Lathrop GPM Partner Ann Burns Elected President of American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Lathrop GPM LLP is pleased to announce that Ann Burns, a partner in the firm’s Minneapolis office, has been elected president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Burns has been active with ACTEC for more than two decades and previously chaired predecessor firm Gray Plant Mooty’s prominent Trusts, Estates & Charitable Planning group.
Burns – whose practice focuses on assisting business owners and multi-generational families of wealth in matters pertaining to estate and charitable gift planning, business succession planning, estate and trust administration, and fiduciary and tax litigation – officially became ACTEC president at a virtual ceremony on March 12. Previously, she served on the association’s Board of Regents, as chair of the Business Planning Committee and as a member of the ACTEC Foundation Board of Directors, and has been an active member on numerous ACTEC committees and task forces.
"I am greatly honored to lead ACTEC over the next year," said Burns, who has been repeatedly recognized as a leading legal practitioner. “ACTEC has been a tremendous asset to me in my practice -- and I’m excited to strengthen the administration of trust and estate law and elevate the advancement and simplification of tax laws and procedures meant to protect and benefit our communities."
Additionally, James D. Lamm, a partner in Lathrop GPM’s Minneapolis office, was elected to ACTEC’s Board of Regents. Lamm has served as chair of ACTEC’s Technology in the Practice Committee, co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Task Force, and founding chair of the Digital Property Committee.
“I’m thrilled to continue and deepen my involvement in ACTEC,” Lamm said. “Working with Ann and the other ACTEC Fellows to accomplish our goals and elevate important matters in the trusts and estates space is an honor, and I look forward to the year to come.”
ACTEC, established in 1949, is a national, nonprofit association of approximately 2,500 lawyers and law professors elected by their peers on the basis of professional reputation and experience in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas. The association aims to improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and professional responsibility.