Lawyers / Professionals

 
Dana G. Fitzsimons Jr       
Partner
One James Center
901 East Cary Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-4030
T: 804.775.7622
F: 804.225.5401
dfitzsimons@mcguirewoods.com
 

Mr. Fitzsimons practices in the areas of fiduciary litigation, estate and trust administration, and estate planning. He represents corporate and individual fiduciaries and beneficiaries in fiduciary litigation matters, including surcharge actions against fiduciaries, will and trust contests, restructuring trusts, managing fiduciary risk, and adult guardianship litigation.

Mr. Fitzsimons served on the editorial board and was a monthly columnist for Wealth Management Business magazine, and has contributed articles to numerous publications, including Estate Planning, Trusts & Investments, and the Leimberg Services Newsletters. He is also the author of Trust Administration and Estate Planning, published by the American Bankers Association, and Administration of Trusts published by Virginia CLE. He is a frequent lecturer across the country on fiduciary litigation and trust and estate topics. He has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times and Forbes.

He is a member of the American Bar Association where he has served on the CPR/SOC Joint Committee on Ethics and Professionalism, Task Force on Patenting Legal Strategies, and is the current vice chair of the Ethics and Malpractice Committee. He also is a member of the Virginia Bar Association and currently serves on its Trusts and Estates Legislative Committee as well as the Trusts and Estates Executive Council. He is the former chair of the Wills for Heroes Program and former member of the Young Lawyers Division Executive Council. He is a member of the Richmond Trust Administrator's Council and the Richmond Estate Planning Council.

Mr. Fitzsimons also performs regularly as a jazz drummer throughout Virginia.


Practices & Industries
Honors
  • Named a Virginia Super Lawyers "Rising Star," Law & Politics, 2008, 2009, 2010

Articles
  • "Disclose. Disclose! Disclose? Longmeyer distorts the trustee's duty to inform trust beneficiaries" (co-authored with Turney P. Berry and David M. English), Probate and Property Magazine (Upcoming 2010)
  • "Longmeyer Exposes (or Creates) Uncertainty About the Duty to Inform Remainder Beneficiaries of a Revocable Trust" (co-authored with Turney P. Berry and David M. English), ACTEC Journal, 2009
  • Editorial Board and Monthly Columnist, Wealth Management Business Magazine
  • "Navigating the Trustee's Duty to Disclose," Probate and Property Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2009 (ABA RPPT 2009 Excellence in Writing Award - Probate & Trusts: Best Cutting Edge Article)
  • "The Gathering Storm - Guardianship Litigation and Pre-Death Will Contests," Estate Planning Magazine, 2009
  • "The Rise and (With Hope) Fall of the Tax Strategy Patent," ABA Trusts & Investments Magazine, January-February 2008
  • "Tax Planners-Beware of Patented Estate Planning Techniques!" (co-authored with Dennis Belcher), Probate & Property, 2006 (ABA RPPT 2006 Excellence in Writing Award-Probate & Trusts: Best Cutting Edge Article)
  • "Dumont Stands," Trusts & Estates Magazine, 2006
  • "Virginia's Total Return Unitrust Statute," Virginia State Bar Trusts & Estates Newsletter, Volume 20, No. 2
  • "Lifetime Charitable Giving Using S Corporation Stock: Traps, Trickery, and Trouble Ahead," Virginia State Bar Trusts & Estates Newsletter, Volume 19, No. 1
  • "The Virginia Uniform Trust Code: Selected Issues" (co-authored with Louis A. Mezzullo), Virginia State Bar Senior Lawyer Newsletter, Spring 2005

Books
  • Trust Administration and Estate Planning, (Author, 2007, 2008, 2009 Revisions), American Bankers Association
  • Administration of Trusts, Chapter 9, Virginia CLE: Estate & Trust Administration in Virginia

