Associate Professor, Santa Clara School of Law

Professor Margalynn J. Armstrong joined the Santa Clara University School of Law faculty in 1987 and serves on the boards of several community organizations. She is well-published in the areas of housing, racial discrimination, comparative and constitutional law.  Prior to joining the law faculty at Santa Clara, Armstrong practiced public employment law, served as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County, and directed the Academic Support Program at Boalt Hall. While she attended University of California, Berkeley, she served as associate editor of the Ecology Law Quarterly.

Vice President, Financial Architects Partners

Joseph Bragdon is Vice President at Financial Architects Partners. He specializes in analyzing complex life insurance planning strategies for our clients and their advisors. Joe joined Financial Architects Partners in 2009 and made a dynamic impact to the firm’s analytical and case design capabilities in our Boston office.

In his current role, Joe advises clients and advisors on how life insurance planning strategies impact overall financial goals. In addition, he continues to be a presence in the Bay Area investment and wealth advisor community as a CFA Charter holder and member of the CFA Society of San Francisco. Joe seeks to highlight life insurance’s qualities as an alternative asset class and strategic planning tool to the advisor community.  

Most recently Joe co-authored the article “Current Trends in Life Insurance Choices and Strategies” published in the March, 2015 edition of Estate Planning. Joe graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA with a bachelor’s degree in International Business and a Minor in French language.

Professor Patricia A. Cain is Professor of Law at Santa Clara University and the Aliber Family Chair in Law, Emerita, at the University of Iowa. She is a graduate of Vassar College and received her J.D. from the University of Georgia. Professor Cain is a member of the American Law Institute and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She is a frequent speaker at CLE events around the country. She teaches courses in federal taxation, property, wills and trusts, estate planning, and sexuality and the law. Most of her recent scholarship focuses on tax planning for same-sex couples. She maintains a blog called Same Sex Tax Law.

Principal and Director, Barulich Dugoni & Suttman Law Group, Inc.

Jim Cummins is an experienced litigator, whose practice is focused on disputes arising out of trusts, estates, and elder abuse. He represents trustees, executors, personal representatives, and attorneys-in-fact in actions involving accusations of trust mismanagement, breaches of fiduciary duty, trust and will contests, and even disinterment. Mr. Cummins also has significant experience in litigating domestic and international commercial disputes, business disputes in the family law setting, and real property disputes.

Associate, Hopkins & Carley, A Law Corporation

Ryan Cunningham is an associate in Hopkins & Carley’s Trust & Estate Litigation Practice in the Palo Alto office.  His practice focuses primarily on representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust, probate, and civil disputes. 

Ryan has experience in all aspects of trust litigation, from early conflict avoidance through appeal and enforcement.  Recently, Ryan assisted with a four-week jury trial, obtaining favorable, “complete win” findings from the jury.  Although a litigator by nature, Ryan does not hesitate to employ interest-based negotiation, mediation, and other dispute resolution techniques to represent his clients’ interests cost effectively.

Before joining Hopkins & Carley in 2011, Ryan attended the University of California, Hastings, where he graduated Order of the Coif and served as a judicial extern for the United States District Court, Northern District in 2010.

Professor, Georgia State University School of Law

Professor Samuel A. Donaldson joined GSU Law in 2012. Prior to that, he was on the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle for 13 years. During his tenure at the University of Washington, he was a five-time recipient of the Philip A. Trautman Professor of the Year award from the School of Law’s Student Bar Association. Professor Donaldson served for two years as Associate Dean for Academic Administration and for six years as the Director of the law school’s Graduate Program in Taxation.  Professor Donaldson teaches a number of tax and estate planning courses, as well as courses in the areas of property, commercial law and professional responsibility. He is a nationally recognized speaker on federal taxation and estate planning at professional conferences and continuing education seminars.  Professor Donaldson is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the Bar in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Among his scholarly works, he is a co-author of the popular West casebook, Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach, and a co-author of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning treatise published by Wolters Kluwer. Professor Donaldson has served as the Harry R. Horrow Visiting Professor of International Law at Northwestern University and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.  An amateur crossword constructor, Professor Donaldson’s puzzles have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets.

