60-second interview with Joshua S. Rubenstein TEP

What is your role within your firm?
I am honoured to lead Katten’s extraordinary team of private wealth professionals, representing some of the most prominent and wealthy families in the United States and around the world. As practice chair, I am focused on maintaining a high-performing, sophisticated practice, supporting its growth, enhancing the firm’s reputation through exceptional client service, increasing referrals from satisfied clients and allied professionals, and attracting and retaining remarkably talented attorneys.

In my practice, I work with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, their families, businesses, and family offices on the most detailed and complex wealth transfer planning, business succession planning, philanthropic planning, administration of structures and private wealth litigation — all with the goal of helping preserve wealth over generations. Additionally, I serve on Katten’s Board of Directors and am an ex officio member of its Executive and Operating Committee.

How did it feel to win a STEP Private Client Award (PCA)?
Being recognized as Trusted Advisor of the Year was a proud and exciting moment. As a fourth-generation trusts and estates practitioner, I serve as a counselor, advisor and confidant to my clients. I earn their trust by patiently listening, responding quickly, and troubleshooting complicated issues creatively so they can sleep at night. At the same time, I lead by example, motivating and supporting the attorneys in my group. I am humbled by the confidence expressed in me by my peers around the world, and I am grateful for this distinction. 

Why is winning a STEP PCA important to your firm?
STEP is the gold standard for our industry, so its recognition is an important one. Our clients look to Katten to assist them in making critical business, financial and life decisions that impact their families, businesses, and family offices, and this award corroborates our achievements and leadership in the private client industry, and validates the high bar of professional standards and excellent service that we encourage our clients to expect. 

What are the main challenges facing your organisation/ practitioners at the moment, and how will you deal with them?
We are seeing an unprecedented amount of change in our industry. We, as attorneys, need to be nimble, strategic and quick to anticipate both change and controversy, in order to adapt to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our clients and the marketplace. Good lawyers rely on precedent but also embrace change. To prepare for change and controversy, we must learn quickly and be creative and innovative in order to solve our clients' known and unknown challenges.

What do you like best about your job?
What I prize most is being a calming voice for my clients. I prioritize hearing my clients with a sympathetic ear and reassuring them during uncertainty and turmoil. With all my clients, I do my best to give them peace of mind. I want them to know they are in good hands when dealing with high-stakes matters.

...and what do you feel is most worthwhile?
Building relationships with my clients so they know that I aim to use my 40+ years of experience to protect their most valuable assets and family relationships, and help them get through any contentious disputes. Also, among the things I find worthwhile is deepening relationships with attorneys at all levels by mentoring them and offering career-advancing opportunities to help raise their profile with clients, firm leadership, and in the industry. 

What would you say to a young person thinking of a career in this industry?
Find one or more areas of our practice that you enjoy most, and aim to be the best at it. My other advice is to treat every client as if they are your only client, be accessible and responsive, and, through pro bono work, share your expertise with clients who cannot afford to pay for the high-quality legal services that trained us so well.

Where do you see future growth, both in terms of sectors and jurisdictions?
With life expectancies soaring, living longer than ever with slowly diminishing capacity and increasing susceptibility to undue influence will be a key area to address at least for the next decade or two. I think we will see an ever-increasing amount of lifetime contests, as opposed to post-death contests, such as family counseling, guardianship proceedings and contests over late-in-life marriages. There will also be an emphasis on coordinating cross-border planning as families become more global and countries continue to change their laws in an uncoordinated fashion.

Entries for this year's STEP Private Client Awards are open until 12 April. Find out more about how to enter: https://pca.step.org/2024/entry-kit