Speaking Engagements
  • "Fiduciary and Ethical Implications of Estate Tax Repeal," ABA RPTE Section Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Upcoming 2010)
  • "Going Boldly (Blindly) into a Brave New World," Fiduciary Advisory Services Seminar, Chicago, Illinois, 2010
  • "Bracing for the Storm: Lessons from recent cases as we navigate the fiduciary impact of the Great Recession", Midwest/Midsouth Estate Planning Institute, Lexington, Kentucky, 2010
  • "Hot Topics in Virginia Adult Guardianship Litigation", The Douglas W. Conner 31st Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar, The Homestead, Virginia, 2010
  • "Estate Tax Repeal," ABA Tax Section Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, 2010
  • "State Death Taxes - A Crazy Quilt", ABA Tax Section Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, 2010
  • "Fiduciary Risk Update," Virginia Banker's Association Workshop, Richmond, Virginia, 2009
  • "How to Successfully Deal with the Challenges Facing a Corporate Fiduciary," Fiduciary Advisory Services Seminar, Chicago, Illinois, 2009
  • "Developments and Trends in Fiduciary Litigation," Web Credenza Teleseminar, 2009
  • "Hot Topics in Virginia Adult Guardianship Litigation," VA CLE Webcast, 2009
  • "Working with Trust Professionals: The Views of Experts and Beneficiaries," American Bankers Association Teleconference, 2009, 2010
  • "Navigating the Trustee's Duty to Disclose," ABA Joint Tax & RPTE Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, 2008
  • "Fiduciary Litigation Update," Fiduciary Advisory Services Seminars, Chicago, Illinois, and Charlottesville, Virginia, 2008
  • "Fiduciary Risk Update," Virginia CLE, Trusts and Estates Seminar, Richmond, Virginia, August 2008
  • "Navigating the Trustee's Duty to Disclose," Midwest/Midsouth Estate Planning Institute, Kentucky, 2008
  • "Heirs in Waiting: Pre-Mortem Probate Disputes in the Context of Guardianships, Conservatorships, Powers of Attorney, and Family Business Entities," ABA RPTE Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C, 2008
  • "Current Developments," Central Virginia Estate Planning Council, Charlottesville, Virginia, February 2008
  • "Protecting Your Own Assets - Understanding the Anatomy of a Malpractice Claim, Part II," ABA RPPT & Tax Joint Fall Meeting, Vancouver, September 2007
  • "Protecting Your Own Assets-Understanding the Anatomy of a Malpractice Claim," ABA RPPT Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2007
  • "Fiduciary Risk Workshop," Virginia Banker's Association, June 2007
  • "Fiduciary Litigation under the Uniform Trust Code and New Rules of Court," Virginia State Bar Summer Meeting, June 2007
  • "Navigating the Trustee's Duty to Disclose," Atlanta, Charlotte, Charlottesville, Chicago and Other Cities, 2007
  • "Fiduciary Risk Update," Trust Administrators Council, Richmond, Virginia, 2007
  • Selected Topics in Fiduciary Litigation, The Douglas W. Conner 26th Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar, Spring 2006
  • Total Return Unitrusts, Virginia CLE, 23rd Annual Trusts & Estates Seminar, Speeches in Richmond, Roanoke and Fairfax, Virginia, (also available online)
  • Numerous speeches on fiduciary topics to bank trust departments, trust companies, and estate planning and trust administration study groups.
  • Guest lecturer on trust law at University of Richmond School of Law.

Professional Affiliations
  • American Bar Association
    • CPR/SOC Joint Committee on Ethics & Professionalism, Task Force on Patenting Legal Strategies
    • Vice Chair, Ethics & Malpractice Committee
    • Tax and RPPT Sections
    • Fiduciary Litigation Committee
  • Virginia Bar Association
    • Trusts & Estates Legislative Committee
    • Trusts & Estates Executive Council
    • Former Chair, Wills for Heroes Program
    • Former Member, Young Lawyers Division Executive Council
  • Richmond Trust Administrator's Council
  • Richmond Estate Planning Council
  • Virginia State Bar
 

EDUCATION

College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, Virginia, J.D., 2001

  • Order of the Coif
  • Member, William and Mary Law Review

Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, Bachelor of Music, 1994

 
 

ADMITTED

Virginia 2001

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 2001

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit 2001

 

PLACE OF BIRTH

New Britain, Connecticut