Carole Neff – New Orleans Estate Planning Attorney

Carole Neff |

Sessions, Fishman & Nathan, LLC

(504) 582-1519

https://www.sessionsfishman.com/

400 Poydras Street
Ste 2550
New Orleans, LA 70130

Carole Neff | Sessions, Fishman & Nathan, LLC

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Firm Summary

Carole Cukell Neff is a Board-Certified Estate Planning & Administration Specialist certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. She graduated Order of the Coif from the Tulane University School of Law, where she served on the Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review. After graduation, she clerked for Justice John A. Dixon, Jr. of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Ms. Neff is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, being elected the first woman and the youngest person from the State of Louisiana. She co-authored a three-volume treatise with now-deceased partner Max Nathan, Jr. entitled Louisiana Estate Planning, Will Drafting and Estate Administration (Lexis Law Publishing, 2d ed.). She is the primary New Orleans member of the Special Needs Alliance, a group of professionals across the country whose work includes special needs planning.

Ms. Neff is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and in Louisiana Super Lawyers 2015 Top 10 Lawyers, she has served as Chair of the Pro Bono Project, Chair of the New Orleans Rotary Fund, Inc., President of the Women’s Professional Council, President of the Professional Financial Planners of Greater New Orleans, President of the New Orleans Estate Planning Council, Chair of the Avodah New Orleans Advisory Council and President of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana. She served on the Boards of the New Orleans Rotary Club, the Algiers Economic Development Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. She served as President of the Board of the Jewish Community Day School. She was also Chair of the 2018 Impact 100 Advisory Council of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Ms. Neff is a frequent, sought-after speaker at estate planning seminars and institutes to fellow professionals and to lay audiences.

  • Elder Law and Special Needs Planning
  • Estate Planning and Estate Administration
  • Professional Financial Planners of Greater New Orleans, President, 1985 – 1986
  • New Orleans Estate Planning Council, President, Member, 1980 – Present
  • Women’s Professional Council, President, 1990 – 1991, and a Founding Member
  • Jewish Endowment Foundation, President, 2006 – 2008
  • Association for Women Attorneys, Member of the Board, (President 1986), 1984 – 1986
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
  • New Orleans Representative of the Special Needs Alliance
  • New Orleans Bar Association’s Committee on Probate, Trusts and Estate Planning, Past Chair
  • New Orleans Rotary Fund, Inc., Past Chair
  • New Orleans AVODAH Advisory Council, Past Chair
  • Jewish Community Day School, Member of Board, 2013 – present (President 2018-2020)
  • Past Chair of the 2018 Impact 100 Advisory Council of the Greater New Orleans Foundation
  • Estate Planning & Administration, Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization
  • Louisiana, 1977
  • U.S. Federal Courts, 1978
  • Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana
    • J.D. magna cum laude – 1977
    • Honors: Order of the Coif
    • Law Review: Tulane Law Review, Board of Editors
  • State University of New York College, Buffalo, New York
    • B.S. magna cum laude – 1973
  • Co-authored a three-volume treatise with partner Max Nathan, Jr. entitled Louisiana Estate Planning, Will Drafting and Estate Administration (Lexis Law Publishing, 2d ed.), 2020
  • Justice John A. Dixon, Jr. of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Clerked
  • Frequent, sought-after speaker at estate planning and special needs planning seminars
  • Past Chair of the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Pro-Bono Project 2015, the Algiers Economic Development Foundation, 2013-2015, and the Jewish Federation Board Member of Greater New Orleans, 2007-2015.
  • Past Chair of the Advisory Council of Avodah New Orleans
  • President of Jewish Community Day School of New Orleans (2018-2020)
  • New Orleans’ 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of Trusts and Estates by Best Lawyers in America.
  • New Orleans Magazine‘s 2023 “Top Lawyer” in the area of Trust and Estates
  • Fellow, American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, being elected the first woman and the youngest person from the State of Louisiana
  • Outstanding Young Women of America, 1987 – 1988
  • Achiever’s Award for American Council for Career Women, 1990
  • One of Ten Outstanding Women By New Orleans Magazine & Maison Blanche, 1989
  • Selected by Best Lawyers as the “New Orleans Best Lawyers Non-Profit/Charities Lawyer of the Year”, 2011 and 2016, and “New Orleans Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year”, 2019
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for over 20 years
  • Listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2007 – Present
  • Michaelle Pitard Wynne Professionalism Award, New Orleans Chapter of the Association for Women Attorneys, 2013
  • 2015 Top 10 Louisiana Super Lawyer
  • One of the Top 3 Women Lawyers in Louisiana, 2015
  • Primary New Orleans Member, Special Needs Alliance
  • American Cancer Society, 2018 “Louisiana Estate Planning Ambassador of the Year”
  • New Orleans Planned Giving Council “Aaron Marcus Outstanding Service Award”
  • New Orleans CitiBusiness “Leader in Law Hall of Fame”
  • Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana “Young Family Award for Professional Excellence”
  • Listed in the Chambers Review’s  table of “Private Wealth Law in USA Rankings”