Best Lawyers, the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Fred Schmidt Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Trusts and Estates for 2013. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Fred advises owners of closely-held businesses, executives and families of significant wealth on matters including trust and estate planning and administration. He also has extensive experience in establishing and administering private foundations and other tax-exempt entities. Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.