Managing Partner, Estate Planning - UHNW (Orange County)

Mercer Advisors • Newport Beach, CA

16h • Hybrid

About The Position

Mercer Advisors is seeking an exceptional Managing Partner, Estate Planning - Regis to lead and grow its UHNW-focused estate planning practice. This is a senior practice leadership role responsible for building and directing an elite team of estate planning strategists dedicated to serving its most complex families. The role serves as the firm's highest-level technical authority on estate planning matters, sets the standard for planning excellence, and personally engages on the most sophisticated client situations. This is not a review or oversight role. The ideal candidate will bring deep technical expertise, professional credibility, and collaborative leadership expected from a leader of this caliber. Mercer Advisors offers a fully integrated family office offering, bringing together fiduciary professionals across disciplines to do the best work of their careers as one unified team committed to doing what's right for clients. Regis is Mercer Advisors' multi-family office offering designed for ultra-high net worth families with complex, multi-generational wealth, requiring a deeply integrated wealth management experience with the highest level of service, coordination, and sophistication.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Licensed to practice law in at least one state.
• 20+ years of legal experience in estate planning, with the majority spent advising clients with balance sheets of $50M or greater; significant experience with $100M+ families required.
• Demonstrated track record of building and leading high-performing estate planning teams in a wealth management, family office, or private wealth legal environment.
• Deep technical mastery of federal transfer tax law, trust and estate administration, and advanced wealth transfer planning techniques.
• Proven ability to design and implement sophisticated multi-generational estate plans that address the full complexity of a UHNW family's balance sheet — across entities, jurisdictions, and family dynamics.
• Experience advising on business succession, liquidity events (IPOs, M&A exits, ESOP transactions), and the estate planning implications of closely held business interests.
• Prior leadership experience at an AmLaw 100/200 firm, nationally recognized estate planning boutique, multi-family office, or equivalent private wealth platform.
• Comfort and credibility operating within a regulated RIA structure and a team-based financial advisory environment.
• Ability to travel up to 20%.

Nice To Haves

• LL.M. in Taxation or Estate Planning strongly preferred.
• ACTEC Fellowship strongly preferred.
• AV Preeminent® Martindale-Hubbell rating preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the Regis estate planning practice, setting the technical standard, practice philosophy, and quality bar for the team.
• Build, lead, and mentor an elite team of UHNW-focused estate planning strategists, fostering a culture of technical excellence, intellectual curiosity, and continuous development.
• Serve as the firm's senior-most technical authority on estate planning, personally engaging on the most complex and high-stakes client situations.
• Design and implement comprehensive, advanced estate plans for Regis families, incorporating sophisticated wealth transfer strategies tailored to multi-generational, high-complexity balance sheets.
• Partner with senior wealth advisors, tax strategists, and Regis leadership to ensure estate planning strategies are fully integrated within each client's broader financial plan.
• Own and deepen relationships with a select portfolio of Regis families, with balance sheets that often exceed $100M+.
• Collaborate with clients' outside advisors, including independent attorneys, CPAs, trustees, and family office consultants, to ensure cohesive, comprehensive planning outcomes.
• Lead and represent Regis in prospective client development, industry conferences, and thought leadership initiatives to enhance the firm's profile in the UHNW estate planning market.
• Partner with Regis leadership on practice development, talent strategy, and operational improvements that strengthen the estate planning team's capabilities and client outcomes.

Benefits

• Company Paid Basic Life & AD&D Insurance
• Company Paid Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Supplemental Life & AD&D; Short-Term Disability; Accident; Critical Illness; and Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Three Cigna medical plans offerings including two High Deductible Health Plans and a Traditional Co-Pay medical plan.
• Kaiser Medical plans available in California
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contributions if enrolled in either HDHP medical plan.
• Two comprehensive Dental Plans
• Vision Insurance Plan
• Dependent Care Savings Account for child and dependent care.
• 14 Company Paid Holidays including a full week off at Thanksgiving.
• Generous paid time off program for vacation and sick days
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Family Medical Leave
• Paid Parental Leave (8 weeks)
• Maternity benefits utilizing company paid STD, any supplemental STD, plus Parental Leave (8 weeks) to provide time for recovery, baby bonding, and enjoying your family time.
• Adoption Assistance Reimbursement Program
• Company Paid Concierge Services for you and your loved ones for the spectrum of caring needs for your aging parents, young children, life’s challenges and more.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with both Traditional and Roth plans with per pay period match as well as an after-tax option
• Pet Insurance
• Personalized financial planning and guidance from Mercer Advisors professionals, offered at preferred employee pricing

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree