This Spring when I was still an editor at Corporate Counsel magazine, I had lunch and a wide-ranging conversation with a famous white-collar criminal defense lawyer. Just as this attorney was finishing a chopped salad, he confessed that the toughest part of his job was the personal. Good people seek his help at the worst time in their lives; the federal government is prosecuting them; their careers are in shambles; the crisis usually threatens, even destroys their marriages. A lawyer can spend five, six, sometimes seven or more years talking with such a client every day. True friendships develop. Then, at long last, the matter is resolved; the client can move on to the next phase of his life. And no matter how good a job the lawyer did, he will rarely speak with this client again. Because the last thing anyone wants to be reminded of is a trip through hell.

Fast forward to June. I’ve just started as editor in chief of Trusts & Estates magazine, and am at lunch, having a wide-ranging conversation, with David McCabe, head of the trusts and estates department at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. David is having a Cobb salad, and just as he finishes his lettuce, he has a confession to make. The best part of his job, David says, is the personal. On top of the great intellectual challenges presented by this specialty, there is enormous satisfaction in the relationships one forms with clients. Trusted advisors work with clients for 10, 20, even more years, helping them make critical decisions about their financial health and the care of their spouses and children. Often they are the first person called when there’s a death. One deceased client’s son, David recalls, marveled that David knew more about his family than the son did.

The contrasts between these lunches gave me a great introduction to what helps make Trusts & Estates interesting. For 20 years, I’ve worked as a reporter and editor specializing in legal affairs, primarily constitutional and corporate law, at a number of publications, including The National Law Journal. I’ve also been a professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. It is with pride that I now join Primedia Business Magazines & Media in its dedication to Trusts & Estates.

Our goal is to continue to make this the must-read for estate planners and other wealth management advisors. We are fortunate to have on our advisory board highly respected members of this community. We also call upon all of our readers for their input. Unsolicited manuscripts, ideas for articles others might do and thoughts about what new features the magazine should add are all welcome. Please contact me by e-mail:rsherman@primediabusiness.com

I look forward to working with, and serving you.

Cheers,
Rorie M. Sherman
Editor in Chief