Catherine “Cat” Connell is a member of the firm’s Private Clients Services Group with over ten years of experience advising clients in trusts and estates matters, with a particular focus on high-net-worth estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning.
Prior to joining Ballard Spahr, Cat worked at an Am Law 100 firm, where she designed and implemented complex estate plans, advised closely held business owners on transition strategies, and represented executors and trustees in complex probate and trust administration.
Professional Highlights
Professional Activities
Washington State Bar Association, Taxation Section; Chair, 2024-2025; Executive Committee, 2020-present
Recognition & Accomplishments
Thomson Reuters, “Washington Rising Star,” Estate Planning & Probate, 2020-2026
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, “Virtually Executed: Understanding Washington’s Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act,” Estate Planning Council of Seattle, February 2025
Speaker, “Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax,” Real Property, Probate, and Trust Mid-Year Conference, June 2023
Credentials
Education
Seattle University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2016)
Editor-in-Chief, Seattle University Law Review
Recipient, Dean's Medal
Washington State University (B.S. 2008)
Admissions
Washington