Cummings & Lockwood Hires Two Principals to Build Out Its Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Practice

Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that Charles W. Pieterse and Wyatt R. Jansen have joined the firm’s litigation practice and will be based in its Stamford, Connecticut, office. 

“We are very excited to have Charlie and Wyatt join Cummings & Lockwood to further build out and strengthen the firm’s fiduciary and probate litigation capabilities in Connecticut, New York and the surrounding region,” said Steven I. Frenkel, the Chairman of the Litigation Group.  “Charlie is one of the leading probate litigators in the United States and brings with him over 40 years of experience in trusts and estates litigation and in complex business and commercial litigation,” noted Laura W. Beck, Chairman and Managing Partner, “and we have known both Charlie and Wyatt for a long time and believe that their knowledge and experience will serve the litigation needs of our clients exceedingly well.”

Charlie will serve as Co-Chair of the Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Group along with Co-Chair, Michael P. Kaelin, who will be handling fiduciary and probate litigation matters primarily in South Florida, where Cummings & Lockwood has three offices in Naples, Bonita Springs and Palm Beach Gardens.

A Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (“ACTEC”), Charlie’s trust and estate litigation experience includes representation of corporate and individual trustees, executors, beneficiaries, conservators, guardians and attorneys-in-fact, in disputes involving all aspects of probate and trust and estate litigation, including breach of fiduciary duty claims, trustee surcharge and removal proceedings, contested accountings, will and trust contests, construction and decanting proceedings, conservatorship and guardianship proceedings and contested lifetime transfers. 

He earned his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.  He is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

Wyatt brings more than a decade of experience handling trusts and estates litigation, as well as complex business litigation matters.  He represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in contested accounting and removal proceedings; breach of fiduciary duty claims; trust construction, modification, and termination matters; will and trust contests, tortious interference claims and other inheritance disputes; creditor claims; and charities issues.  Wyatt also advises fiduciaries on administration issues and risk management.

Wyatt received his B.A. from New York University and his J.D. with Honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law.  He is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York.

About Cummings & Lockwood LLC

Founded in 1909, Cummings & Lockwood provides affluent individuals and families, their family offices, businesses and charitable entities as well as other commercial enterprises, with a broad range of sophisticated legal services, including trusts and estates, corporate and finance, litigation and arbitration, and commercial and residential real estate. 

Cummings & Lockwood has one of the largest, oldest and most respected trusts and estates practices in the United States with nearly 80 professionals, including attorneys, fiduciary accountants, paralegals and an estate administrator.

The firm has offices in Stamford, Greenwich and West Hartford, Connecticut, as well as in Naples, Bonita Springs and Palm Beach Gardens. Florida.  While most clients reside in Connecticut, New York and Florida, we have clients in nearly every U.S. state, as well as in over 20 countries around the world.

For more information about Cummings & Lockwood and our Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Group, please visit our website at www.cl-law.com.