Loeb & Loeb LLP announced today that Jonathan J. Rikoon and Cristine M. Sapers will join the firm’s nationally-recognized Trusts and Estates Department as partners in the New York office next month. Rikoon and Sapers are joining the firm from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, where Rikoon served as Trusts and Estates Group Chair, and will be bringing their entire team including one senior counsel and four associates with them to Loeb & Loeb.
“Jonathan and Cristine’s decision to join Loeb & Loeb validates our ongoing strategic commitment to further strengthen our pre-eminent private client platform and reflects our strong reputation as a leader in this complex area of law,” said Loeb & Loeb Chairman Michael D. Beck. “I have no doubt that Jonathan and Cristine had many options and we are grateful that they decided to join us.”
Loeb & Loeb’s Trusts and Estates Department represents a broad base of individuals in connection with sophisticated estate, tax and business succession planning services, and trust and estate administration. The practice also counsels businesses, fiduciaries and tax-exempt organizations in a wide variety of matters, ranging from estate plans and the settlement of complex estate tax issues, to the resolution of multimillion-dollar disputes over the distribution of family wealth.
“Jonathan is a very well-known and prominent attorney in his field who, along with his team, adds tremendous value to our national platform of private client services,” said Bruce J. Wexler, Chair of Loeb & Loeb’s Trusts and Estates Department. “We are very pleased to welcome such a talented and skilled group of attorneys. They will be a great asset to our department and our clients.”
The group joins Loeb & Loeb’s Trusts and Estates Department following the addition of partner Mary Ann Mancini and four other attorneys who joined the firm’s Washington, DC office last September from Bryan Cave LLP, bringing the department to more than 40 attorneys firm wide.
“Although we are saddened to leave our close friends at Debevoise, we are thrilled to be joining a firm such as Loeb where private client services are a core area of focus backed by a national team of resources and an unparalleled bench of expert practitioners,” said Rikoon. “We look forward to working closely with our former colleagues at Debevoise and our new Loeb colleagues in New York, Washington, DC and Los Angeles to expand our private client services throughout the country.”
Rikoon has substantial experience in all aspects of trusts and estates work, including planning, administration and litigation. He engages in sophisticated estate and tax planning for wealthy individuals and families, preparation of wills and trusts, and the administration of trusts and estates. He helps to establish various tax-efficient, multi-tier family, business and investment vehicles such as partnerships, limited liability companies and closely held corporations with trust ownership, and he structures third-party business transactions to facilitate tax and estate planning.
Rikoon has also pioneered the development of estate planning techniques customized for private equity fund principals and hedge fund managers, and he has written and lectured on that topic for the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation, the University of Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and other groups. He has been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA and Worth magazine.
Rikoon received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was a Pomeroy Scholar, a member of the Order of the Coif and the NYU Law Review. He earned his A.B., cum laude and with General Honors, from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sapers focuses her practice on sophisticated estate and tax planning for high net worth individuals, preparation of wills and trusts and administration of large trusts and estates. She has substantial experience working with hedge fund managers and principals of private equity firms on estate planning in connection with their funds, as well as counseling families on estate planning and succession planning for closely held businesses. Her representation of fiduciaries includes advising trustees on issues related to alternative investments and on income tax matters affecting New York resident trusts. She also has experience handling IRS gift and estate tax audits and negotiating and resolving trusts and estate disputes.
Sapers received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Stone Scholar and a member of the Law Review, and her B.A. from Harvard College, with honors.
The other attorneys joining Loeb & Loeb along with Rikoon and Sapers include senior counsel Liora Brener and associates Rachel R. Demeny, Cheryl Testa Espinoza, Jillian M. Owens and Louise Ding Yang.
