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Susan von Herrmann, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP Photo

Overview

Susan von Herrmann is a partner in Nutter’s Private Client Department. Susan’s clients rely on her for thoughtful counsel and strategic guidance in defining and reaching their personal and financial estate planning goals, which often include wealth preservation, tax minimization, and charitable planned giving. Her client base includes founders, senior executives at hedge, venture, and investment funds, family business owners, real estate developers, partners in professional service firms, and multigenerational families. Whether she is working with a successful executive looking to develop a plan on how to best to transition wealth while preserving family values, a multinational family seeking guidance on cross-border planning, or a young couple or single individual in need of a basic estate plan, Susan has the technical expertise and critical people skills necessary to help her clients realize their estate planning and philanthropic objectives in a tax-efficient manner.

Based in Nutter’s San Francisco office, Susan’s practice includes all aspects of sophisticated estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, and advice regarding related disputes. She has extensive experience in devising strategies to minimize estate and gift tax liabilities and in charitable planned giving.

Susan often presents on trusts and estate planning protections for families, including LGBTQ families and blended families, having represented gay and lesbian couples and families since the emergence of partner rights in California. Active in the community, she recently founded and currently serves on the board of Pro bono Organization for Native ‘Ohana, Inc., which provides pro bono legal services to the victims of the Maui wildfires. Susan is a former member of the board of trustees of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and former board member of 3Girls Theater Company. She is active in numerous professional and civic organizations, including:

  • American Bar Association
  • California Bar Association
  • San Francisco Bar Association
  • Hawaii Estate Planning Council
  • San Francisco Estate Planning Council (past board member)
  • Boston Estate Planning Council

Prior to joining Nutter, Susan was a partner at Perkins Coie, LLP. Earlier in her career, she served as a judicial extern for the Hon. William H. Orrick, Jr. in the Northern District of California. She is individually ranked by Chambers in its High Net Worth category. 

News & Insights

Honors

Honors

  • Chambers High Net Worth (HNW), 2017-2023
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2019-2020, 2022-2023

Education & Admissions

Education

Berkeley Law, J.D.
Stanford University, B.A.

Admissions

  • California
  • Illinois
  • Massachusetts

Industries

Industry Expertise

Susan often presents on trusts and estate planning protections for families, including LGBTQ families and blended families, having represented gay and lesbian couples and families since the emergence of partner rights in California.

Noteworthy

  • Chambers High Net Worth (HNW), 2017-2023
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2019-2020, 2022-2023
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