EXPERIENCE  

       BNY Mellon Wealth Management (June 2022 to June 2025)  

• Managing Director, Chief Fiduciary Officer and Head of Wealth Planning, BNY Mellon, N.A. 

• Member of Wealth Management Executive Leadership Team 

• Business Head, Wealth Management Select Segment (led 50-person team administering approximately 5,000 trust accounts with assets under management totaling over $1B)  

The Northern Trust Company (November 2010 to May 2022) 

• Chief Fiduciary Officer, Northern Trust Global Family & Private Investment Office Services (“GFO”) (2021-2022), Member of GFO Leadership Team 

• Chief Fiduciary Officer, The Northern Trust Company of Delaware (2021-2022)) 

• Assistant General Counsel, Trust Counsel Legal Team (2015-2021) 

• Senior Trust Advisor, Northern Trust Wealth Management - Wealth Advisory Services (2010-2015) 

Reed Smith LLP (2004 to 2010; combined with Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd. in 2007) 

• Trust and estate attorney focused on estate planning for family business owners, complex trust and estate administration, and dispute resolution 

Lord Bissell & Brook LLP (predecessor to Locke Lord LLP) (2002 to 2004, Summer Associate 2001) 

• Administered probate estates and drafted estate plans with accelerated responsibility for senior attorney work 

Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (2019 to present):  ACTEC is the premiere trust and estate planning fellowship of attorneys in the United States.  Its fellows are peer nominated and elected based on collegial reputation, professional excellence, and contributions to the legal profession. 

SKILLS & REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Executive Leadership and Talent Development: Led and coached diverse teams to meet business deadlines together, emphasizing openness, creativity, collaboration, and perseverance in resolving matters to completion  

• Design and Execute Complex Wealth Management Solutions: Collaborated with diverse stakeholders to creatively solve complex fiduciary puzzles and deliver customized solutions for family wealth ranging from $5 million to $70 billion.   

• Technology, Productivity & Efficiency:  Led the creation and implementation of multiple proprietary technology platforms to increase productivity and mitigate risk; served as legal subject matter expert for institutional and family office implementation of DocuSign and Federal E-sign technology strategies during global pandemic; designed and led rollout of workflow tools to drive efficiency in business and legal department administration 

• Regulatory Oversight and Governance:  Collaborate with client service teams and internal Legal, Risk, and Compliance partners to develop practical tools that support business growth and meet regulatory requirements; led examinations and partnered with federal regulators, public company Board of Directors, and executive leadership   

• Relationship Management & Business Development: Collaborate with internal partners, family offices, attorneys, and external investment managers to win and onboard new relationships, expand existing relationships, and deliver high-touch client service to WM clients ranging in size from $1MM to $75B+ 

• Trusts and Estates Law Practice:   

• Counseled high net worth individuals and families on property law and tax strategies, culminating in the proposal, drafting and implementation of sophisticated estate plans 

• Administered decedents’ estates and trusts involving unique assets, family dynamics, document construction, litigation, property law conflicts, income tax planning, and transfer tax issues 

• Prepared and reviewed estate, gift, and fiduciary income tax returns; participated in IRS audits and responses 

• Drafted a variety of legal documents, including trusts (living, irrevocable, GRATs, SLATs, ILITs, QPRTs, IDGTs), wills, trust modification and decanting instruments, powers of attorney, living wills, court accountings, probate documents, promissory notes, prenuptial agreements, entity governing instruments, buy-sell and related transactional documents, deeds, corporate annual filings, and nonprofit organizational and annual filings 

• Drafted and reviewed pleadings, motions, and briefs to resolve tax and fiduciary disputes in Illinois and other state court actions seeking equitable and legal relief (claims ranging from approx. $10 million to $500 million) 

• Counseled corporate trustee on a wide range of complex matters for trusts and estates across the US, including advising on transfer tax apportionment, income and principal allocation, changes to situs and governing law, discretionary distributions, tax filings, fiduciary investments, powers of attorney, dispute resolution, and general questions regarding contracts, securities laws, deposit accounts, loans, transfers on death, UTMA statutes, agency principles, real estate requirements, and corporate operational matters  

EDUCATION  

The George Washington University, Washington, DC - J.D. with honor 2002, top 20% of graduating class 

• Dean’s Fellow (2001-2002): Taught required legal research and writing course to first year law students 

• The George Washington University Moot Court Board: Selected for membership as a first-year student; represented Board as a finalist in national competition (2001) 

• The George Washington University Law School Student Bar Association:  Elected co-chair of First Year Programs (2000-2001) and Commencement (2001-2002)  

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI - B.A. with high honor 1996, Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy, secondary education certification, minor in biology 

• Dean’s List (every semester), Phi Kappa Phi Honors, awarded Mortar Board National Senior Honors 

AFFILIATIONS  

• Member, Bar of the Illinois Supreme Court and of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (admitted 2002) 

• Chicago Estate Planning Council (2004 to present):  Executive Committee (2025-2030 term), Director (2022-present), and Committee Chair (2017-2021) 

• Member, Illinois Bar Association 

• Commissioner, Village of Western Springs, Illinois, Transportation and Safety Board (2010 to present) 

• Volunteer and Site Leader, Ladder Up Chicago Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (2003 to 2013) 

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS 

• Speaker, Come and Knock on our Door, We’ve Been Waiting For You: Greeting Unwelcome (or Downright Difficult) Distribution Requests that Appear at the Doorstep, ACTEC Fall Meeting (September 2024). 

• Speaker, Fiduciary Investment Considerations: Managing Business Interests, Concentrated Stock Positions, Artwork, Real Estate, and Private Equity, Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute (September 2024). 