Associate, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Erin Fraser focuses his practice on private client matters, advising global and domestic family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals on strategic planning around wealth transfer and preservation, the formation of trusts and new entities to hold real estate or investments, as well as advising on charitable entities and giving.

Erin writes regularly for trade publications and has been quoted in popular media, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Consumer Reports, Bloomberg, the California Tax Lawyer, and BNA Tax Planning International Review. While in law school, Erin was editor in chief of the Minnesota Journal of International Law.

Crist | Biorn | Shepherd | Roskoph APC

Scott A. Fraser is an attorney at Crist Biorn Shepherd and Roskoph.  Mr. Fraser is a frequent contributor to CEB and has acted as the update author for several chapters in Drafting Revocable Trusts and California Will Drafting.  Mr. Fraser’s trust and estate litigation practice focuses on the representation of trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiaries in all aspects of disputed trust administration and probate. Mr. Fraser also represents clients in will and trust contest matters, disputed property claims, and creditor issues involving trusts and estates.

Partner, Withersworldwide

Michelle B. Graham is a partner in the private client and tax team at the international law firm, Withersworldwide. Her team focuses on estate planning and tax planning strategies for both domestic and international clients. She has considerable experience in advising both US and non-US clients on tax planning matters, including planning and implementing strategies to minimize global taxation and IRS compliance with regard to foreign reporting.

Michelle advises non-US individuals around the world on investing in the United States, as well as advising US individuals residing outside of the country on their US tax filings and global estate planning. Her cross-border experience includes work in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Australia, Canada and the Middle East.

She has done a substantial amount of work for migrating clients, including corporate executives moving from state to state and abroad and those choosing to retire or have a second home in California.

Michelle also advises on sophisticated planning issues for family businesses, including structuring and implementing intra-family sales, buy-sell agreements and family business succession planning.

Michelle is recognized in Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Legal Week’s Private Client Global Elite, Best Lawyers in America®, San Diego Magazine’s ‘Top Lawyers’, Super Lawyers, Women Leaders in the Law and has achieved a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Rating.  She is also recognized as a “key lawyer” in international tax by The Legal 500 US in 2021 and 2020.

Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Laurelle M. Gutierrez is a partner in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Offices of McDermott Will & Emery LLP where she has a diverse practice representing ultra-high-net-worth domestic and multinational individuals and their families with respect to all aspects of gift, estate and generation-skipping wealth-transfer tax planning, as well as trust and estate administration.

Laurelle has extensive experience in the design and implementation of sophisticated intergenerational wealth-transfer planning strategies, both for domestic and multinational high-net-worth and UHNW individuals and families.  She advises trustees and executors with complex probate and trust administrations, including successfully representing clients in estate tax and gift tax audits. She frequently writes and speaks on advanced estate planning and fiduciary income tax issues for professional organizations, including the American Law Institute, the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the State Bar of California, CalCPA, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the NYU School of Professional Studies Institute on Federal Taxation, the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium, and many of the Bar Associations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Carol A. Harrington is senior counsel in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, resident in the Firm’s Chicago office.  She was the Global Head of the Firm’s Private Client Practice Group from 2006-2017.  She advises clients on a variety of matters, including estate, gift and generation-skipping tax issues, closely-held businesses and succession planning, family office structures and issues, private trust companies, private foundations, trust and estate administration, and contested trust and tax matters.  She is a co-author of the tax treatise, Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (Harrington, Kwon, Plaine & Zaritsky), the author of “Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax,” BNA Tax Management Series, 2008, and has published many articles on the federal generation-skipping tax and other transfer tax topics.  Carol is a frequent speaker for professional groups. 

Carol is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and was a member of its Board of Regents from 1999-2005.  She is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning.  Carol is a former member of the Section Council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section for the American Bar Association and a past chair of the Generation Skipping Tax: Regulations and Legislation Committee for that Section.

