July 23, 2008 (New York, NY) - Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law firm with more than 750 lawyers worldwide, announced that Andrew M. Katzenstein, a leading trusts and estates lawyer, has joined the firm's Los Angeles office as a partner in the Personal Planning Department and a member of its newly formed Fiduciary Litigation Practice Group.
"Andy is a superb lawyer with a sterling reputation. He will be a key strategic component of the continued growth of our Los Angeles office and an integral member of our cross-disciplinary team," said Bert H. Deixler, head of Proskauer's Los Angeles office.
Mr. Katzenstein focuses his practice on: estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning; income tax issues associated with trust planning; and probate and trust administration matters, including resolving disputes between fiduciaries and beneficiaries. He also devotes a significant portion of his practice to assisting charitable organizations.
"Andy is one of the most highly regarded trusts and estates lawyers in Southern California and is a significant addition to our already formidable and extremely deep Personal Planning Department, which extends across the firm's national platform," said Jay D. Waxenberg, Chair of Proskauer's Personal Planning Department.
The firm's Personal Planning Department and its lawyers are consistently ranked among the country's best by Chambers USA, which has ranked the practice near the top of its national tables since their inception, and other leading legal and business publications and directories. Drawing on over a century of experience in trusts and estates practice and buttressed by the skills of lawyers in a diverse array of practices throughout the firm, Proskauer's Personal Planning Department works with individual clients that include business entrepreneurs, corporate executives, real estate developers, creative and performing artists, owners of sports franchises, collectors of fine arts and investors in securities, including those with multi-jurisdictional holdings.
Mr. Katzenstein joins Proskauer from Katten, Muchin, Rosenman LLP, where he was a partner in the Los Angeles office. In addition to his legal practice, he teaches Estate Tax at UCLA Law School and is a frequent lecturer on a variety of estate planning and tax-related topics for the Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills and California State Bar Associations. He received his LL.M. from the University of San Diego, his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Mr. Katzenstein is the latest partner to join the firm's Los Angeles office, which recently announced the addition of James C. Williams, a veteran employee benefits and executive compensation lawyer. The firm's Los Angeles office was also recently named one of the "Top 10 Southern California Corporate/Transactional Firms" by the Daily Journal, where it was noted for having one of the fastest growing transactional practices in the area.