Shartsis Friese Adds Top Talent to Premier Family Wealth Planning Practice
San Francisco, July 1, 2019 – Shartsis Friese LLP announced today that Debra Kasper, Sarah King and Charles Stephenson, along with the team from their former firm of Stephenson, Kasper & King, have joined Shartsis Friese, adding three highly-regarded lawyers to what is already one of the premier family wealth planning practices in California.
The Family Wealth Planning Group at Shartsis now includes nine attorneys who represent a wide range of high-net-worth individuals and families, including among others: executives of public corporations, owners of closely held businesses, and entrepreneurs involved in start-up businesses. The group provides sophisticated planning not only to reduce tax burdens, but also to address specialized concerns such as business succession planning, international estate and gift tax planning, and providing incentives for younger generations to use their wealth wisely and in ways that contribute to their communities. Members of the group also assist individuals, families, private foundations, charitable organizations, and businesses to implement their philanthropic goals, representing some of the largest and best known foundations in California.
“We’ve known and respected Charlie, Sarah and Debbie for many years and are very excited to welcome them to Shartsis Friese,” said Patrick McCabe, who leads the Shartsis Friese Family Wealth Planning Practice. “To add three such experienced and high-quality lawyers to our existing team gives us a depth of experience and expertise in family wealth planning that is unmatched by any other firm in Northern California.”
“All of us at Stephenson, Kasper & King are tremendously excited to be joining Shartsis Friese, which in addition to having one of the premier family wealth planning groups in the state, has high-end practices in areas such as real estate, corporate, and litigation, which will now be seamlessly available to our clients.” said Debra Kasper. “We’ve known and worked closely with Patrick, Dick Kinyon, and other lawyers at Shartsis Friese for decades and it’s really a perfect fit for us to join forces.”
“We are very excited about adding three such prominent and accomplished lawyers,” concluded Shartsis Friese founding partner Art Shartsis. “We continue to have the good fortune of strengthening the elite practice groups of our firm.”
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About the new lawyers:
Debra L. Kasper focuses her practice in the area of estate tax planning, estate and family wealth planning, including business succession and international wealth planning, trust and estate administration, advice to trustees and beneficiaries, probate law, charitable gift planning, and representation of tax exempt organizations. Ms. Kasper received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University. Prior to founding Stephenson Kasper & King LLP, Ms. Kasper was a partner in the law firm of Jackson Tufts Cole & Black, LLP. Before entering private practice, she served as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and as a law clerk to the Honorable John W. Kern III, District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Ms. Kasper also previously served as a legislative assistant to two Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. She has served as a member of the Planned Giving Committees of the San Francisco Symphony and the Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco, and as a member of The Friends of the Bancroft Library of the University of the California at Berkeley.
Sarah M. King focuses her practice on trusts and estates law, helping clients plan for the transfer of wealth to future generations and the achievement of charitable goals. Ms. King’s practice includes advising clients on a variety of tax matters, including estate, gift, income and real property taxes. In addition to estate planning, she represents trustees, executors and beneficiaries in trust and probate administration matters, as well as a variety of tax exempt organizations, including public charities and private foundations, in connection with organizational matters and the administration of charitable gifts and trusts. Ms. King received a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. from Allegheny College. Prior to joining Stephenson Kasper & King, Ms. King was a director and shareholder in the Litigation Department of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin, P.C., a litigation associate in the New York office of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, and law clerk to the Hon. Warren J. Ferguson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to law school, Ms. King worked in Lima, Peru as a writer and researcher at the Andean Commission of Jurists and as an English Teacher in Okayama, Japan.
Charles G. Stephenson has extensive experience in the areas of tax planning, estate and family wealth planning, business succession planning, charitable gift planning, probate, trust administration and international estate planning. He received his law degree from Stanford University and a B.A. from University of California, Berkeley. Prior to founding Stephenson Kasper & King LLP in 1999, Mr. Stephenson was a partner at the law firms of Jackson Tufts Cole & Black, LLP, and Chickering & Gregory. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has served as a speaker and panelist for numerous presentations involving trust and estate law presented by the American Law Institute/American Bar Association, Practising Law Institute, the UCLA-CEB Estate Planning Institute and the State Bar of California.
About Shartsis Friese
Founded in San Francisco in 1975, Shartsis Friese LLP has more than 65 lawyers. The firm has extensive trial and business litigation experience, including securities enforcement defense, and a complex transactional practice focused on investment advisers, hedge funds, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities, tax, venture capital, intellectual property, family wealth planning, and real estate. For more information visit www.sflaw.com.