Overview

Jennifer is a corporate lawyer who focuses her practice on business planning, estate & trust planning, general counsel services, and tax planning. Her clients include closely-held businesses and their owners, as well as high-net-worth individuals and families. Jennifer facilitates planning strategies with her clients by counseling them on risk management and asset protection, succession and exit planning, and wealth preservation. She also assists clients with business formations and choice of entity issues. Jennifer also has experience managing strategic business transactions for her clients, including mergers and acquisitions.

Jennifer works closely with her clients to ensure that their estate and business plans mesh seamlessly and to help them realize their goals. Her exceptional skills have been recognized by Chambers and Partners and by Best Lawyers in America© in the area of Trusts & Estates. She is also a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).

Jennifer is a member of Maynard Nexsen’s Board of Directors and is actively involved in the Firm’s Recruiting and Women’s Initiative committees. She serves as co-chair of The Forum of Alabama Businesswomen (“FAB”), an external program series led by Maynard Nexsen’s Women’s Initiative. Jennifer holds an LL.M. in taxation from New York University and received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law. She received her B.A. from Wake Forest University.

Community & Professional

  • Alabama State Bar Association
  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
  • Birmingham Bar Association, former Young Lawyers' Section Executive Board
  • American Bar Association
  • Birmingham Tax Forum
  • Estate Planning Council of Birmingham Junior Board
  • The Forum of Alabama Businesswomen, Co-Chair

  • GirlSpring’s Women's Committee

  • Girls on the Run Sneaker Soiree Committee

  • Softball/Baseball Board for Homewood
  • United Way's Professional Advisory Council
  • UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, Young Supporters Board - Vice President Advisory Board Relations, former Vice-President Strategic Planning
  • Leadership UAB (2013-2021)
  • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Junior Board - Secretary (2011-2013)

Recognitions

Recognition

  • Birmingham Business Journal 2022 Top 40 Under 40
  • Best Lawyers® 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” for Trusts and Estates
  • The Best Lawyers in America© for Trusts and Estates and Tax Law (2020 - present), Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law (2023 - present)
  • Chambers and Partners HNW Guide: The World's Leading High Net-Worth Advisors, Band 1 Leading Individual for "Private Wealth Law" (2023); Up and Coming in "Private Wealth Law" (2019-2022)
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in Closely Held Businesses (2019)

Media

News

Speaking Engagements

  • Alabama Federal and State Tax Institute (AFSTI) Conference – “Marital Deduction Planning” (November 15-17, 2023)
  • 44th Annual Gulf Coast Estate Planning Conference – “Trust Tax Situs Determination” (September 19, 2023)
  • 50th Annual Midwest-MidSouth Estate Planning Institute : “Business Succession Planning Issues for the Estate Planner” (August 3-4, 2023)
  • Birmingham Bar Association CLE – “Estate Planning for Closely-Held Business Interests” (July 6, 2023)
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel – 2023 Southern Regional Conference : “An Advisor’s Guide to Business Succession Planning” (May 19-21, 2023)
  • Business Succession Planning, Birmingham Bar Association Probate Section CLE (December 2, 2022)
  • Business Succession Planning 101, Alabama Trust & Wealth Management Symposium, Birmingham, Alabama (November 4-5, 2021)
  • Estate Planning for Business Owners, National Association of Home Builders, Birmingham, Alabama (September 29, 2016)
  • "Table of Experts: Insights into Succession Planning"Birmingham Business Journal panel discussion, Birmingham, Alabama (September 23, 2016)
  • Trust Basics and Taxation, Way, Ray, Shelton, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (September 22, 2016)
  • Cover Your Assets: Asset Protection Planning in 2016, AL Probate and Estate Planning Conference, Birmingham Marriott at Grandview Parkway (May 9-10, 2016)
  • Alabama Small Estates, Birmingham Probate Section Lunch and Learn (June 26, 2015)
  • GRATs, DINGs, and Things, Huntsville/Madison County Financial and Estate Planning Council (May 28, 2015)
  • Trust Taxation 101, Oakworth Trust Department, Birmingham (April 7, 2015)
  • Alabama Small Estates, Cumberland School of Law CLE, Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover (September 26, 2014)
  • Cover Your Assets: Asset Protection Planning in 2014, Embassy Suites, Hoover (November 21, 2014)
  • Business Succession Planning, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America Forum of Female Business Owners, Daniel George, Birmingham (October 29, 2014)
  • Trust Taxation 101, Regions Bank Trust Department, Mobile, Alabama (June 4, 2014) (May 16, 2014)
  • Estate Planning Portability Presentation, Bankers’ Fall Trust Conference, Birmingham (September 26, 2013)

Insights

Videos/Podcasts

Admissions

  • State Bar: Alabama
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