Partner, Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, A Limited Liability Law Partnership LLP

Judy Yuriko Lee Esq.. is a partner in the law firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, A Limited Liability Law Partnership LLP, where her practice includes estate planning, trust administration, and estate and trust dispute resolution.  She is a graduate of Santa Clara University, where she received a Juris Doctor (summa cum laude) and a Masters of Business Administration.  She has been awarded an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, has been elected to the prestigious American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (“ACTEC”), and has been recognized with a listing in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2006.  She received the honor of being named “Lawyer of the Year” for “Best Lawyers’ Honolulu in both the category of Trusts and Estates and Litigation-Trusts and Estates.  In addition, she is recognized in Chambers & Partners Private Wealth Law-Hawaii as a Bank 1 ranked attorney.

In addition to her fulltime practice where she serves as a Practice Group Leader of her firm’s Trusts & Estate practice, Judy serves as Hawaii State Chair for ACTEC, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Baptist Foundation, is a director of the Battleship Missouri Memorial and a member of the Advisory Board for the Hawaii Tax Institute.  Judy regularly teaches at the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law.  She is a Past-Chair of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the Hawaii Bar Association, and a Past-Director of the Hawaii Estate Planning Council.  Judy is also a Certified Financial Planner®.

Chief Tax Strategist | Senior Vice President | Managing Director
Wealth Management and Global Family & Investment Offices Group

Paul S. Lee is the Chief Tax Strategist of The Northern Trust Company, within the Global Family & Private Investment Offices Group and Wealth Management division of Northern Trust.  He is also a Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the company.  Prior to joining Northern Trust, he was at Bernstein Global Wealth Management as National Managing Director, and a partner in the Atlanta-based law firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.aul is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel, has been inducted into the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame®, and designated an Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished).  He was the American Bar Association Advisor to the Uniform Law Commission Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act.  Paul is a member of the American Bar Association, Florida Bar, and State Bar of Georgia.

Paul received a B.A., cum laude, in English and a B.A. in chemistry from Cornell University, and a J.D., with honors, from Emory University School of Law, where he was notes and comments editor of the Emory Law Journal; he also received an LL.M. in taxation from Emory University.  Paul was the recipient of the Georgia Federal Tax Conference Award for Outstanding Tax Student and the Ernst & Young Award for Tax and Accounting. 

A frequent lecturer and panelist on investment planning, tax and estate planning, Paul has spoken at the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, ACTEC National Meeting, Southern Federal Tax Institute, USC Institute on Federal Taxation, Southern California Tax & Estate Planning Forum, Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, AICPA National Tax Conference, and the AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference.  His articles have been published by The ACTEC Law Journal, Tax Notes Federal, Tax Notes International, BNA Tax Management Estates, Gifts & Trusts Journal, BNA Tax Management Memorandum, Estate Planning Journal, Trusts & Estates, Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal, The Practical Tax Lawyer, Major Tax Planning, and the Emory Law Journal.  Paul co-authored the law review article, “Retaining, Sustaining and Obtaining Basis,” which was awarded Outstanding Law Review Article in 2016 by the Texas Bar Foundation.

He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Bloomberg BNA Estates, Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board, and the University of Florida Tax Institute Advisory Board.  He proudly serves as an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska.

Partner, Ramsbacher Prokey Leonard LLP

Dennis Leonard joined Ramsbacher, Prokey Leonard LLP as an associate in 2005 and became a partner in January of 2015. His practice emphasizes sophisticated estate and tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, tax controversies and litigation, and advising trustees and private fiduciaries.

Dennis began his career at Arthur Andersen, focusing on federal tax controversies, mergers and acquisitions, and business tax planning. Dennis later worked as an in-house tax attorney for the El Paso Corporation, focusing on tax controversies and state and local taxation.

Dennis is a frequent speaker at programs organized by the State Bar of California and the California Society of CPAs. He is licensed to practice in both California and Texas, is a previous member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California’s Taxation Section, and is the former chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Sub-Committee. Dennis is currently a member of the American Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Section, the Silicon Valley Bar Association, and the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council.

Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP

Paul “Chip” Lion is a Partner in the Corporate Finance Group of Morrison & Foerster LLP where from 2013-2022 he served as Chair or Co-Chair of the Firm’s Global Private Funds Group, and for 13 years before that, chaired the Palo Alto office’s Corporate Finance Group.  Chip advises institutional investors and fund sponsors in connection with the formation of venture capital funds, leveraged buyout funds, real estate opportunity and other private equity funds. He also represents both public and private companies in a broad range of industries, including the biotechnology, finance, medical device and information technology sectors. He structures, negotiates and advises clients on joint ventures, acquisition transactions and related matters, including stock acquisitions, asset acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, auction transactions, tender offers, defensive strategies, leveraged buyouts and cross-border transactions.

Chip is nationally recognized for his work with Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). He writes and edits articles, outlines, and books on LLCs and partnerships and participates on panels focused on LLCs.  As former Chair of the Partnerships Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar, he formed and participated in the Committee that drafted California’s original LLC Act that became law on September 30, 1994. He has served as an advisor to the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, the Revised Uniform Limited Company Act, and the Revised Uniform Partnership Act Drafting Committees of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. From 1984-1990, he was an adjunct lecturer at law for the Santa Clara University School of Law.

He received his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University, his law degree from Santa Clara University, magna cum laude, and his B.A with Honors from University of California, Davis.

In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious Life Time Achievement Award by the Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.  In 2015, he was the recipient of the Santa Clara University School of Law’s Alumni Special Achievement Award.

Managing Partner, Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP

Patrick A. Kohlmann is the managing partner at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann. Patrick advises individuals and families in all aspects of wealth transfer planning, including tax-advantaged transfers of assets, multigenerational planning, the taxation of trusts and estates, and business succession counseling.  Patrick is passionate about the law. He was Chair of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section (TEXCOM) of the State Bar of California (now CLA) from 2015-2016, and served on TEXCOM from 2008-2019. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estates Counsel, was formerly a member of the Judicial Council’s Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee, and has consistently been named a Northern California “Super Lawyer”, including recognition in 2021 as one of the top 100 lawyers in Northern California.

Frank Masi is a current 2L at Santa Clara University School of Law. This summer, Frank worked as a Tax Services intern with Andersen; prior to that, he worked as an Appraiser for the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office, and as a Senior Appraiser for Santa Clara County’s Assessor’s Office. With more than six years of total experience in valuation, he has hands-on experience with inequitable systems of taxation, real estate, and governmental practice and policies.

Partner, McDermott Will Emery LLP

M. Read Moore provides legal counsel on all aspects of estate planning, estate and trust administration, tax controversy, and privately owned business governance and succession planning. He has considerable experience in the international aspects of the private client practice, including inbound investment and wealth transfers to the United States, the US tax and legal aspects of non-US private company and wealth management structures, and US tax compliance for clients with global investments and assets.

Professor, San Jose State University

Annette Nellen is a professor in and director of San José State University’s graduate tax program (MST), teaching courses in tax research, accounting methods, individual tax, property transactions, employment tax, ethics, and tax policy. Annette is active in the tax sections of the AICPA (including as a former chair of the Tax Executive Committee), ABA (including as former chair of the Sales, Exchanges & Basis Committee) and California Lawyers Association. In 2020-2021, she served on the AICPA-NASBA CPA Evolution Education Advisory Group as co-chair of the Tax Compliance & Planning Model Curriculum Task Force. She also serves on CalCPA’s Accounting Education Committee.
Annette is the recipient of the 2013 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award given by the Tax Division of the AICPA, the highest award given by the accounting profession in the area of taxation, and the 2019 Benjamin F. Miller Award from the Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Association for achievement and contribution in the field of state and local taxation law. Annette is a fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel.
Annette is the author of Bloomberg BNA Tax Portfolio #533, Amortization of Intangibles, and Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes State Moving Forward? column. Annette is a contributor to CCH’s Top Federal Tax Issues, and is co-author/co-editor of four tax textbooks from Cengage (SWFT series). Annette is a frequent speaker on tax developments, new economy tax matters, tax reform and tax policy. She has testified several times before various legislative committees and tax reform commissions on tax policy and reform. Annette runs the 21st Century Taxation website and blog (www.21stcenturytaxation.com)

Managing Director, Financial Architects Partners

Jeff Ostrum is the Managing Principal of the FAP West Coast operation based in Palo Alto. He relocated from the Boston office in 2006, and he and his team now actively manage large life insurance portfolios for approximately 200 families.  Jeff is referred by estate planning attorneys, family offices, tax planners, and wealth managers who seek to optimize the performance of life insurance as a planning tool and/or asset class.

