CHICAGO – Aug. 29, 2022 – William M. Doyle, Lawrence M. Kern, and Eric C. Nelson joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as shareholders in Chicago, with the intent to utilize Greenberg Traurig's deep U.S. and global platform to benefit their sophisticated client base in all the markets where high-net-worth individuals live and work.
Doyle is a renowned tax and estate-planning expert with more than four decades of experience representing many of the wealthiest families in the United States and around the world. He joins from Winston & Strawn, where he served as Trusts and Estates Practice chair.
"In these changing times, one thing is clear: tremendous wealth has been created, globally and nationally, and there is an unprecedented relocation of ultra-high-net-worth individuals who control major companies, funds, banks, technology and other innovative businesses, real estate companies, and investors in all of these businesses--this is a large part of our client base," said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Greenberg Traurig's Executive Chairman.
"Just as there is disruption in where and how these clients want to live and work, there is serious disruption in the legal industry itself. But times of disruption have always been our best times for evolution and growth, truly competing in every market we are in through our empowered people on the ground. We are the go-to firm for business, located in all the go-to places to which wealth is moving and where innovation is booming, including the largest presence in Miami (and 400 lawyers across Florida), and over 150 lawyers in three growing Texas offices. We didn't just arrive in Florida and Texas, like many others – we were born in Miami 55 years ago and entered Texas almost 20 years ago. But we also excel by combining that presence in fast-growth markets with critical mass in the traditional large business centers: more than 300 lawyers in New York (including an office which serves and connects with wealthy individuals and families in Bridgehampton), five offices across California, 175 lawyers in both Chicago and Atlanta, and the only firm that is strong and growing in Washington, D.C. while also being a market leader in the four major state capitals – Austin, Albany, Tallahassee and Sacramento.
"Our presence is supplemented by significant US and global innovation centers, like Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Boston, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Warsaw, Milan, Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and, shortly, Singapore."
Rosenbaum concluded, "We have always understood the needs of wealthy individuals and families since the earliest days of our firm. We have a vibrant Private Wealth Services Practice with more than 125 tax and estate planning lawyers, and are proud that in these times of upheaval, our firm's strategies, culture, and locations have led to a solid financial and practice base which attracts so many high-level lawyers – now adding another practice leader from another firm and his entire team."
Doyle’s practice focuses on the formation and operation of entities that assist clients with the ownership and management of capital on an income tax and an estate and gift tax-efficient basis. He advises clients on management succession planning, tax planning in anticipation of purchases and divestitures of closely held businesses. He has established private trust companies for ultra-wealthy families in various states with modern trust laws and which do not impose a tax on trust income. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation and that of a number of large private family foundations.
Kern concentrates his practice in tax and estate planning matters for high-net-worth individuals and families, closely held business owners, private equity and hedge fund principals, and charitable organizations. He has extensive experience advising clients in connection with the formation and operation of family offices and private trust companies as well as the migration of trusts to reduce or eliminate state income tax exposure. In addition, Kern counsels clients on estate and trust administration matters and disputes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state taxing authorities. Kern has written and presented articles for various continuing legal education programs on topics such as estate planning for closely held business owners and wealth transfer tools.
Nelson works with high-net worth families, entrepreneurs, hedge fund managers, and trustees of large trusts in order to preserve wealth, manage business and wealth succession, and create and preserve large charitable foundations. Significant portions of Nelson’s practice involve the design and implementation of complex leveraged wealth planning strategies utilizing multi-generational trusts designed to hold interests in family investment vehicles and operating businesses. Nelson has experience resolving complex gift, estate, and income tax audits with the IRS and implementing trust relocation and modification strategies designed to save federal and state income taxes.
Doyle went on to say, “Greenberg Traurig provides our team with a unique opportunity to be a part of building the top Private Wealth Practice in the world.”
"We are very pleased to have yet another prominent team join our Chicago office in an area obviously so important in today's world," said John F. Gibbons and Rita M. Powers, co-managing shareholders of Greenberg Traurig's Chicago office.
Diana S. C. Zeydel, a 27-year veteran of the firm in Miami, and global chair of the firm's Private Wealth Services Practice, added, “I am delighted by this significant strengthening of our practice and the expansion of our capabilities in the private wealth space.”
Since June 2021, more than 100 shareholders and of counsel have joined Greenberg Traurig, including seven in the Tax and Private Wealth Services Group and eight in the Chicago office. This group follows on the heels of other prominent hires including Corey A. Tessler, former chair of Winston & Strawn’s Real Estate Practice in New York City and Bridgehampton, along with 16 other attorneys from Winston & Strawn.
Additionally, Roger “Beau” N. Beaubien, who was previously deputy chief of staff for Gov. Ron DeSantis; Denis Braham, former chairman emeritus and chair of the Sports Business & Media Industry Group at Winstead; John Houghton, former global co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ Restructuring & Special Situations Practice and former European head of Restructuring & Special Situations, in London; Joseph Kim, alongside four others, to open the firm’s planned Singapore office; a four attorney team in Portland including Riley Lagesen, former head of the Restaurant Industry Group at Davis Wright Tremaine; Mark J. Lesko, former acting assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice, National Security Division, Washington, D.C., and acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William Michael, Jr. in Miami and Minneapolis as co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Trial Practice from Mayer Brown where he was co-chair of the White Collar Defense & Special Investigations and Global Anti-Corruption Enforcement & Compliance Practices; a team of 18 litigation lawyers from Mishcon de Reya LLP (MDR) in London including Jo Rickards, who was the head of the White Collar Crime & Investigations Group at MDR; former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Daniel J. Wadley in Salt Lake City; and a team of seven real estate attorneys in Warsaw.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2500 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021 and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, and NLJ 250. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program certifies that the firm’s U.S. offices are 100% powered by renewable energy. The firm is often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.