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Mary Lee Turk is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, resident in its Chicago office. Mary Lee's legal practice is exclusively in the trusts and estates field, but within that field, is very broad-based. She represents clients in the preparation of estate planning documents, probate, trust and guardianship administration, transfer and income tax planning, incapacity planning, probate and trust litigation, and charitable and donative planning. She also regularly advises on the formation and operation of tax exempt organizations. Mary Lee's practice is primarily focused on the needs of high net worth individuals with an emphasis on charitable planned giving. She represents second and third generations of wealthy families, owners of closely-held businesses, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, collectors and tax exempt organizations. She is also retained by other attorneys to provide counsel on complex tax, drafting and technical issues. Mary Lee represents clients in contested estates, trust construction actions and actions for trust reformation. She served as the chair of the estate planning department at another Chicago law firm before joining McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
Mary Lee is an active member of the American Bar Association and currently serves as the vice-chair of the Charitable Giving and Organizations Group of the Real Property, Trusts & Estates Section of the American Bar Association. She is past chairperson of the Exempt Organizations Committee of the same Group. Among other endeavors, the Group provides continuing legal education to ABA members and works together with other ABA sections on providing comments to the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Department and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means on legal issues affecting the non-profit sector. She is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Mary Lee serves on the Professional Advisory Committees of the Chicago Community Trust, the Shedd Aquarium and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Education
University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1980
Indiana University, B.A. (with High Distinction), 1977 | 