Ms. Dodd chairs the firm’s Family Wealth Transfer Planning and Trust & Estate Administration practice, focusing on gift, estate and philanthropic planning for very-high-net-worth individuals and families. She also chairs the firm’s Not-for-Profit Organizations practice.

Ms. Dodd counsels very-high-net-worth individuals in all aspects of gift, estate and philanthropic planning. She has extensive experience designing and implementing a variety of sophisticated structures, including family limited partnerships, grantor retained annuity trusts, insurance trusts, defective grantor trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts, all designed to transfer assets to heirs and to charities in a tax-efficient manner that respects the values of the families. Ms. Dodd routinely represents individuals in gift and estate tax audits before the IRS. She also counsels clients on all aspects of trust administration.

In her Not-for-Profit practice, Ms. Dodd acts as outside general counsel to charitable organizations of all types, including community foundations large and small; operating charities, such as museums and schools; and private family foundations. She has extensive experience in all aspects of a charity’s activities, including structuring start-ups and obtaining exemptions; advising on compliance issues with respect to local, state and federal law; advising on governance issues, including conflict of interest and fiduciary duties; and working with charities to structure subsidiaries and joint ventures. She has successfully represented charities in audits before the California Attorney General and the IRS.