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John McBrine, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP Photo

John A. McBrine

Partner / Boston

Overview

John A. McBrine is a partner in Nutter’s Private Client Department and a member of the Nonprofit and Social Impact practice group. Families rely on John to help them achieve a broad range of estate planning goals, from preparing basic estate plans to developing strategies to transfer wealth across generations in a tax-efficient way. Mindful of the unique needs of each client, he takes a practical approach to estate planning that is consistent with clients’ values. He frequently acts as a trustee and a member of clients’ trusted advisor teams. Fiduciaries seek John’s counsel in all aspects of estate and trust administration, including before probate courts, the IRS and state revenue authorities. Private foundations rely on John’s advice for formation, grantmaking and tax compliance matters.

Representative Client Experience

Individuals and Families

  • Creating sophisticated estate plans for clients with complex asset profiles and difficult family dynamics
  • Administering large estates involving extensive post-mortem tax planning and probate court involvement
  • Serving as a trustee of family trusts
  • Counseling clients in creating private foundations, donor-advised funds, charitable trusts and other charitable giving vehicles
  • Achieving non-judicial resolutions under Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code, including decanting, modifying and terminating trusts
  • Representing clients in donations of valuable and complex assets to charitable organizations
  • Helping philanthropists engage and cultivate the next generation

Charitable Organizations

  • Counseling private foundations through their life cycles, from formation to modification and termination
  • Assisting private foundations in tax reporting and compliance
  • Reviewing grantmaking procedures for private foundations
  • Serving as a private foundation director

Prior to joining Nutter, John served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald R. Lagueux of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. During law school, John was a senior editor for the Boston College Law Review.

News & Insights

Honors

Honors

  • Chambers High Net Worth (HNW), 2025

Education & Admissions

Education

Boston College Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, M.S.W.
Providence College, B.A., summa cum laude

Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island
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