Treatise series on property and obligations. His awards include the 2015 Leadership in Law Award by New Orleans City Business, the Felix Frankfurter Award for law teaching in 2018 and 2024, and 2018 John Minor Wisdom Award for the best civil law article published in the Tulane Law Review. Professor Scalise has served on a number of law reform projects and on those related to the betterment of the legal profession. He has previously served as the Reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s Community Property Disposition at Death Act and currently serves as Reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s Drafting Committee for an Act on Conflict of Trust and Estate Laws. At the state level, Professor Scalise has on numerous occasions served as member of the Board of Governors of the Louisiana State Bar Association and currently serves as the Reporter for the Louisiana State Law Institute’s Successions and Donations Committee, the Trust Code Committee, the Prescription Committee, and the Committee on Aleatory Contracts/Signification and as a member of the Council and over a dozen other subject-matter specific revision committees.
Genevieve Mann
Assistant Professor, Gonzaga School of Law, Spokane, WA
Session Title: Empowering Client Decision-making by Improving RPC 1.14
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 4:20 PM
Genevieve Mann teaches primarily in the Legal Clinic at Gonzaga University School of Law, where she directs the Elder Law Clinic. She also teaches in the classroom, including Trial Advocacy, Drafting for Litigation and Elder Law. Her passion is clinical teaching and supporting and challenging students to become ethical, inspired, and competent lawyers. She enjoys the wonderful yet demanding combination of allowing students to take the lead on cases, while remaining the responsible attorney for every case. It requires a careful balance of empowering students to feel they are the primary attorney, while also ensuring that the client’s needs and legal interests are protected. Professor Mann joined the faculty in 2014 after ten years in private practice representing clients primarily in employment law. She was the Managing Attorney at the Unemployment Law Project in Spokane, and prior to that she worked for Powell, Kuznetz & Parker, representing employees in cases involving discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment and retaliation. Professor Mann is admitted to practice in Washington State and in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Prior to law school, Prof. Mann received a Master of Social Work from Boston College. Professor Mann writes in the area of elder law and combines the dual interests inherent in clinical education of teaching and practicing. Her current work focuses on how to support client decision-making through the lens of Relational Autonomy.
Robert D. Dinerstein
Robert D. Dinerstein, Law, Spokane, WA
Session Title: Empowering Client Decision-making by Improving RPC 1.14
Session Date/Time: Friday, November 7th at 4:20 PM
Robert D. Dinerstein is professor of law emeritus and former director (and founder) of the Disability Rights Law Clinic at American University, Washington College of Law (WCL), where he taught from 1983-2023. Prior to coming to WCL, he was an attorney for five years at the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, where among other things he litigated cases concerning conditions in state institutions for people with intellectual disability, psychosocial disabilities, and juveniles. From 1994-2000, he was a member of the President’s Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities. He currently chairs the ABA Commission on Disability Rights and is co-chair of the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice’s Disability Rights Committee. He has published extensively and made numerous presentations in the area of disability rights, where his work has focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, issues of capacity and consent, supported decision making, representing clients with disabilities, and deinstitutionalization of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has an A.B. degree from Cornell University and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School.
Jessica Baggenstos
Of Counsel, Black Helterline, LLP, Portland, OR
Session Title: The Oregon Hour
On Demand Session
Jessica practices in the areas of on estate planning and administration, an area that provides opportunities to explore many areas of the law, including business succession planning and charitable giving. Jessica enjoys getting to know her clients and assisting them in developing an estate plan that is appropriate for their situation. She works with families ranging from young parents putting together their first estate plan to high-net-worth individuals involved engaged in sophisticated estate and gift planning. Jessica was selected as a Fellow for the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Fellows Program for 2012-2014. She continues to be involved with the leadership of the ABA Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section and is currently an Acquisitions Editor for the Real Property, Trust and Estate Journal. Jessica obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, her law degree from Boston College and an LLM (Taxation) from Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to moving to Oregon, Jessica practiced at Venable LLP in Washington, DC. Her experience prior to entering private practice included a clerkship with the District of Columbia Probate Court and an internship with the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation.
Vanessa Usui
Partner, Black Helterline, LLP, Portland, OR
Session Title: The Oregon Hour
On Demand Session
Vanessa focuses her practice on estate and tax planning, probate, trust administration, and charitable giving and organizations. She assists clients in developing their estate and business succession plans with an eye towards tax efficiency and business continuity. Vanessa is the author of the Federal Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax chapter of Administering Oregon Estate, 2023 Edition, is on the editorial review board of Oregon Statutory Time Limitations and is on the editorial board of the Oregon State Bar Estate Planning & Administration Section newsletter. She is a graduate of Reed College (1996) and Lewis and Clark Law School (2005).
Liz Arnold, CPA
Baker Tilly Advisory Group, LP
Session Title: Tax Tango: Charitable Planning Steps to Success!
On Demand Session
Liz Arnold is a highly skilled CPA specializing in tax accounting, particularly in estate, gift, and income tax planning. With a focus on serving affluent families, Liz‘s expertise extends beyond numbers. She is committed to understanding her clients’ values and priorities, integrating them into personalized tax strategies that go beyond financial objectives. Dedicated to preserving family legacies, Liz works closely with her clients to align their tax planning with their philanthropic goals. By incorporating charitable giving into her tax strategies, Liz ensures that her clients’ legacies extend far beyond monetary wealth, leaving a lasting impact on causes close to their hearts.8.
M. John Way
Shareholder, Schwabe, Seattle, Washington
Title of Session: Businesses and Farms: Traps for the Unwary
ON DEMAND SESSION
M. John Way is a tax attorney and shareholder with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. John’s practice focuses on advising private business owners and family offices on tax, business, succession and estate planning. He guides clients throughout the entire business lifecycle, from formation, operation, and growth to eventual transition out of the business, whether by sale, succession, or liquidation. Addressing all phases of wealth preservation and estate planning, John develops customized strategies for the most complex situations. He also represents clients in their dealings with the IRS and state and local taxing authorities, including the Washington Department of Revenue. John is a frequent speaker and active in the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Section. Previously, John served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Washington’s School of Law, teaching in the Masters in Taxation program. He is also the past Chair of the American Bar Association Real Property Trust and Estate Section’s Elder Law and Special Needs Planning Group, a past President of the South Puget Sound Estate Planning Council, and a former City Council Member. John has a J.D. from Tulane University and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Washington.