Terri K. Baron
Terri K. Baron
Terri K. Baron is Senior Counsel to Loeb & Loeb LLP in Chicago, where she focuses on trusts and estates. She is a member of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the American Bar Association and the Trust Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. Ms. Baron received her B.A. cum laude with honors from Northwestern University and her J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law.
David C. Blickenstaff
David C. Blickenstaff
David C. Blickenstaff is a Partner at ArentFox Schiff LLP in Chicago, where he focuses on trust and estate disputes. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council. He is rated Illinois “Band 1” in Chambers High Net Worth Guide. Mr. Blickenstaff received his A.B. from Princeton University and his J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Joseph N. Blumberg
Joseph N. Blumberg
Joseph N. Blumberg is Senior Vice President — Senior Fiduciary Officer at the Northern Trust Company in Chicago, where he focuses on wealth management. Mr. Blumberg received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Missouri School of Law.
John T. Brooks
John T. Brooks
John T. Brooks is a Partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on estate, trust, and fiduciary litigation. He has been elected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007 in the field of trusts and estates; was named the Chicago Litigation — Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America in 2015, 2019, and 2022; and was selected for inclusion in the 2005 – 2018 Illinois Super Lawyers and 2003 – 2022 Leading Lawyers lists. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Brooks earned both his B.S. and J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Illinois.
Richard A. Campbell
Richard A. Campbell
Richard A. Campbell is a Partner at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in private clients and trusts and estates. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has been selected as one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Illinois and as one of the top 5 percent of Illinois lawyers in estate planning by the Leading Lawyers of America Network. Mr. Campbell received his B.S. summa cum laude from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was Editor of the University of Illinois Law Review.
James R. Carey
James R. Carey
James R. Carey is a Partner at Levin Schreder & Carey, Ltd., in Chicago, where he focuses on trust and estate litigation. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, where he is a former Chair of the Probate and Trust Litigation Committee, and a former Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Probate Practice Committee. Mr. Carey received his B.A. from Marquette University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Michael R. Conway, Jr.
Michael R. Conway, Jr.
Michael R. Conway, Jr., is Head of Legal, U.S. Trust & Estates, Executive Director, and Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, in Chicago, where he focuses on trusts and estates. He is Chair of the American Bankers Association’s Trust Counsel Committee and is the Director of Canine Therapy Corps, an Illinois Not-for-Profit Corporation. Mr. Conway received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was Order of the Coif.
Ryan T. Court
Ryan T. Court
Ryan T. Court is a Partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP in Chicago, where he focuses on trusts and estates. He was named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list in Trusts & Estates in 2021 – 2023 and an Illinois Rising Star in Estate Planning & Probate in 2022 and 2023. He is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council. Mr. Court received his J.D. summa cum laude from the DePaul University College of Law, where he was a member of the DePaul Law Review.
Cameron N. Custard
Cameron N. Custard
Cameron N. Custard is an associate at ArentFox Schiff LLP in Lake Forest, where she focuses on trusts and estates and private clients. Ms. Custard received her B.A. summa cum laude from Northern Illinois University and her J.D. summa cum laude, Order of the Coif from the DePaul University College of Law.
Jane Gorman Ditelberg
Jane Gorman Ditelberg
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.
Mary C. Downie
Mary C. Downie
Mary C. Downie is Executive Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at The Northern Trust Company, in Chicago, where she advises Northern Trust, as trustee and in its corporate capacity, on complex legal, fiduciary, and regulatory issues involving trusts, decedents’ estates, and guardianship estates. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel since 2008 and a member of the American Bankers Association. Ms. Downie received her B.A. summa cum laude from Albion College, where she was a Fellow, and her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review.
Louis S. Harrison
Louis S. Harrison
Louis S. Harrison is a Partner at Harrison LLP, in Chicago, where his practice emphasizes solutions to complex problems, including creative structures to interfamily disputes and litigation, consideration of trust structures to provide creditor and spousal protection, postmortem tax planning, income tax planning, charitable dispositions, and gifting strategies. He is a frequent speaker before numerous groups nationwide on tax and estate planning. He has been an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University Law School, the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and the DePaul University College of Law. He has authored more than 100 published articles on a broad range of tax and estate planning subjects in legal, accounting, tax, and estate journals and periodicals. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (and former Illinois State Chair) and has chaired the Estate and Gift Tax Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. Mr. Harrison received his B.A. magna cum laude from Colgate University, his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and his J.D. with high honors from the Duke University School of Law.
