News

Michael S. Schwartz has joined Day Pitney LLP as a partner in its Private Client department in New York. Schwartz joins from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP where he was co-chair of the Trusts and Estates group.

"Michael is a well-known New York trusts and estates attorney who was looking to join a thriving private client team, such as ours," said B. Dane Dudley, Chair of Day Pitney's Private Client department. "We offer the stability, infrastructure and resources to fully support his practice and clients, as well as complementary, cross practice services such as tax, corporate, family office, real estate and probate litigation."

Schwartz advises high-net-worth individuals, fiduciaries and family offices on sophisticated private client matters involving trusts and estates, including tax and succession planning. His practice focuses on domestic and multijurisdictional estate planning for high-net-worth individuals, extending to all facets of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning. Schwartz also works with clients to achieve their philanthropic objectives, as well as asset protection considerations. He also assists clients with succession and governance planning in contemplation of the transition of assets from generation to generation. Schwartz also has extensive experience advising fiduciaries and beneficiaries with respect to all phases of the administration of estates and trusts.

Schwartz is a well-known authority in the New York trusts and estates community. He has been a frequent speaker, author and contributor to publications on issues relating to trusts, estates and succession planning. Schwartz has been ranked as one of the best private client lawyers in New York in the Chambers High Net Worth (HNW) Guide since the inception of the rankings. In 2023, he was elected to serve as Chair of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, where he has also served as Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. He was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of New York City, where he currently serves as co-Chair of the International Estate Planning Committee. In addition, Schwartz is a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law in New York City, teaching a class entitled Trusts and Estates Drafting, and is the co-author of the 14th edition of the Practicing Law Institute treatise entitled Stocker on Drawing Wills and Trusts. He earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in New York.

"Day Pitney's Private Client department has been on a growth trajectory for some time, and I believe its robust practice will help me best serve current and future clients. With deep resources throughout its footprint, Day Pitney has one of the premier private client practices both domestically and internationally," stated Schwartz.

With nearly 80 lawyers in the firm's Private Client department, Day Pitney offers private clients one of the deepest and most experienced practices in the country. The attorneys have hundreds of years of combined experience advising individuals and their families on the full spectrum of matters related to trusts and estates and family offices. With the addition of Schwartz, Day Pitney is now home to 16 ACTEC Fellows, a group of peer-elected trust and estate attorneys across the United States and abroad with more than 10 years of experience in the active practice of probate and trust law or estate planning. Additionally, the Private Client department at Day Pitney has been nationally recognized, being ranked in Chambers High Net Worth (HNW) Guide, named the 2022 U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® "Law Firm of the Year" for Trusts & Estates Law, and selected for the "Best Law Firm – Estates and Trusts" honor at the Private Asset Management Awards in 2020.