Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC

Full-Service Law Firm Based in Greenwich, CT

Hennessey,
Jevera Kaye

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Jevera practices in all areas of estate and trust planning and administration and breaks down complex matters into digestible bites for her clients.  She advises on estate and gift tax issues as well as creating documents to carry out her clients’ plans.  For many years, she was a regular estate planning course instructor in the Town of Greenwich Continuing Education program.  Jevera has also lectured on probate and estate planning topics through the Greenwich Bar Association, the Fairfield County Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association, and other private groups.

Professional & Community Affiliation

  • Greenwich Bar Association (President, 1994-1995)
  • Fairfield County Bar Association (Former Member of Board of Directors)
  • SilverSource (formerly Senior Services of Stamford), Advisory Council (Past Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors)
  • Hill House in Greenwich, Advisory Board
  • Stamford Hospital Foundation’s Planned Giving Advisory Committee
  • Professional Advisors Council of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Emeritus Member
  • First County Bank, Member of the Board of Directors
  • Stamford Community Emergency Response Team (2017 to present)
  • Stamford Public Education Foundation (Former Member of Board of Directors)
  • Governor Appointee to Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers & Funeral Directors, 1995-2005

Honors & Recognition

  • Greenwich YWCA Brava! Award, 1997
  • Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts of America’s Good Scout Award, 2013
  • Greenwich Probate Court’s Pro Bono Award, 2001
  • SilverSource (formerly Senior Services of Stamford), Honoree 2014

Larrubia,
Trevor J.

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Trevor is an associate in the Firm’s Litigation Department, where he represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial and business litigation matters as well as general civil litigation matters.

Prior to joining Whitman Breed, Trevor served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lubbie Harper Jr., the Honorable Thomas A. Bishop, and the Honorable Stuart D. Bear of the Connecticut Appellate Court.

Trevor received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law with a certificate in tax studies, where he was the Business & Technology Editor of the Connecticut Law Review and was a member of the Connecticut Moot Court Board.  While in law school, he served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Vanessa L. Bryant of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, and worked as a student representative in the University of Connecticut School of Law Tax Clinic representing low-income taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service.

Prior to his legal career, Trevor worked for a large international insurer handling latent third-party liability claims and managing complex coverage issues.

Professional & Community Affiliation

  • Connecticut Bar Association
  • Fairfield County Bar Association
  • Greenwich Bar Association
  • Oliver Ellsworth Inn of Court

Honors & Recognition

  • Connecticut Law Review – Business & Technology Editor
  • Connecticut Moot Court Board
  • Alva P. Loiselle Moot Court Competition – Finalist

Publications & Presentations

  • The Hazards of Ethical Lawyering:  Perspectives from a Planner and a Probate Litigator, Connecticut Bar Association/Federal Tax Institute of New England (November 2020)

Thomason,
Michael A. S.

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Michael is an associate in the Firm’s Litigation Department.  He represents clients in all aspects of litigation matters pending in state and federal court.  Prior to joining Whitman Breed, Michael was a judicial law clerk for United States Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish.  Before his clerkship, Michael was an associate attorney at a boutique litigation firm in Greenwich.

Professional & Community Affiliation

  • Fairfield County Bar Association
  • Greenwich Bar Association

Kosnik,
B. Leigh

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B. Leigh Kosnik, Esq. is a graduate of Duke University and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Her early career focused on corporate and international finance beginning, in 1981, at the New York law firm of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, then Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and finally, with the London based international law firm, Linklaters, where she spent nine years. During her time with Linklaters, she worked in their London and New York offices and opened their Washington DC office. In 2007, she joined Roberts & Bates, P.C. in Stamford, Connecticut to begin a local focus on trusts and estates. After four years, she moved to Smith & Grant LLP to continue her practice with individual clients in the areas of trusts and estates.

Ms. Kosnik is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York and is a member of the bar associations of those states.

 

Grant,
Elizabeth M.

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Elizabeth Grant’s practice covers a broad range of estate planning, estate and trust administration, and probate matters. She is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York.

Ms. Grant is a member of the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, and the Estates and Probate Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. She is also a member and past President of the Greenwich Bar Association.

Ms. Grant served as a Director and past President of the Board of the Round Hill Association, Inc. of Greenwich. She also served on Boards of the Family Centers, Inc. of Greenwich, the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Round Hill Community Church of Greenwich.

She received her B.A. from Smith College and her J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law.

Professional & Community Affiliation

  • Greenwich Bar Association, Member and Past President
  • Connecticut Bar Association, Member
  • New York State Bar Association, Member
  • American Bar Association, Member

Honors & Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Trusts and Estates, 2009 – 2020

Smith,
George L.

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George practices in all areas of estate and trust planning and administration, including advising individuals on the tax consequences associated with planning for the disposition of assets. In addition to representing individuals in their estate planning matters, he represents individuals, banks, and trust companies serving in fiduciary capacities. Mr. Smith also assists individuals in designing charitable giving plans.

He is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, New York, and Florida and is a member of the bar association in each of these states. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee of the Estates and Probate Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. In addition, he is an Emeritus Professional Advisor of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation Professional Advisory Council.

Professional & Community Affiliation

  • Connecticut Bar Association, Member
  • New York State Bar Association, Member
  • Florida Bar Association, Member
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • Greenwich Bar Association, Past President
  • Executive Committee of the Estates and Probate Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, Ex-Officio Member
  • Lower Fairfield County Estate Planning Council, Member

Honors & Recognition

  • Fellow, American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, 2001 – 2020
  • The Best Lawyers in America for Trusts & Estates Law, 2006-2020 (See Selection Process)
  • New England Super Lawyers for Estate Planning & Probate, 2006 – 2020 (See Selection Process)

Publications & Presentations

  • Speaker, Estate Administration, Greenwich Bar Association
  • Speaker, Connecticut Bar Association – Various Topics on Estate Planning & Administration
  • Speaker, Estate Planning, Stamford Regional Bar Association
  • Speaker, Will Awareness, Archdiocese of New York