Neil T. Kawashima is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. Neil has a diverse practice, representing wealthy individuals and families with respect to estate and gift planning, estate and trust administration, and business succession issues. A significant portion of Neil’s practice focuses on philanthropic matters, including the representation and advising of tax-exempt organizations, including private foundations, public charities, supporting organizations and religious groups. In this regard, Neil advises organizations about corporate and trust governance issues, federal and state compliance and audit matters, grant and scholarship programs, fiduciary matters, best practices, planned giving matters and reorganization strategies. Neil also counsels individuals and families with respect to charitable giving techniques and philanthropy, helping them to design and implement tax-efficient charitable giving strategies and to identify, formulate and enforce their charitable goals.
Neil has co-authored chapters for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) handbooks on Estate, Trust and Guardianship Litigation (formerly Contested Estates) and Trust Administration. He was also named a Best Lawyer in America by Woodward White, as well as an Illinois Rising Star by Law & Politics.
Neil is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Neil is a member of the Chicago Community Trust Young Professional Advisory Committee, the Art Institute of Chicago Planned Giving Advisory Committee, and the Lincoln Park Zoo Planned Giving Advisory Committee. Neil is a Director of the Chicago Opera Theater, a Vestry member of Church of Our Savior in Chicago, and most recently was National Gift Chair for the University of Chicago Class of 1993.
Education
- Cornell Law School, J.D., 1996
- University of Chicago, A.B., 1993
