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Svetlana V. Bekman is a senior trust attorney at the Legal Department of The Northern Trust Company in Chicago. Prior to joining The Northern Trust Company, Ms. Bekman was a partner in the Private Clients Group of Schiff Hardin LLP. She speaks and publishes articles and chapters on various aspects of IRAs and other retirement plans. Most recently, she wrote an article entitled IRA Administration for High Net Worth Clients and Their Beneficiaries — Unique Challenges and Best Practices for Financial Institutions for the ACTEC Law Journal, and spoke on “Protecting Inherited IRA Assets From Creditors” at the Annual Estate Planning Short Course for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Ms. Bekman received her law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law and served as a clerk to the Honorable Elaine E. Bucklo (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois).
Jessica L. Berger is Of Counsel at Harrison & Held, LLP, in Chicago, and focuses her practice on private wealth services. Ms. Berger is an adjunct professor at The John Marshall Law School for the Estate and Tax LLM Program (2015 – present). She also has been selected as a Rising Star in trust and estate litigation by Super Lawyers (2017 – present) and an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers in trust, will, and estate planning (2015 – present). Ms. Berger received her J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Maryland.
Jane Gorman Ditelberg is Assistant General Counsel and Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company in Chicago. As a member of Northern Trust’s Legal Department, she provides legal counsel to the bank in its role as executor, trustee, and guardian. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (Committees on Amicus Briefs (Vice Chair), State Laws, Employee Benefits, and Diversity and Inclusivity). She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, where she served on the Task Force for the Illinois Trust Code and as Chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Subcommittee, and of the Chicago Estate Planning Council. She is a frequent author and lecturer on a wide range of estate and tax planning topics for groups including ACTEC, IICLE®, the Heckerling Estate Planning Institute, and the University of Notre Dame Estate Planning Conference.
Robert S. Held is a Founding Partner of Harrison & Held, LLP, in Chicago, and represents corporate and individual fiduciaries in complex estate and trust litigation. Mr. Held is a Member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and the American and Illinois State Bar Associations. He received his J.D. from DePaul University, his M.B.A. from Eastern New Mexico University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Ryan M. Holmes is a Member at Clark Hill PLC in Chicago, focusing his practice on real estate and tax and estate planning. He has been recognized by Illinois Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” (2014 – 2017), and he is a member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations, the Chicago Estate Planning Council’s Public Outreach Committee, and the American Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Holmes received his B.A. from Knox College and his J.D. from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
MacKenzie A. Hyde is a Senior Attorney in the Litigation Practice Group of Clark Hill, in Chicago, where she concentrates her practice in contested guardianships and estates, as well as fiduciary litigation and estate administration, representing individuals, medical institutions, and financial institutions. Ms. Hyde is frequently appointed by judges in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County to serve as a guardian ad litem in disabled estates and a special administrator in decedents’ estates. She has been selected to the Illinois Rising Stars list (2013 – 2016) by Super Lawyers. Ms. Hyde is the Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee, a Past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Elder Law Committee, and a member of the Young Professionals Advisory Board of Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly. She received her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Arizona, M.A. from Dominican University, and J.D. from Loyola University School of Law where she participated in the Elder Law Clinic.
Steven R. Lifson is a Partner with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, in Chicago, and concentrates his practice on employee benefits and ERISA. Mr. Lifson is a member of the ESOP Association; the National Center for Employee Ownership; and the American, Illinois, and Chicago Bar Associations. Mr. Lifson obtained his undergraduate degree with honors from Boston University. He received his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, and he received his M.S. with honors from The John Marshall Law School.
Kenneth F. Lorch, a Partner in the firm of Hamilton Thies & Lorch LLP in Chicago, concentrates his practice in business and financial planning and estate administration. Mr. Lorch is on the Professional Advisory Committees of the Lincoln Park Zoo, Jewish Federation of Chicago, and Chicago Community Trust. He has received the Chicago Bar Association’s David C. Hilliard Award for Outstanding Service to the Legal Community, has been selected an Illinois Super Lawyer since its inception, and has been selected an Illinois Leading Lawyer since 2001. Mr. Lorch is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and the Chicago Council on Planned Giving and is admitted in Illinois as a certified public account. He received his B.S.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.
Rita E. Luce is a Partner at Harrison & Held, LLP, in Chicago, concentrating her practice in estate planning and estate and trust administration. She is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and is included in the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers, and she has given numerous speeches and presentations to bar association groups, continuing legal education programs, law schools, financial planners, brokers, and social clubs. Ms. Luce received her B.S. from Michigan State University and her J.D. cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Jay P. Tarshis is a Partner at Arnstein & Lehr LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning and administration, taxation, and general corporate law. Mr. Tarshis has been selected a Leading Lawyer and frequently speaks on tax, estate planning, asset protection, family wealth planning, and related issues. He is admitted to the bars of the State of Illinois, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. Tax Court. Mr. Tarshis received his B.S. from Northwestern University and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Ryan A. Walsh is a Partner at Hamilton Thies & Lorch LLP, in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning and trust and estate administration. Mr. Walsh is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council, the American Bar Association (Section of Taxation, Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, Estate and Gift Tax Committee Vice-Chair), the Illinois State Bar Association (Federal Taxation Section Council and Trusts and Estates Section), the Chicago Bar Association (Trust Law Executive Committee), and the American Cancer Society Planned Giving Sub-Committee. He was named an Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He received his B.S. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he was a staff editor of the Loyola University Chicago Consumer Law Review.
Steven B. Weinstein founded the independent investment advisory firm, Altair Advisers LLC, in Chicago in 2002 after nearly two decades with Arthur Andersen. Mr. Weinstein is active with the Northwestern Memorial Foundation Professional Council for Philanthropy, the Art Institute of Chicago Gift Planning Advisory Committee, and the Chicago Estate Planning Council. He has been named one of Barron’s top 100 independent financial advisers, a Worth magazine top wealth adviser, and one of Chicago Magazine’s top-10 financial advisers. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the CFA Institute, and the Financial Planning Association. He received his B.A. with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University, and his J.D. cum laude and M.B.A. with distinction from Northwestern University.
Mary-Ann Wilson is a Partner at Harrison & Held, LLP, in Chicago, where she concentrates her practice in estate and succession planning. Ms. Wilson is a member of the Chciago Estate Planning Council and has been chosen a Leading Lawyer in estate planning (2006 – 2015). She presented “Buy-Sell Agreements and Sales Strategies for Succession Plans” and “Other Estate Planning Techniques Uniquely Applicable to Small Businesses” at IICLE’s Business Succession Planning for the Family Business course (2010 and 2011). Ms. Wilson graduated from Brown University and received her law degree from the University of Denver Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review and the Order of St. Ives.
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