He often presents at national industry events and is routinely engaged by other life insurance professionals to manage their most complex client matters. He has presented multiple times at the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium and the Annual Meeting of the CA Tax Bar and CA Tax Policy Conference.

Jeff is a graduate of Bentley University, a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, and a member of the San Francisco Estate Planning Council.

Shareholder, Hopkins & Carley, A Law Corporation

When not Chairing the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium, Chuck Packer is a Shareholder (Partner) with Hopkins & Carley, A Law Corporation, located in the Silicon Valley, California where he is a member of the Firm’s Family Wealth & Tax Planning Practice.

Chuck obtained his JD/MBA from Santa Clara University in 1980 and started his professional career in the tax practice at Cooper & Lybrand (the predecessor to PwC). Chuck has practiced in the area of trusts & estates law since 1986. He provides strategic counsel on estate, gift and philanthropic tax planning with a primary focus on issues concerning estate planning, sophisticated wealth transfer planning and family business for high and ultra-high net worth individuals and families.

Chuck is a Fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC), is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, and since 2016, has been included in the Chambers’ High Net Worth Guide Rankings for Private Wealth Law.

Chuck is an active alumni of Santa Clara University, currently serving as the Chair of the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium and also chairing the University’s Planned Giving Advisory Council. Chuck has served on the Boards, and as President, of both the SCU Law School Alumni Association and the University’s National Alumni Association. In 2014 Chuck was awarded Santa Clara University’s Louis I. Bannan, S.J. Award, which recognizes an alumnus each year for their service to the Alumni Association and Santa Clara University.

Partner, Ramsbacher, Prokey, Leonard LLP

John Prokey s a partner of Ramsbacher Prokey Leonard LLP. Mr. Prokey’s law practice focuses on providing advice in wealth planning, estate and trust administration, and tax. His clients include individuals, private fiduciaries, institutions, and other business and non-profit entities. The wealth planning portion of Mr. Prokey’s law practice emphasizes advising individuals and fiduciaries in estate planning, wealth preservation, tax, and business matters. Mr. Prokey also advises fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and probate administration matters, with emphasis in complex administrations. Mr. Prokey’s law practice includes representing taxpayers in all levels of federal tax controversy, including IRS examination and Appeals, and before the U.S. Tax Court. Clients, their families, and other practitioners rely on Mr. Prokey for dispute resolution in these arenas, including serving as a mediator. Mr. Prokey is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is also a member of the California Lawyers Association. He served on the Trusts and Estates Section Executive Committee and the Taxation Section Executive Committee of the California State Bar; and also served as Chair (2004-2005) of the Taxation Section’s Estate and Gift Tax Sub-Committee. John is a member of the Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, and American Bar Associations.

Mr. Prokey is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker at numerous seminars and conferences throughout California and elsewhere, and is an author on various tax and estate planning topics. Speaking engagements include the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium, AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference, CalCPA Advanced Estate Planning Institute, Annual Estate Planning Symposium, Tax and Update Planning Conference, the San Diego Tax and Estate Planning Forum, the Hawaii Tax Institute, CEB/UCLA Estate Planning Conference, Continuing Education of the Bar Estate Planning and Administration, San Francisco, San Mateo County, and Silicon Valley Bar Associations, East Bay, Orange County, Sacramento, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, and Stanislaus County Estate Planning Councils, CPE Forum of the Central Coast,  East Bay Trust & Estates Lawyers Seminar, and Paralegal Association of Santa Clara County. 

Mr. Prokey received his Baccalaureate of Science degree from Santa Clara University in 1994 and his Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1999, graduating cum laude in both undergraduate and law school studies.

