Richards, Layton & Finger and Two Firm Directors Named among the World’s Best in Wealth Management
June 24, 2016
Firm News| Tax| Trusts & Estates
WILMINGTON, Delaware (June 24, 2016) – Richards, Layton & Finger and two firm directors, F. Peter Conaty Jr. and W. Donald Sparks II, have been recognized in the inaugural edition of Chambers High Net Worth (HNW), the new guide to the world’s leading high net worth advisers. Richards Layton’s Trusts and Estates practice is ranked in the publication’s highest Band 1 for Private Wealth Law in Delaware.
Chambers HNW reports that clients consider Mr. Sparks “brilliant.” One client notes, “You would have trouble finding a better attorney in Wilmington.” Described as “really straightforward and honest,” Mr. Conaty is praised as “a very practical attorney who understands complexities and can provide an effective solution to whatever the client is facing.”
Mr. Conaty, ranked in Band 2 in Chambers HNW, focuses his practice on the income taxation of trusts and estates, probate, wealth preservation, and planning matters involving estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. He represents high net worth individuals in sophisticated estate planning matters, as well as individuals and corporate fiduciaries in connection with estate and trust administration. He also provides advice on Delaware trust law. Mr. Conaty has been named a Delaware Today Top Lawyer for five years, and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2008. He is fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Mr. Sparks, ranked in Chambers HNW’s Band 1, represents banks, trust companies, and high net worth individuals in sophisticated estate planning and fiduciary matters. He specializes in trusts and estates, focusing primarily on estate planning, estate administration, tax-exempt organizations, and fiduciary litigation. Recognized in Super Lawyers since 2007, Mr. Sparks was named in The Best Lawyers in America as both the 2015 Wilmington, DE Tax Lawyer of the Year and Trusts & Estates Lawyer of the Year. He was also the “Top Vote Getter” in Trusts and Estates in 2014 and 2015 in Delaware Today’s Top Lawyer polls. Head of Richards Layton’s Tax Group, Mr. Sparks is a fellow and state chair of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Chambers HNW covers private wealth management work in key jurisdictions around the world. The guide’s rankings are the result of independent research by researchers who interviewed hundreds of lawyers, family offices, accountancy professionals, tax advisers, bankers, investment managers, and high-end real estate agents to get a comprehensive understanding of the private wealth sector in each of the jurisdictions covered.