James R. Hellige
James R. Hellige
James R. Hellige is a Partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, in Chicago, where he concentrates in estate planning, probate, trust law, sophisticated charitable giving, and related areas of income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping taxation. He is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the American Bar Association (Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section and Section of Taxation), the Chicago Bar Association (Probate Practice Committee and Trust Law Committee), the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and the Chicago Council on Planned Giving. Mr. Hellige received his B.A. summa cum laude from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he served as Associate Articles Editor for the Notre Dame Law Review.
James W. Hitzeman
James W. Hitzeman
James W. Hitzeman is a Partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP in Chicago, where he focuses on trust and estate litigation. He is a member of the American and Illinois State Bar Associations and a member and past President of the Chicago Bar Association’s Probate Practice Committee. He is ranked in Band 1 in Chambers for Private Wealth Disputes and had been named a Best Lawyer in Trusts and Estates by The Best Lawyers in America in 2013 – 2022. Mr. Hitzeman received his B.A. from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Jeanette Suarez Hunter
Jeanette Suarez Hunter
Jeanette Suarez Hunter is a Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Chicago, where she is a member of the firm’s Private Client Practice Group. She was named to the 2015, 2016, and 2017 lists of Emerging Lawyers Under 40 in the area of trust, will, and estate planning law by Leading Lawyers and the Best Lawyers in America lists for trusts and estates in 2018 – 2023. She is also a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council. Ms. Hunter received her B.B.A. magna cum laude, with honors from the University of Georgia and her J.D. cum laude from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Agnieszka Kawecki
Agnieszka Kawecki
Agnieszka Kawecki is a Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Chicago, where she focuses on estate planning. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and volunteers for Wills for Heroes. Ms. Kawecki received her B.A. summa cum laude from Saint Xavier University and her J.D. cum laude from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Ray J. Koenig III
Ray J. Koenig III
Ray J. Koenig III is a Member at Clark Hill PLC in Chicago, where he concentrates on trust, estate, guardianship, and fiduciary controversies. He is President of the Chicago Bar Association, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and a past Section Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Trust and Estate Section. Mr. Koenig received his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law.
Emily J. Kuo
Emily J. Kuo
Emily J. Kuo is a Partner with Harrison LLP in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on estate planning and estate administration. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Leading Lawyers Network. Ms. Kuo received her B.S. with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
Jena L. Levin
Jena L. Levin
Jena L. Levin is Senior Counsel to Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on estate and trust litigation. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star — Estate and Trust Litigation (2019 – 2022) and as a Leading Lawyers Emerging Lawyer Trust & Estate Law (2015 – 2022). Levin received her B.A. with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law.
David E. Lieberman
David E. Lieberman
David E. Lieberman is a Shareholder of Levin Schreder & Carey, Ltd., in Chicago, where he focuses on trust and estate litigation and closely held business disputes. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Council and a member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section. Mr. Lieberman received his Sc.B. magna cum laude from Brown University and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a member of the University of Chicago Law Review and a S.K. Yee Scholar.
Robin Drey Maher
Robin Drey Maher
Robin Drey Maher is a Partner at Levin Schreder & Carey, Ltd., in Chicago, where she focuses on estate and trust litigation. She is a member of the Diversity Committee of Chicago Estate Planning Council and the Trust Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association and has been named a Super Lawyer. Ms. Maher received her B.A. cum laude from Simpson College and her J.D. with high distinction, Order of the Coif, from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Elizabeth A. McKillip
Elizabeth A. McKillip
Elizabeth A. McKillip is a Partner at Levin, Schreder & Carey, Ltd., in Chicago and Lisle, where she focuses on trust, estate, and other fiduciary-related litigation, including contested accountings, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and will and trust disputes. She is a member of the Illinois State and DuPage County Bar Associations and the DuPage County Estate Planning Council. Ms. McKillip received her B.A. with honors from the University of Illinois and her J.D. magna cum laude from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she was a member of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal and Editor of the Illinois Judicial Conference Symposium.
Gina E. Oderda
Gina E. Oderda
Gina E. Oderda is a Wealth Strategist at Cresset Capital in Chicago, where she helps clients with tax and estate planning. She is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and Lyric Opera’s Planned Giving Advisory Council. Ms. Oderda received her B.A. magna cum laude from Menlo College and her J.D. cum laude from Duke University School of Law.
