Lathrop GPM: Advising for Good

Ann Burns often tells a story about a meeting she had with a new client who wanted help planning his estate. He was a very wealthy man, and as Burns interviewed him to get a sense of his needs, she learned he had only one child he planned to name as an heir—and he didn’t think it would be good for his daughter to leave everything to her. “What about philanthropy?” Burns asked him.

“If you ever bring up philanthropy again, I will fire you,” he replied.

“I was like, ‘Okay, I won’t bring it up,’” she recalled recently. “But I did.”

Spoiler alert: Burns didn’t get fired. She advised that client for 40 years. As their relationship developed, she talked to him again, gently pointing out that he didn’t have a solid plan for his estate and seemed a little lost. When she mentioned charitable giving, “He told me all the reasons that he thinks charities are inefficient.” But then he told her what was really on his mind: “I don’t have a passion. I don’t know who I would give the money to.”

“That’s where a partner like the Minneapolis Foundation comes in,” Burns explained. “For me, it was a huge resource to be able to say, ‘I don’t know where you should give it, and I’m sure not going to tell you what to do. But there are experts who can guide you through this.’”

In the past 40 years, Burns and her colleagues at Lathrop GPM have helped a very long list of clients achieve goals through philanthropy. Some have done so through the Minneapolis Foundation, which today administers more than 20 charitable funds established by clients of the firm.

Together, these generous people have given more than $190 million to support a stunning array of causes and organizations. In Minnesota alone, their collective impact spans from the construction of the Guthrie Theatre to protection of the Boundary Waters, from medical research at the Mayo Clinic to mentoring relationships through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“Lathrop GPM stands out as a firm with attorneys who understand the value of incorporating philanthropy into their practice,” said Bill Sternberg, a Philanthropic Advisor at the Minneapolis Foundation. “Their expertise has helped generous people make tremendous contributions not only here in Minnesota, but in communities across the country.”

So what’s in the water at Lathrop GPM?

Many attorneys at the firm credit Clint Schroeder, a longtime colleague who was one of the nation’s leading authorities on tax law and philanthropy.

Sarah Duniway, a Lathrop attorney who works primarily with nonprofits, worked with Schroeder when she was “a brand-new baby attorney,” she said. “He was ahead of his time in having a practice focused on charitable giving and charitable clients.”

Schroeder believed it was not only helpful for attorneys to ask their clients about charitable giving, but incumbent upon them to encourage it. Thanks in part to his mentorship, that value is now part of the firm’s DNA.

In both its culture and compensation structure, the firm is also intentional about fostering collaboration, Burns said. “The wonderful thing about Lathrop GPM is we have such strong nonprofit lawyers and estate planning lawyers, and they actually talk to each other.”

That spirit extends to other partners outside the firm who advise their clients: Accountants, insurance providers, financial planners, wealth managers—and philanthropic advisors.

For attorneys like Duniway, community foundations are an important part of her referral network, whether she is helping a family foundation transition to a Donor Advised Fund or advising a company as it considers corporate giving models. “The size and sophistication of the Minneapolis Foundation is unique,” she added. “There are times when the Foundation is the only one in town that can solve a problem or provide a solution for a client.”

For Maureen Bazinet Beck, a client of the firm, the solution came as a “huge relief.” Her brother, Ed Bazinet, was initially introduced to the Minneapolis Foundation by his attorney as he made plans for charitable giving with wealth created from the company he started. At first, stewardship of Ed’s philanthropy was split between the Minneapolis Foundation and a private foundation that he asked Maureen to run. But at the time, Maureen was also a school principal and the mother of two young children. It wasn’t long before she encouraged her brother to let the Minneapolis Foundation be a partner with the family in carrying out its charitable intent.

Today, the Edward R. Bazinet Charitable Foundation is a Signature Fund at the Minneapolis Foundation, and Maureen advises its grantmaking with her sisters and their financial advisor. It’s a move she has never regretted, not least because of the Foundation’s roots in the city her brother loved. “He always felt that Minneapolis was such a pearl,” she said. And though her family’s generosity now extends beyond the city, Ed’s passion for his hometown has always been a guiding force. “He’d always say, ‘Let’s leave Minneapolis a better place.’”

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The Minneapolis Foundation is proud to partner with attorneys and other professional advisors to enhance their practice. Learn more at GiveAdvised.org.