Tax Partner, Seiler LLP

David Sacarelos is a CPA with over 30 years of experience providing advisory and tax services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and privately held businesses. His clients include multi-generational families, corporate executives, founders and investors. He has expertise in income, tax, estate and financial planning and consulting for complex financial transactions; all aspects of high-net-worth income, estate and gift tax planning and compliance; tax accounting and reporting in support of fiduciary tax return preparation for complex trusts; consultation with families and individuals on philanthropic goals and their charitable gift planning; private foundations, public charities and other non-profit organizations; complex investments underlying non-profit and foundation funds and endowments; representation of clients before taxing authorities (IRS, FTB, etc.); and foreign tax matters for individuals and families.

David earned a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University, and a bachelor’s degree in business in accounting from San Jose State University. He is a certified public accountant in California, as well as a chartered global management accountant. David joined Seiler in 1987; he has been a partner since 2003. He is a member of the firm’s executive governing board and is very active in the community, serving on numerous boards of directors.

CFO, Lassahn Fiduciary Services

Kelsey Stiles is the CFO for Lassahn Fiduciary Services and became a Partner in 2014. Ms. Stiles has been a Private Professional Fiduciary and Accounting Manager for LFS since 2010. She specializes in probate and trust administration, conservatorships and accountings. Ms. Stiles earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2009 where she was also a four-year member of the nationally ranked, Cal Poly Women’s Club Volleyball Team. In the spring of 2008, she studied abroad in Thailand where she developed an interest in different cultures, food, people, as well as international business relations. Ms. Stiles is currently the 2021 President of the San Mateo County Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC) Chapter after serving as the Treasurer from 2016-2018. Kelsey was also the Varsity Volleyball Coach for Aragon High School in San Mateo from 2010-2018 (2018 CCS Champions). Ms. Stiles enjoys cycling, hiking, waterskiing, playing volleyball, traveling and spending time with her family, friends, husband (Marlon) and kids, Taylor (2018) and Kaisa (2020).

Manager of Trusts & Estates Education and Senior T&E Faculty, WealthCounsel

Phoebe Stone is Manager of Trusts & Estates Education and Senior T&E Faculty at WealthCounsel, where she is responsible for the development and delivery of legal education curriculum and resources. Phoebe is admitted to the state bars of New York and California and, prior to joining WealthCounsel, practiced for a number of years in each jurisdiction – primarily as a litigator in New York and exclusively as an estate planner in California. Phoebe also has a Master’s Degree in Bioethics and has taught and published in the field of legal-medical ethics and policy as well. She received her JD from Fordham Law School and her MA in Bioethics from NYU.

Phoebe lives in Los Angeles with her husband, their young son, and their giant labradoodle. 

Regional Fiduciary Wealth Manager, BNY Mellon Wealth Management

Karen Sugihara is the Regional Fiduciary Wealth Manager leading BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s fiduciary team in the Western Region. Karen is responsible for the management and administration of client trust relationships and collaborates with local and regional wealth management teams on existing and prospective investment management and fiduciary client relationships. Karen is also responsible for implementing strategic national fiduciary priorities in coordination with regional fiduciary needs.
Karen joined BNY Mellon Wealth Management in September of 2021. Prior to joining the firm, Karen was the Senior Regional Fiduciary Manager for Wells Fargo Private Bank, managing the San Francisco, North Bay, East Bay and South Bay regions for over three years. She was also a Senior Wealth Planning Strategist with Wells Fargo Private Bank in Southern California for over five years. Before entering the wealth management industry, Karen practiced law for over 20 years, and has attained an AV-Preeminent Martindale Hubbell® Peer Review Rating.

On a personal note, Karen is the proud mother of a son, Jonathan, who is a teacher in Los Angeles; and a daughter, Amanda, who is a recent graduate of U.C. Berkeley and beginning medical school in 2023. Karen is a former professional show dog handler of champion German Shepherd Dogs.

