James S. Sligar

Primary Focus & Experience

Mr. Sligar focuses on the representation of individuals and families in estate planning and charitable giving matters, and counsels a number of prominent not-for-profit corporations. Mr. Sligar has been a partner at Milbank since 1991. Prior to joining Milbank, Mr. Sligar was associate counsel for six years to Rockefeller Family & Associates, focusing in trusts and estates, charitable giving and not-for-profit corporate work. Before that, he was associated for 11 years with the law firm of Webster & Sheffield in New York.

Recognition & Accomplishments

Mr. Sligar is the author of several papers and articles, including "Estate Planning for Family-Held Real Estate," "Changing Trust Situs: The Legal Considerations of Forum Shopping," and "Executor and Trustee Liability to a Third Party," which have appeared in Trusts & Estates magazine and "Constitutionality of the Tax on Lobbying by Private Foundations Under Section 4945(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code."

He also helped write and prepare a report by the Bar Association of the City of New York Committee on International Human Rights entitled "United Nations Human Rights Covenants." Mr. Sligar has been listed in Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America.

Mr. Sligar serves as Honorary Legal Counsel for International Planned Parenthood Federation – Western Hemisphere Region and serves on the boards of a number of not-for-profit organizations, including Union Theological Seminary, the Woodstock Foundation, Mt. Desert Land and Garden Preserve, and Family Care International, Inc.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard International Law Journal, Mr. Sligar was a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, having served on the Committee on Not-for-Profit Corporations, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.