James W Hass, Jr., “J.W, ” is a principal attorney with the law firm of Lefkoff, Duncan, Grimes, McSwain, Hass & Hanley, P.C. J.W. practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, tax planning, probate, estate administration and closely held business matters.

J.W. was admitted to practice in Georgia in 1997 and is a member of the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association and the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, Inc. J.W also speaks on probate, estate and tax planning matters.

A native of Rock Island, Illinois, J.W graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1994. He received his law degree in 1997 from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Elizabeth Faist is a shareholder at Djuric Spratt, and she serves clients in the areas of trusts, estates, and charitable planning. She manages a variety of matters, including gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues, preparation of estate-planning documents, administration of estates, and tax advice regarding private foundations and public charities. Elizabeth also counsels clients on tax and succession planning for their businesses. Prior to joining Djuric Spratt, Elizabeth practiced with Eversheds Sutherland in Atlanta and Williams Parker in Sarasota, Florida.

SAMUEL A. DONALDSON [J.D. University of Arizona; LL.M. (Taxation) University of Florida] is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where he teaches a number of tax and estate planning courses, as well as courses in the areas of property, commercial law, and professional responsibility. Prior to joining the Georgia State faculty in 2012, he was on the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle for 13 years, where he served as the Director of the law school’s Graduate Program in Taxation as well as Associate Dean for Academic Administration. In addition to Georgia State and the University of Washington, Professor Donaldson has taught law school classes at Northwestern University, the University of Florida, and Emory University. He has won nine “professor of the year” awards at three different law schools.

He is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the Bar in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. He currently serves as the Tax Editor for the Probate Practice Reporter, a monthly publication from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Among his scholarly works, Professor Donaldson is a co-author of the popular law school textbook, Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach, and a co-author of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning reference volume published by Wolters Kluwer.

An amateur crossword constructor, his puzzles have been published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets. A perennial contender for People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” honor, Professor Donaldson was recently notified by email of his selection to receive substantial sums of money from high-level Nigerian business officials in exchange for his bank account information.