• Speaker, Chief Fiduciary Roundtable, 47th Annual Conference of the National Trust Closely Held Business Association (September 2024). 

• Speaker, Family Office Best Practices, 2024 STEP Newport Beach Conference (February 2024). 

• Speaker, Challenges in Administering Commonly-Used Distribution Language, ACTEC Virtual National Meeting (December 2023). 

• Speaker, Fiduciary Investing: From Legal Lists to Cryptocurrency, Seattle Estate Planning Council (November 2023).  

• Speaker, New Frontiers in Discretionary Requests, 2023 Delaware Trust Conference (October 2023).  

• Speaker, Emerging Wealth Management and Fiduciary Topics and Risks, Financial Institution Risk Management Association (August 2023). 

• Speaker, Discretionary Distributions for HEMS: Deciding and Documenting, ACTEC Annual Meeting, Fiduciary Administration Task Force (March 2023). 

• Speaker, Gifts of Digital Assets: How to and Should You?  American Council on Gift Annuities (December 2022). 

• Speaker, Cryptocurrency: What You Need to Know, Greater North Shore Estate and Financial Planning Council (September 2022). 

• Speaker, Master Class in Estate Administration, ACTEC Summer Meeting Stand Alone Program (June 2022). 

• Moderator, Adventures in Advanced Drafting, Chicago Estate Planning Council (September 2021). 

• Moderator, Planning and Administration with Art and Tangibles, Chicago Estate Planning Council (January 2021). 

• Moderator, Closing the Generation Gap:  Effective Communication Strategies to Bridge Generational Difference, Chicago Estate  Planning Council (September 2020).  

• Author, Little Red Riding Hood or the Wolf: How Far Can an Agent Reach Into Grandmother’s Pocketbook?  46 ACTEC L. J. 99 (Fall 2020). 

• Moderator, Practical Aspects of Estate Planning in the Time of COVID-19, Chicago Estate Planning Council (May 2020). 

• Speaker, Recent Developments in Illinois Law, ACTEC Great Lakes Regional Meeting (December 2019). 

• Speaker, The Art and Science of Discretionary Standards, ALI-CLE Estate Planning in Depth (June 2019). 

• Speaker, Drafting, Understanding and Enforcing Trustee Compensation, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education  62nd Annual Estate Planning Short Course (forthcoming May 2019). 

• Co-author, Prudence of Passivity vs. Prudence of Process:  Can a Default Approach Be Prudent?  44 ACTEC L. J. 301 (Summer 2019). 

• Speaker, Who’s On First: Agent, Guardian or Trustee?  Northern Trust Wealth Management National Education Seminar (August 2019). 

• Speaker, Estate Planning Fundamentals Workshops:  Drafting Basic Estate Planning Documents; Chicago Estate Planning Council (January 2015, January 2016, January 2017, January 2018, February 2019). 

• Co-author, Managing Fiduciary Risk in Representing Executors and Trustees, ACTEC Heart of America Conference (February 2019). 

• Speaker, Fiduciary Comparisons and Intersections:  Agents, Guardians & Trustees, Chicago Bar Association (December 2018). 

• Speaker, Drafting, Understanding and Enforcing Reasonable Compensation for Trustees, 44th Annual Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute (2018). 

• Speaker, Powers of Attorney, Wills & Trusts:  What Every Elder Law Attorney Should Know, Illinois Bar Association Elder Law Bootcamp (April 2018). 

• Co-author, Directed Trusts and Other Trust Modifications, ALI-CLE Estate Planning Techniques for Large Estates (April 2018). 

• Speaker, Financial Powers of Attorney:  Practical Applications and Limitations, American Association of Daily Money Managers (March 2018). 

• Speaker, Discretionary Distributions: Effectively Drafting and Administering Discretionary Trusts, Fox Valley Estate Planning Council (March 2018). 

• Speaker, Discretionary Distributions:  Drafting and Administering Along the Fiduciary Continuum, Chicago Estate Planning Council (March 2018). 

• Co-author, Mistakes Fiduciaries See All the Time – and How to Avoid Them (With Sample Provisions), Estate Planning Course Materials J. at 23 (August 2017). 

• Speaker, Basics of Drafting Estate Planning Instruments, DuPage County Estate Planning Council (April 2017). 

• Author, Nuts & Bolts of Illinois Probate Estate Administration, Illinois State Bar Association Elder Law Bootcamp: Basics and Beyond (April 2017).  

• Co-author, Smith v. Shaughnessy, Slippery Remainder Interests and the Intersection of Gift and Estate Taxes, 42 ACTEC L. J. 53 (Spring 2017). 

• Speaker, Inheriting Expectations Around Wealth and Values, The Northern Trust Company Family Firm Forum (November 2016). 

• Faculty Member, American Bankers Association National Trust School, Emory University (2016). 

• Speaker, Avoiding Litigation, A Practical Guide to Trust Administration, IICLE Continuing Education Program  (October 2013). 

• Co-author, Estate and Trust Mediation:  A Guide for Advisors and Fiduciaries, ALI-ABA Advanced Course of Study on Representing Estate and Trust Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries (July 2011).  

• Co-author, Building Profitable Relationships with Centers of Influence, Bank Investment Consultant Magazine (August 2009). 

• Speaker, Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques and More, Lorman Continuing Legal Education Seminar (May 2008). 

• Co-author, Using Facilitative Mediation in a Changing Estate Planning Practice, Estate Planning Magazine (December 2005). 

• Co-author, Using Mediation to Stem the Tide of Litigation in the Ocean of Family Wealth Transfers, Disp. Res. J. (November  2004). 

• Co-author, Total Return Trusts Give Trustees Flexibility in Ever-changing Markets, Illinois Bar Journal (May 2003).