Trusts & Estates Counsel

About the role

• Trusts & Estates Counsel
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• Trusts & Estates Counsel - Private Wealth Practice
• Location: Philadelphia (Hybrid)

Practice

Sterlington's Private Wealth group is led by Daniel Cooper, a seasoned private wealth practitioner who built this practice around a straightforward conviction: the most consequential moments in a family's financial life deserve the most capable counsel. He is joined by deputy head Emalee Welsh and partners Daniel Carmody and Alexandra Buckingham. You would work within an integrated team of trusts and estates, income tax, and estate administration lawyers alongside estate and fiduciary accountants, so expertise sits inside the practice rather than down the hall.

The practice serves founders at liquidity, executives navigating complex compensation structures, multigenerational families managing legacy assets, and UHNW individuals whose estates demand sophisticated planning across tax, trust law, asset protection, and family governance. We operate at the intersection of law and wealth strategy; organized around what our clients keep, not just what we document.

What You'll Do

Your work will span the full arc of complex private wealth practice

• Design and implement advanced estate plans for clients with taxable estates exceeding $75M - including GRATs, SLATs, IDGTs, BDITs/BDOTs, QPRTs, non-grantor trusts, CLTs, CRTs, and private foundations
• Advise on estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax strategy, including multi-generational wealth transfer and dynasty trust structures
• Oversee trust and estate administration - probate, fiduciary compliance, post-mortem tax planning, and decanting
• Counsel on business succession planning: transfer of closely held entities, buy-sell agreements, recapitalizations, and GRAT/installment sale strategies
• Coordinate with family offices, investment advisors, accountants, and fiduciaries to deliver integrated, seamless counsel
• Manage sensitive, multi-party family dynamics with the discretion and emotional intelligence these relationships require

Experience

• J.D. from a top-tier law school; LL.M. in Taxation or Estate Planning strongly preferred
• Active membership in a U.S. state bar (PA, FL, NY, CA, TX, IL, or DC preferred)
• Minimum eight years of experience in trusts and estates law, with a focus on UHNW clients
• Mastery of federal estate, gift, and GST tax laws; familiarity with state-level nuances and fiduciary income taxation
• Proven track record of handling planning and administration matters for clients with net worths exceeding $75M
• Experience advising family offices, business owners and multigenerational wealth structures

Compensation

Compensation at Sterlington is competitive and structured around the quality of the person and the context they bring. We take both seriously. Full-time employees are eligible for Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401(k).

Sterlington uses E-Verify to confirm employees' work authorization.

At Sterlington, we believe that world-class talent has no boundaries. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where unique perspectives are valued and every individual has the opportunity to thrive. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply.