Gowling WLG welcomes estate and trust lawyers David Freedman and Irit Gertzbein

01 May 2018

Gowling WLG is pleased to announce that estate and trust lawyers David Freedman and Irit Gertzbein have joined the firm as counsel in the firm's Private Client Services Group.

"Irit and David are highly respected practitioners and thought-leaders in their field," said Peter Lukasiewicz, CEO of Gowling WLG Canada. "Working closely with their new colleagues, they will advise our clients on implementing sophisticated estate-planning strategies and resolving difficult disputes."

David Freedman is a Law Society of Ontario Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law, and a tenured professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen's University. His private practice is focused on litigious estate, trust and capacity matters, in addition to complex trust planning and administration. He also acts on matters of professional negligence, defending solicitor negligence claims. Freedman joins the firm from Hull & Hull LLP.

Freedman holds masters and doctoral degrees in law from the University of Oxford and Cambridge University, respectively, and has published widely on estates and trusts topics. He has written a book titled Civil Practice and Procedure: Text, Commentary & Materials, which will be published shortly.

Irit Gertzbein joins the firm from BMO Financial Group, where she provided estate and trust planning support to high-net-worth clients in her role as in-house counsel. Prior to her position at BMO, she also worked at two major Toronto law firms. She has extensive experience preparing and interpreting wills and trusts, advising on power of attorney issues, and helping her clients leverage effective estate planning tactics.

Gertzbein frequently presents to financial advisers and insurance brokers on a range of topics related to estate planning and administration. She previously served as the assistant editor of the Ontario Bar Association's Trusts & Estates Section newsletter, and is also a past contributor to Advising the Family-Owned Business (Canada Law Book).

Gowling WLG's Private Client Services Group offers a diverse range of services in business succession planning, private company and personal taxation, estate planning, trusts, estate administration, and estate litigation and mediation.