Sam is one of Chicago’s premier estate and trust litigation attorneys with more than 20 years of problem-solving experience in helping clients resolve sensitive family disputes and complex matters.  Sam is widely cited as an authority on estate and trust litigation, and she co-authored the original IICLE treatise on this subject, a practical guide for Illinois attorneys.

Sam begins each new representation by listening carefully to ensure a clear understanding of her client’s goals.  Always striving to find the most swift and equitable solution, Sam protects the rights of individual beneficiaries and advises individual and corporate fiduciaries as they carry out their critical obligations.

Sam’s practice encompasses all aspects of estate, trust and fiduciary controversies, including:

• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Judicial constructions of wills and trusts
• Will and trust contests
• Citations to discover or recover assets
• Contested heirship, adoption and paternity
• Charitable pledge disputes
• Guardianship matters
• Risk management for fiduciaries in contentious estate and trust administrations
• Appeals

Sam is highly skilled at resolving difficult family disputes, both in and out of court.  She recognizes that litigation is not the answer to every controversy, and Sam excels at de-escalating disputes, finding creative, non-judicial solutions for her clients. If litigation is necessary or ongoing, however, Sam is a zealous advocate with years of experience in both state and federal courts.

Representative Matters

• Sam successfully prevailed in a bench trial in defending a client against her ex-husband’s effort to enforce a 15-year-old promissory note.
• In representing a charity against a decedent’s off-shore asset protection trust, Sam was an essential member of the litigation team which achieved a victory in the Illinois Supreme Court.
• Sam successfully settled a tortious interference with inheritance claim brought by three sisters against a fourth sister – alleging mistreatment and undue influence exerted upon their elderly and infirm mother. The turning point occurred when the defendant admitted to accelerating her mother’s death resulting in an amended complaint pursuant to Illinois’ “Slayer Statute.”
• In a hotly contested case involving heirship, paternity and DNA testing, Sam successfully defended an action on behalf of a decedent’s brother
• In a highly-publicized case brought by the Illinois Attorney General against an investment company seeking treble and punitive damages for an alleged violation of the Charitable Trust Act, Sam briefed an ultimately successful motion which led to the dismissal of her client as a party defendant because it did not qualify as a charitable “trustee” under the Act.
• Sam was one of three lead attorneys in complex trust litigation in Pennsylvania involving the appointment of a successor corporate trustee and the establishment of a private trust company to be that potential successor trustee. Sam was also involved in the multiple appeals resulting from this litigation.
• In representing several charitable beneficiaries seeking early termination of a charitable trust, Sam briefed the petition and secured the Illinois Attorney General’s support for trust termination. The court ultimately granted the petition and terminated the trust.
• Sam successfully defended her regional bank client against multiple allegations of breach of fiduciary duty
• In acting as risk management counsel to an international financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Sam fended off multiple threats of litigation during the estate and trust administration process, succeeding in completing that process with no lawsuits filed against Sam’s client.
• Sam has also obtained numerous favorable decisions reforming or construing wills and trusts
  
  

When not supporting her clients, Sam loves reading, cooking, and spending time with her husband, five children, and their German Shepherds, Zoe and Zeus.