Shareholder & Managing Director, Barulich Dugoni & Suttmann Law Group

Chelsea J. Suttmann is a Shareholder and Managing Director at Barulich Dugoni & Suttmann Law Group, Inc. Ms. Suttmann’s law practice focuses on estate planning clients with high net worth, estate and trust administration, and business owners, specifically interfamily business succession planning. Ms. Suttmann presently serves as the Practice Area Leader for the estate administration department.

Executive Partner, Holland & Knight

Vivian Lee Thoreen is the executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Los Angeles office and chairs the firm’s national Private Wealth Services Dispute Resolution Team. She is a litigator and experienced trial attorney whose practice – both in Superior Court and in the California Courts of Appeal – focuses on complex trust, estate, conservatorship and guardianship matters. She represents individuals, families, charities and financial institutions in cases including will and trust disputes, contested conservatorships and guardianships, breach of fiduciary duty matters, and elder abuse matters. Ms. Thoreen’s experience includes some of the most sensitive and high-profile cases in her field. Whether the matters can be resolved by mediation or require trial, Ms. Thoreen’s clients benefit from her deep personal commitment and nuanced grasp of law and often byzantine facts.  An active member of the community, Ms. Thoreen is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section executive committee. She just completed a six-year term on the California Lawyers Association (formerly the State Bar of California) Trusts & Estates Section executive committee and previously served on the board of governors of the Korean American Bar Association and the board of directors of the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation. She also is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Ms. Thoreen also provides pro bono services through Bet Tzedek, Public Counsel and the Alliance for Children’s Rights. 

Senior Wealth Strategist, BNY Mellon Wealth Management

Leigh Wasson brings 35 years of investment management and client relationship experience to her role as a Senior Client Strategist at BNY Mellon Wealth Management.  Leigh enjoys collaborating with team members and other advisors to develop and implement comprehensive wealth management solutions for entrepreneurs, business owners, individuals with multi-jurisdictional planning needs and individuals in the process of a divorce.  Prior to BNY Mellon, Leigh was Regional Managing Director of Northern California for Citi Private Bank. Leigh’s background also includes 16 years at JP Morgan with both the private bank and the institutional investment management division, where she was a Managing Director with assignments in Australia, London, New York, Silicon Valley and Newport Beach. Leigh is a board member of Watermark; the San Francisco chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth; and Women Business Collaborative.  Leigh is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst.  Leigh earned a BBA in Finance from The University of Texas and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Clinical Associate Professor, William & Mary Law School

Professor Jim Wheaton is a Clinical Associate Professor at William & Mary Law School.  He also directs that school’s Special Education Advocacy Clinic.

Previously, Jim directed the Startup Law Clinic at Boston University School of Law, where his students represented MIT students in various aspects of establishing and operating early-stage business ventures, and where he also taught a seminar in alternative business entities.

Before moving to law school teaching, Jim had a  career as a public company general counsel and partner and national practice group leader at Troutman Sanders (now Troutman Pepper) LLP.  He also taught adjunct business entity courses at the University of Virginia and William and Mary Law Schools.  Wheaton’s legal practice focused on corporate and securities law.  He represented companies in startup, M&A and general corporate work in a variety of industries, as well as both issuers and underwriters in public and private securities transactions. 

Wheaton received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Executive Editor of the Virginia Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif.  Following law school, he clerked for Judge J. Dickson Phillips, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law

Professor David Yosifon teaches Business Organizations and Professional Responsibility.  His scholarship focuses on corporate governance law and corporate social responsibility.  He is the author of Corporate Friction: How Corporate Law Impedes American Progress and What To Do About It (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Yosifon’s scholarship has appeared in numerous law journals, and his opinion pieces have been published in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News.

Professor Yosifon joined the Santa Clara University Law School faculty in 2006.  He was born and raised in New Jersey.  He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (’02, magna cum laude), Carnegie Mellon University (’97, M.A., American Social History), and Rutgers University (’95, B.A., History and Philosophy, summa cum laude).  After graduating law school, Yosifon served as a law clerk to the Honorable Patti B. Saris of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and worked as a litigation associate at the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray, LLP.

When not teaching and writing, Professor Yosifon enjoys practicing yoga, hiking, and coaching youth sports.