Overview
Carlyn S. McCaffrey provides legal counsel on domestic and international tax and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals. She also advises individuals and institutions on charitable planning matters. Carlyn is co-head of the Private Client practice in the Firm’s New York office.
A frequent lecturer on subjects relating to tax law, trusts and estates, foreign trusts and matrimonial law, Carlyn is also an extensively published author on these topics.
Recognitions
- New York Law Journal, Lifetime Achievement, 2021
- Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession, Chambers HNW Awards USA, 2019
- Chambers High Net Worth, Star Individual in New York: Private Wealth Law and USA Nationwide: Private Wealth Law, Eastern Region, 2016–2024
- Best Lawyers in America, Trusts and Estates, New York, 1983–2025
- Private Client Global Elite 2018 and 2019, Legal Week
- Expert Guides, Women in Business Law, 2020
- Chambers USA, 2006-2016, Star Individual
- “Best in Wealth Management,” Americas Women in Business Law Award 2016 by Euromoney Legal Media Group
- PLC Which Lawyer?
- Citywealth Leaders List, 2018
Community
- National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws, fellow and past president of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, member of the International Academy of Trust & Estate Counsel, and member of the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Act
- American Bar Association, past member of the Council of the Real Property Probate and Trust Section and former chair of the Section’s Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Committee
- New York State Bar Association, member of the Tax Section and former co-chair of the Section’s Estates and Trusts Committees
- University of Miami, Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Advisory Committee
- Catholic Communal Fund, member and secretary of the board of directors
- Breast Cancer Research Fund, member of the board of directors
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation, former member of the board of directors
- Central Park Professional Advisory Committee
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, member of the Professional Advisory Council
- The Museum of Modern Art, member of the Planned Giving Advisory Committee
- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., member of the Professional Advisors Council Committee
Credentials
Education
New York University School of Law, LLM, 1974
New York University School of Law, JD, 1967
George Washington University, BA, 1963
Admissions
New York
Courts / Agencies
US Tax Court
