S. Dresden Brunner has practiced law in Florida for 28 years and managed her own law firm for 21 years. She has experience with large national and international law firms as well as a trust and estate boutique law firm. She authors law review articles and articles for The Florida Bar Journal and lectures on trust and estate issues to Florida lawyers, financial advisors, and accountants. She is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review. Dresden has been selected by her peers to be included in the Best Lawyers in America listing since 2013. She has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer since 2021 for her excellence exhibited in the practice of law. Nominated by her colleagues for her commitment to her profession, community, and peers, she was recognized with The Rebecca Vaccariello Service Award in 2022 and was chosen as a Leader in the Law 2016 by the Florida Association for Women Lawyers and as the 2018 Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Collier County Women’s Bar Association.
Dresden serves on the Executive Committee of The Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. In 2021, she received the William S. Belcher Lifetime Professionalism Award and in 2010, she received the Section’s Rising Star Award. Dresden served as the editor-in-chief of the Section’s magazine, ActionLine, for which she received the Section’s 2007 Annual Service Award for dedicated and significantly outstanding service to the Section.
Dresden is past chair of the Collier County Bar Association’s Trust and Estate Section and served on the Board of Directors of the Collier County Women’s Bar Association for four years. She has participated in the Michael R.N. McDonnell Inns of Court and is an award-winning speaker in Toastmasters International and has served on the Planned Giving Committee for the Naples Shelter for Abused Women & Children. She was a founding director of the private school, The Christian Classical Academy of Naples. Additionally, she has volunteered her legal talents through the Legal Aid Service of Collier County and the Florida Attorneys Savings Homes program.
Florida
AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review
Best Lawyers in America, 2013-Present
Florida Super Lawyers
William S. Belcher Lifetime Professionalism Award, RPPTL Section, 2021
Woman Lawyer of the Year 2018, Collier County Women’s Bar Association
Leaders in the Law Award 2016, Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Rising Star Award RPPTL Section, 2010
Annual Service Award of RPPTL Section, 2007 (for dedicated and significantly outstanding service to the section)
Five Star: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager, 2012
Award-Winning Speaker in Toastmasters International
The University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio J.D., summa cum laude
Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, B.A., summa cum laude
Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society
Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society
ACTEC Florida Fellows Institute, Class IV graduate
The Florida Bar; The Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, Executive Committee Member
Collier County Bar Association; Trust & Estate Section, Past Chair
Collier County Women’s Bar Association, former Board Member
American Inns of Court, Michael R.N. McDonnell, Naples, Florida Chapter
Naples Shelter for Abused Women & Children; formerly on Planned Giving Committee
The Christian Classical Academy of Naples, Founding Director
Speaker, “Trust & Marriage: Devising, Decoding & Decanting Trusts Assets,” American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Florida Chapter (May, 2023)
Speaker, “Discussion on the Exposure of Trusts to Claims in a Divorce,” Collier County Bar Trust & Estate Section (April, 2023)
“Estate Planning Issues in a Divorce Situation II: An Update and Standing Orders” The Fla. Bar J. Vol. 97, No. 1, (February, 2023)
Speaker, “Reconsidering Standing Orders in Light of the Probate Code’s Protections Against Complete Disinheritance,” Collier County Bar Family Law Forum (May, 2022)
Speaker, “Accessing Digital Assets,” Collier County Women’s Bar Association (March, 2019)
Speaker, “Accessing Digital Assets,” Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council (February, 2019)
Speaker, “Planning for Your Digital Assets,” Wealth Managers LLC Luncheon (March, 2017)
“Access to Digital Assets—Florida’s New Law for Fiduciaries: What are Digital Assets and Why Are They Relevant?” The Fla. Bar J. Vol. 90, No. 9, (November, 2016)
Speaker, “Access to Digital Assets (2016 Proposal),” Probate & Pumpernickel Luncheon (January, 2016)
Speaker, “Access to Digital Assets (2015 Proposal),” Manatee County Estate Planning Council (March, 2015)
Atlanta Partners Kimberly G. Ader and Kim C. Martin will present at the annual Georgia Bar Association’s Fiduciary Law Institute taking place July 24-26 in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Elizabeth A. Garlovsky has been appointed Membership Recruitment Director for the state of Illinois by the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). In this esteemed role, Elizabeth will oversee key responsibilities related to membership recruitment, including strategic planning, outreach, relationship development, and collaboration across internal and external networks.
Chicago Partner, Jonathan E. Strouse was named in the Inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers. This guide recognizes the top global tax attorneys based
