Cara M. Koss

Cara Koss leads Arnold & Porter’s Private Client Services team. She advises high-net-worth individuals in the United States and internationally on estate planning, trust and estate administration, lifetime gifting, and tax compliance. Her practice also encompasses family office formation and counseling, asset protection, and business succession planning.

A central part of Cara’s work is structuring tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies that reflect clients’ goals beyond tax planning. These strategies may address the preservation of family legacies across generations, protection of assets from potential creditors, and philanthropic objectives. She also works on the settlement of complex estate matters, including disputes among family members and audits by the Internal Revenue Service.

Cara is nationally recognized for her work at the intersection of assisted reproductive technology and estate planning. She frequently lectures on these and other topics for local and national professional organizations, including the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and the American Bar Association. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has been recognized by Chambers and Washingtonian magazine.

• LL.M., Taxation, New York University, 2011
• J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, 2008
• M.S., Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, 2006
• M.A., Biomedical Ethics, University of Virginia, 2005
• B.S., Bioethics, Washington and Lee University, 2003, magna cum laude

• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• New York
• Texas
• Virginia

• Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
• Co-Chair, Non-Tax Committee, American Bar Association (2018-present)
• Co-Chair, Bioethics Committee, American Bar Association (2010-2017)