Julie J. Olenn
Julie J. Olenn
Julie J. Olenn is Senior Lead Council at BMO Financial Group in Chicago, where she focuses on U.S. wealth management and fiduciary issues. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Chicago Estate Planning Council. Ms. Olenn received her B.A. from St. John’s College and her J.D. magna cum laude from the State University of New York — University at Buffalo School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Buffalo Law Review.
Daniel T. Paluga
Daniel T. Paluga
Daniel T. Paluga is an associate at Levin, Schreder & Carey, Ltd, in Chicago, where he focuses on trust and estate litigation. Mr. Paluga received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School.
Kerry R. Peck
Kerry R. Peck
Kerry R. Peck is a Managing Partner at Peck Ritchey, LLC, in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in elder law, trust and estate litigation, guardianship, and estate planning. He is a Past President of the Chicago Bar Association (1999 – 2000), coauthor of DON’T LET DEMENTIA STEAL EVERYTHING and ALZHEIMER’S AND THE LAW, and the 2014 recipient of the Justice John Paul Stevens Award. Mr. Peck received his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Floyd D. Perkins
Floyd D. Perkins
Floyd D. Perkins is a Partner at Nixon Peabody LLP in Chicago, where he focuses on commercial, charitable, healthcare, and estate and trust litigation. He was named an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2005 – 2016 and a Leading Lawyer in 2010 – 2023. He was featured in 30 Tough Lawyers in Chicago Magazine. Mr. Perkins received his B.S. from the University of Illinois and his J.D. and LL.M. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He is also a certified public accountant in Illinois.
James R. Pranger
James R. Pranger
James R. Pranger is a Partner at Peter J. Latz & Associates LLC in Oak Park, where he represents individuals, corporations, and institutions in a wide array of contract, employment, probate, and other cases. He represents clients in arbitrations and before administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights. He has made numerous presentations to various industry organizations on topics including employment law and managing media coverage in litigation. Mr. Pranger received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude in the Honors Program at Loyola University Chicago and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Heather E. Ross
Heather E. Ross
Heather E. Ross is a Partner at Ross & Zuckerman, LLP, in Northbrook, where she focuses on assisted reproductive technology. She is past chair of the Legal Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys, and a member of the LGBTQ+ Bar. Ms. Ross received her undergraduate degree Phi Beta Kappa from Indiana University and her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Kiran Uppal
Kiran Uppal
Kiran Uppal is an associate at Levin, Schreder & Carey, Ltd, in Chicago, where she focuses on tax and trust and estate planning. Ms. Uppal received her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law and her LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.
Rebecca Wallenfelsz
Rebecca Wallenfelsz
Rebecca Wallenfelsz is a Partner at Chapman and Cutler LLP in Chicago, in the Trusts and Estates Department. She has extensive experience representing individuals and institutions in estate planning and trust and estate matters. She is an active speaker and writer for IICLE^®, the Chicago Bar Association, and other professional organizations. In 2011, she was named to the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” list of outstanding lawyers. In 2012, she was elected to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She serves as the firm’s Co-Pro Bono Partner and manages the volunteer efforts of Chapman attorneys.
Fredrick B. Weber
Fredrick B. Weber
Fredrick B. Weber is a Senior Vice President and Senior Wealth Advisor at The Northern Trust Company in Chicago, where he focuses on estate settlement services. He is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council, the Chicago Council on Planned Giving, and the Professional Advisory Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Mr. Weber received his B.A. in international relations and history from the University of Minnesota and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.
Nora E. Zuckerman
Nora E. Zuckerman
Nora E. Zuckerman is a Partner at Ross & Zuckerman, LLP, in Northbrook, where she focuses on assisted reproductive technology. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorney. A member of the Family Law Institute of the LGBTQ+ Bar, and a member of the Legal Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Ms. Zuckerman received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin — Madison and her J.D. from the Washington University School of Law.

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Litigating Disputed Estates, Trusts, Guardianships, and Charitable Bequests (ARCHIVED 2020 EDITION)

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Terri K. Baron

David C. Blickenstaff

Joseph N. Blumberg

John T. Brooks

Richard A. Campbell

James R. Carey

Michael R. Conway, Jr.

Ryan T. Court

Cameron N. Custard

Jane Gorman Ditelberg

Mary C. Downie

Louis S. Harrison

James R. Hellige

James W. Hitzeman

Jeanette Suarez Hunter

Agnieszka Kawecki

Ray J. Koenig III

Emily J. Kuo

Jena L. Levin

David E. Lieberman

Robin Drey Maher

Elizabeth A. McKillip

Gina E. Oderda

Julie J. Olenn

Daniel T. Paluga

Kerry R. Peck

Floyd D. Perkins

James R. Pranger

Heather E. Ross

Kiran Uppal

Rebecca Wallenfelsz

Fredrick B. Weber

Nora E. Zuckerman

Litigating Disputed Estates, Trusts, Guardianships, and Charitable Bequests (ARCHIVED 2020 EDITION)