Vorys Adds Two Experienced Attorneys to Trusts, Estates and Wealth Transfer Team
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP has expanded its trusts, estates and wealth transfer team with the addition of two experienced and widely respected attorneys in the Columbus office. Karen Moore joins the firm as of counsel and John Furniss joins as a partner.
“Karen and John are widely regarded as two of the best trusts and estates lawyers not only in Ohio but also in the nation,” said Scott Powell, chair of the Vorys tax group. “We could not be happier to welcome them to our already strong team.”
Moore has spent more than 40 years counseling clients regarding the thoughtful design and implementation of their estate plans. She focuses her practice on a full array of services in estate planning and administration, emphasizing the drafting of wills and trusts with related estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning; administration of estates and trusts; and litigation involving trusts and estates. Moore also advises trustees on their fiduciary duties in administering trusts. In addition, she counsels numerous fiduciaries and estate and trust beneficiaries in resolving disputes before litigation arises and serves as counsel in fiduciary litigation matters in court. Moore spent more than a decade as an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. In this role, she taught courses on estate planning, administration of decedents’ estates, and trusts and wills.
“I have great respect for the lawyers at Vorys and the law firm as a whole,” Moore said. “I’m looking forward to joining the firm and working with my new colleagues to provide the highest level of service for our clients.”
Furniss has nearly 20 years of experience representing individuals, including professionals, executives and business owners, as well as families, in connection with all aspects of estate planning, charitable giving, business succession planning, and estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning. He also represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in the administration of trusts and probate estates as well as in disputes involving trusts and estates, including will contests, trust contests and tax audits and controversies. In addition, Furniss represents tax-exempt organizations in matters related to their tax-exempt status, planned gifts from their donors, and their endowments.
“The Vorys firm is deeply committed to serving clients with estate planning, tax and related needs. I am excited to be part of such a highly-regarded firm that can provide a full range of legal services to these clients,” Furniss said. “It is also a privilege to continue working with Karen Moore, with whom I have worked closely my entire career.”
Both Moore and Furniss are fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Moore is also a past president of ACTEC, and both she and Furniss are active in ACTEC committees at both the national and state levels. Lawyers and law professors are elected ACTEC fellows based on their outstanding reputation, exceptional skill, highest ethical standards, and substantial contributions to the field by lecturing, writing, teaching and participating in bar activities. In addition, both Moore and Furniss are leaders in the Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law Section Council of the Ohio State Bar Association. Furniss currently serves as vice-chair of the Section and Moore is a past chair of the Section and current member of its executive committee.
The two will join the Vorys trusts and estates practice, which was recently recognized in the Chambers and Partners 2017 High Net Worth Guide as one of the top private wealth law practices in Ohio. The Vorys team includes more than a dozen professionals who focus their practices on trusts and estate issues.
About Vorys: Vorys was established in 1909 and currently has nearly 375 attorneys in seven offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine.
