Erica E. Lord

After more than 20 years providing trust and estate services, Erica founded Lord Legal Group, LLC to counsel individuals and families in a more personalized, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

With experience serving in a variety of different firms and roles, Erica brings a unique perspective. Not only has she designed and drafted client estate plans, she has also administered thousands of trusts and estates established across the United States and international jurisdictions. This background has given Erica the opportunity to see how different clients and families have tackled common goals and challenges, and she has had the privilege of stewarding clients’ wealth as their estate plans have matured and changed over the past 100+ years.

Having seen many estate plans go awry, Erica begins the estate planning process by helping clients define their values and goals, with an eye toward finding flexible and practical solutions to help implement those values and goals. Erica began her career as a high school teacher, so she focuses on making estate planning understandable and accessible, regardless of a client’s familiarity with tax rules, financial jargon, or legalese.

In her spare time, Erica enjoys traveling to remote locations and spending time with her family and friends in and around The Great Lakes.

EXPERIENCE:

  • Chief Fiduciary Officer and Head of Advice and Planning, BNY Wealth / BNY Mellon, N.A. (2022-2025)

  • Chief Fiduciary Officer, Northern Trust Global Family & Private Investment Offices and The Northern Trust Company of Delaware (2021-2022)

  • Assistant General Counsel and Senior Legal Counsel, Northern Trust (2015-2021)

  • Senior Trust Advisor, The Northern Trust Company (2010-2015)

  • Trusts & Estates Attorney with Reed Smith LLP; Sachnoff & Weaver Ltd.; and Lord, Bissell & Brook, LLP (2002-2010)

EDUCATION:

  • J.D. with honors - The George Washington University, Washington, DC

  • B.A. with high honors - Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

AFFILIATIONS:

  • Erica is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a peer-elected community of trust and estate attorneys and law professors selected for their professionalism and contributions to the legal profession. ACTEC Fellows are at the top of their profession, committed to maintaining excellence in the trust and estate legal field and to continually improving the practice of trust and estate law.

  • Erica serves as Secretary and Board Member for the Chicago Estate Planning Council, one of the largest estate planning councils in the nation.

  • Member, Illinois Bar Association

  • Member of the Bar of the Illinois Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Erica's Publications & Presentations