Louis S. Harrison's practice focuses on estate planning and litigation, post-mortem tax planning, charitable dispositions, and gifting strategies. Lou also assists closely held companies with their corporate tax planning.

Trust, Estate & Probate

Lou's practice emphasizes the estate-planning aspects of partnerships and privately owned businesses, charitable dispositions, and gifting strategies.

Lou uses his extensive experience to formulate estate plans that maximize and protect wealth, draft complex trusts and wills that minimize federal estate taxes, litigate contested estates, probate and administer estates, advise closely held businesses, and counsel clients regarding business, individual, fiduciary and post-mortem tax planning.

A frequent speaker and writer on tax and estate planning, Lou has spoken before numerous groups nationwide. Lou has authored more than 100 published articles on a broad range of tax and estate-planning subjects in legal, accounting, tax and estate journals and periodicals, and is co-author of the books, "Sorting Out Life's Complexities: What You Really Need to Know About Taxes, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorneys and Health Care Decisions" and "Illinois Estate Planning Forms and Commentary."

Lou is the Illinois State Chair of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel and has been an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law, DePaul University College of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law.

As a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Lou has chaired the Estate and Gift Tax Committee and served on the Trust Law Committee and Probate Practice Committee.

Before joining Harrison & Held, LLP, Lou was the partner in charge of the Lord, Bissell & Brook Wealth Preservation Group.

• University of Chicago, M.B.A., with honors; Duke University, J.D., 1984, high honors
• Colgate University, B.A., 1981, magna cum laude

• Illinois, 1984

• American Bar Association
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow (Illinois State Chair)
• Chicago Bar Association
• Chicago Estate Planning Council
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Standard Club

Honors and Professional Achievements

Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (State Chair, Illinois); Elected, Best Lawyers in America.com; Elected, Advisory Committee (<1% of all Illinois attorneys); Leading Lawyers.com; Elected, Illinois Super Lawyers; Elected, Worth Magazine’s 100 Top Estate Planning Lawyers.

Curriculum Vitae of Louis S. Harrison