McDermott Will & Schulte

Partner

David Pratt advises high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners on sophisticated estate and tax planning strategies designed to preserve wealth across generations. His practice focuses on trusts and estates; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax; fiduciary and individual income taxation; and fiduciary litigation matters. Widely recognized by his peers, David is ranked as a “Star Individual” in the Chambers High Net Worth guide, where clients describe him as a “fierce advocate” who is “very smart, very service-oriented, and understands what wealthy clients need in terms of representation.”

David counsels clients on structuring tax-efficient wealth transfers, including strategies to protect assets from creditors and in the event of divorce, and to maintain assets in the family. He regularly prepares prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and provides pre-divorce planning for individuals seeking to safeguard their financial interests. He also frequently advises business owners on succession planning, helping them navigate the complex dynamics of family-owned enterprises while minimizing transfer tax exposure.

As a trusted advisor to principals in private equity and hedge funds, physicians, and other professionals, David structures estate plans using family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, irrevocable trusts, and other vehicles to achieve tax efficiency and asset preservation. He also advises clients with significant retirement assets on maximizing income tax deferral and has helped establish numerous charitable remainder and lead trusts, as well as private foundations.

David is one of the few lawyers certified by The Florida Bar in both Tax Law and Wills, Trusts and Estates. He has chaired The Florida Bar’s Tax Section and has testified before the Internal Revenue Service on proposed regulations concerning retirement plan distributions.

In addition to his practice, David serves as an adjunct professor in the LLM program in estate planning at the University of Miami School of Law and was previously an adjunct professor in the LLM program in taxation at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where he has served on the Board of Regents and was the inaugural Chair of the New Fellows Steering Committee.

David is very active in Jewish philanthropy, especially the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County (Boca Raton) and Birthright Israel. He holds leadership roles in these organizations, where he helps drive strategic initiatives in areas such as annual campaigns, planned giving, and endowments. A frequent lecturer and published author, David regularly speaks to legal and professional services audiences throughout the United States.

New York University School of Law, LLM, 1993 Brooklyn Law School, JD, cum laude, 1991 State University of New York at Albany, BS, magna cum laude, 1986