TOP 5 TRUSTS & ESTATES BOUTIQUES

Horne Coupar (Victoria, B.C.)

This 11-lawyer boutique traces its roots back to 1944, when Ian Horne joined up with Harold Beckwith. They later welcomed Robert Coupar to the fold. The founding partners’ sons, Mark Horne and John Coupar, both now practise at the firm. The founders’ successors have developed a niche in inheritance and incapacity planning, with Fiona Hunter, a well-known writer in the field, becoming a partner in 2004. Top-notch trusts expert Donovan Waters added more depth when he came aboard as counsel that same year. Horne Coupar also specializes in areas such as cross-border planning, charitable trusts and foundations, and estate administration and litigation.

Hull & Hull LLP (Toronto/Oakville, Ont.)

Hull & Hull began its rise to the top of the trusts and estates bar when the late Rodney Hull and his son Ian hung their shingle in 1998. Rodney became one of the most respected estates lawyers in Canada, receiving the Ontario Bar Association wills and trusts section’s award of excellence in 2005 and the Law Society Medal in 2007. The firm, now led by Ian and managing partner Suzana Popovic-Montag, now lists 13 lawyers under its banner. One voter said Hull & Hull has amassed its “well-deserved” reputation as a go-to firm thanks primarily to its overwhelming presence in estate litigation.

Jan Goddard and Associates (Toronto)

Jan Goddard opened her boutique in 1999 after several years in private practice, followed by 10 years as a litigator, policy adviser, and manager at Ontario’s Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee. A large-firm lawyer who recommended Goddard’s firm pointed to its expertise and results in trusts and estates litigation and guardianship disputes. The firm also excels at elder law, and with the recent addition of Ontario’s former Children’s Lawyer, Debra Stephens, it has deepened its penetration of the trusts and estates landscape.

O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers Professional Corp. (Toronto)

This firm stands out for its focus on bespoke estate planning, estate administration, and estate dispute resolution on behalf of high-net-worth individuals and high-value estates. Margaret O’Sullivan established her boutique in 1998 after spending 12 years at Stikeman Elliott LLP. She has added to her stellar reputation by serving as a founding member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Canada, and as a chairwoman of the trusts and estates section of the OBA. She has amassed an impressive client list that includes some of Canada’s wealthiest individuals and families.

Underwood Gilholme (Calgary)

This relatively young, six-lawyer firm sprouted up just five years ago, but its stature within the trusts and estates industry has grown quickly. That’s got a lot to do with the experience of founding partners Cliff Underwood and Terry Gilholme. Underwood, a former chairman of the Canadian Bar Association’s wills and estates section, started out with Fraser Milner Casgrain before spending about 15 years leading his own wills and estates shop. Gilholme learned the ropes at Macleod Dixon LLP before serving as in-house counsel at Canada Trust and Royal Trust Corp.

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