Venable recently announced the addition of four high-profile partners to its growing national Tax and Wealth Planning practice. Jonathan Lurie, Bill Burford, Andrew Copans, and Jason Trenton joined the firm as partners in the Los Angeles office. The group focuses on all aspects of estate and wealth planning, including international and domestic tax, probate and trust administration, estate and trust controversies, and family business succession planning. Multiple publications featured news of the group's arrival, including Bloomberg, The Recorder, Daily Journal, Law360, Tax Notes, The Deal, Tax Grotto, International Tax Review, and Today's General Counsel.
"The reason for the move was the positive elements of my relationship with [Venable trust and estates partner] Michele Mulrooney," Lurie told Bloomberg. "I've known Michele for about 30 years…We were young associates at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher together and we have a lot of respect for each other. We have, in the past, tried to have our paths joined together, and an opportunity arose for us to create a group here in Los Angeles in the private client arena."
In an interview with The Recorder, Lurie added, "It was one of those things where we were talking and the opportunity was discussed, and…things happen very quickly when Michele is around." When asked about the impact of last month's presidential election on his practice, he said, "I suspect politics will have an impact on trust and estates practices, but there has already been plenty of work subsequent to the election, and there will continue to be plenty of work, notwithstanding changes to the estate tax."
Speaking with the Daily Journal about the group’s arrival, Mulrooney said, "Jonathan is nationally known…He's just a very knowledgeable guy and I feel like we will be so strong combined." Discussing the firm's recent growth in California, she said, "I think that we've become more well-known on the West Coast." In the same interview, Lurie said, "I think it's going to be a very formidable amount of intellectual capital concentrated in one office."
Noting that "the timing was just right," Lurie told Law360, "Together, our two teams will create one of the strongest private client groups in Los Angeles…Venable provides broad-based services that go beyond trusts and estates that our clients will have access to as they expand their needs."