Best Lawyers in America Names SGR’s Kristen Lewis as Georgia’s Trust and Estates Law “Lawyer of the Year”
ATLANTA (August 15, 2016) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Kristen M. Lewis has been named Georgia’s Trust and Estates“Lawyer of the Year” for 2017 by The Best Lawyers in America®, the leading peer-review-based directory of legal practitioners.
Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is recognized as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Attorneys who are honored as “Lawyer of the Year” have received particularly high ratings by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.
In addition to this recognition, Ms. Lewis has previously been selected for inclusion by The Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates since 2013 and by Georgia Super Lawyers.
Ms. Lewis is Counsel in SGR’s Tax Practice. She has extensive experience in estate planning and wealth protection, “special needs trusts,” trust and estate planning and administration, guardianships, fiduciary matters, trusts for pets, and charitable giving techniques. Ms. Lewis is a nationally recognized expert on Special Needs Trust planning for persons challenged by disabilities, and is a frequent speaker and author on this topic. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and an active member of the Special Needs Alliance, the Academy of Special Needs Planners, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American Bar Association, the New York Bar Association Elder Law Section, the State Bar of Georgia Fiduciary Law Section, and the Georgia Planned Giving Council. She is a former Co-Chair of the Long-Term Care, Medicaid and Special Needs Trusts Committee of the Elder Law, Disability Planning and Bioethics Group of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the ABA.
Ms. Lewis currently serves on the Boards of All About Developmental Disabilities and Georgia Community Supports and Solutions, which serve persons with disabilities and their families. She also is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Inc. and a former Trustee of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association. She serves as a volunteer trainer for Canine Assistants, which raises and trains certified service dogs for recipients with disabilities.
About Best Lawyers
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. More than 55,000 leading attorneys cast more than 6.7 million detailed evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. If the votes for an attorney are positive enough for inclusion in Best Lawyers, that attorney must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain on the list for each edition. Lawyers are not permitted to pay any fee to participate in or be included on our lists.
About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP
SGR is a full service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, New York, Washington, D.C. and Frankfurt, Germany.
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