Trending news
Jeff Roberts and John Hartog Examine the Great Wealth Transfer in Law360
Print PDFJeff Roberts and John Hartog, the chair and a partner in Nutter’s Private Client Department, respectively, discussed the growth of trusts and estates practices at law firms in light of the great wealth transfer in Law360. In the article, “’Great Wealth Transfer’ Drives Trusts & Estates Boom,” Jeff said, “The way we practice [trusts and estates], it really cuts against what the consultants would say bigger firms should do, [which is] more leverage, fewer clients, bigger billings. By nature, you’re working with individuals. I touch so many clients in a given day compared to my corporate colleagues. People want their trusted adviser speaking to them and available to them. It just cuts out how bigger firms approach the services.”
Jeff pointed out that Nutter trains trusts and estates lawyers from the bottom up, which positions the firm well in attracting estate planning talent. “People are drawn to practices who help make sure that the sophistication of their clients’ generational needs are serviced and will be taken care of going forward,” Jeff observed.
John added, “This practice requires some level of emotional maturity, of understanding that you’re dealing with human beings who have feelings and families. By the time that lawyers gain the maturity to be attracted to the practice area, they’re often too committed. They’ve been practicing for seven or eight years in a different practice area and it’s a really tough economic decision to try to start over.”
“Nutter is being exceedingly shrewd – and has been for awhile – in growing its own bench, its own young field team,” John concluded.
