Mark Swirbalus

Mark Swirbalus is a private wealth services litigator, trial attorney and advisor in Holland & Knight's Boston and New York offices. Mr. Swirbalus focuses his practice on high-stakes trust and estate (T&E) disputes and probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts, New York and and other jurisdictions across the country. Many of the cases handled by Mr. Swirbalus are multijurisdictional.

Mr. Swirbalus represents individuals, families, charitable organizations and financial institutions as beneficiaries, trustees, executors, administrators and personal representatives. He acts as lead counsel on a broad range of complex T&E-related disputes, including:

• trust and will contests involving allegations of undue influence, incompetency and fraud
• interference with inheritance actions
• breach of fiduciary duty and removal actions
• contested accountings
• trust reformation, modification and interpretation actions
• irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) matters
• trust and estate property disputes
• family limited partnership (FLP) disputes
• trust-held limited liability company (LLC) disputes
• reasonable deviation and cy pres matters

Mr. Swirbalus is among a small group of lawyers who dedicate their practice entirely to handling T&E-related disputes, which can be a highly specific and nuanced area of the law. He appreciates the trust that clients place in him and is sensitive to the personal nature of their legal matters. This area of litigation at times can be stressful and disruptive, but he works diligently to enable his clients to continue their daily lives. Mr. Swirbalus finds this work deeply gratifying and gains satisfaction in serving as a sounding board on a wide range of issues for individuals and the future generations of their families.

Clients often look to Mr. Swirbalus not only to guide them to successful resolution of their "once-in-a-lifetime" legal matters through settlement or trial, but also to help them avoid litigation altogether.

Chambers High Net Worth resources comment that Mr. Swirbalus is "considered as Boston's preeminent probate litigator. . . . (he is) one of the leading people in the city at what he does . . . an excellent technician . . . (and) he's got a big world view, he's not swayed by small details. He's a grown-up in this world – he doesn't have to be nasty to represent his client zealously." In addition, other resources add that Mr. Swirbalus "has a good mind for strategy, he's creative and a good writer. . . . (is) the first person I call when I have probate going to litigation."

Mr. Swirbalus also has received praise from Chambers USA resources: he is "top notch," "smart, and has an excellent knowledge of trust matters. He had a plan from day one to address our concerns. . . . tremendous respect for his practice. He is very strategic, smart and … very sensitive and understanding of family dynamics. . . . (he also) is able to step out and earn clients' trust and respect and take the emotion out of probate litigation."

Mr. Swirbalus is a frequent lecturer, and has been asked to speak at conferences and seminars for the following organizations: American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC); American Law Institute (ALI); New England Fellows Institute; Massachusetts Bar Association; Boston Bar Association; Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Inc.; Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum; Cambridge Forums, Forum on Private Wealth Litigation; Greater Boston Fiduciary Law American Inn of Court; Boston Estate Planning Council and Boston College Law School.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Swirbalus was an attorney at a national law firm, where he co-chaired its litigation department for nearly a decade.