INDIVIDUAL PROFILE
Barbara R Grayson

Barbara R Grayson

High Net Worth 2025

Chambers ranking badge
Chambers ranking badge

Ranked in 2 practice areas

About

Provided by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Practice Areas

Barbara Grayson is a partner and National Co-Chair of Willkie’s Private Clients Group. She represents high-net-worth individuals and families, family owned businesses, family offices and charitable organizations on a wide range of legal issues related to family owned businesses, private equity investments, proprietary funds, family offices, private trust companies, charitable organizations, multigenerational wealth, governance and succession issues, and fiduciary responsibilities. She has extensive estate planning experience, including structuring solutions for transferring wealth to younger generations and succession planning for complex family situations.

Barbara’s tax planning experience is focused on gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. She works with clients to design and implement estate plans, including wills, trusts and lifetime gifts. She also structures partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, shareholder agreements and buy-sell agreements. She counsels clients regarding sophisticated planning for family businesses, including corporate recapitalizations, corporate governance, intrafamily sales and family partnerships.

A sizeable portion of Barbara’s practice focuses on philanthropic matters, including the representation and advising of tax-exempt organizations and the representation of individuals with respect to charitable giving.

Barbara received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and she received her B.A. from the University of Missouri.

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Chambers High Net Worth

Private Wealth Law - Illinois

Band 1
Band 1

Individual Editorial

Barbara Grayson is a highly respected private client expert in Chicago, and is Midwest chair of Willkie's private clients group. She crafts sophisticated planning solutions for a range of clients.

Private Wealth Law: Central Region - USA - Nationwide

Band 2
Band 2

Individual Editorial
Barbara Grayson advises on estate planning and administration, trusts and tax matters.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • Barbara is very talented, very bright and very good at solving the clients' problems when necessary. She is very good at responding to clients' needs and figuring out their problems.

    Private Wealth LawChambers High Net Worth
  • Barbara is knowledgeable, practical and downright graceful.

    Private Wealth LawChambers High Net Worth
  • Barbara has an extremely complex and high value practice. She is the complete package: extremely competent technically, empathetic and manages relationships well. She's really outstanding.

    Private Wealth LawChambers High Net Worth
  • She is truly fantastic - one of the best lawyers I have worked with for all things on the estates side.

    Private Wealth LawChambers High Net Worth
  • She is a leading individual. Her clients really love her, they trust her. She is very sophisticated and plans ahead.

    Private Wealth LawChambers High Net Worth
  • Barbara is the complete package. She is extremely competent technically, empathetic and manages relationships well.

    Private Wealth Law: Central RegionChambers High Net Worth

Ranked Individuals at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (8)

California: Southern

Illinois

New York

USA - Nationwide

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