Nellie C. Stoeckel is an Associate in the Trusts and Estates and Litigation Groups of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Ms. Stoeckel was an Associate at Freeborn & Peters, which combined with SGR in 2023.
Ms. Stoeckel focuses on estate planning and trust and estate administration, including gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax issues. She works closely with clients on the structuring and implementation of estate planning strategies, lending guidance on the management of fiduciary income, wealth preservation, and gift and estate taxation.
With her extensive litigation background, Ms. Stoeckel is adept in pre-litigation resolution techniques, and defends clients on a wide range of trust and estate litigation issues, including will and trust contests and breach of fiduciary duty cases. A strong negotiator and adroit case strategist, she is also well-versed in motion practice and engaging in large scale discovery, and trial attendance.
Before practicing law, she served as an IP/Litigation Paralegal at Katten, where she garnered experience in trial preparation. Her early career concentrated in commercial litigation and multi-district products liability cases. Since 2006, she has specialized in intellectual property and patent and trademark litigation. Throughout her career, Ms. Stoeckel has regularly donated time to pro bono matters, advocating on behalf of the indigent and disadvantaged.
Ms. Stoeckel earned her B.A. from DePaul University, and her J.D. from UIC John Marshall Law School.
Chicago Bar Association
Illinois Bar Association
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Clinic
National Immigrant Justice Center
Chicago Estate Planning Council
Hispanic Lawyer Association
Author, “Pandora Hit With Multiple Copyright Suits By Comedians, Including the Estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin,” Powerhouse Points – Quarterly Litigation Update (Winter 2022).