Carlton S. Smith, Jr. is a Senior Associate at Berluti McLaughlin & Kutchin LLP, with more than 25 years of experience representing individuals, families, and closely held businesses. His practice focuses on estate planning, business succession, and advising business owners on the full range of legal issues that arise in the operation, growth, and transition of a successful enterprise.
Carlton works with clients on sophisticated estate and wealth transfer strategies, including wills, trusts, incapacity planning, estate, tax and GST planning, family LLCs and partnerships, and multi generational planning for high net worth families.
He also represents clients in contested probate matters, including fiduciary disputes and other complex issues involving the administration of estates and trusts. His approach emphasizes clarity, preparation, and helping clients navigate emotionally and financially significant decisions with confidence.
In addition to his estate planning and probate work, Carlton advises small and mid sized businesses on formation, governance, contracts, employment matters, real estate transactions, landlord tenant issues, and general business operations. His background includes significant corporate and transactional experience, as well as experience involving business disputes, employment matters, and real estate issues.
He is known for his steady, practical negotiation skills and for developing long term, personal working relationships with a select group of clients, ensuring that their legal needs are met with attention, accessibility, and a deep understanding of their goals.
Prior to joining Berluti McLaughlin & Kutchin, Carlton operated his own practice for more than a decade and served as corporate counsel at Presstek, Inc. He also worked in corporate and transactional roles at Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, and Choate Hall & Stewart LLP. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and maintains strong ties to the communities of Newton and his hometown of Fall River.
Education
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J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1998
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M.A., Georgetown University, 1993
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B.A., Harvard University, 1990
Admissions
- Massachusetts Bar
Representative Engagements
- Represents high‑net‑worth individuals and families in developing comprehensive estate plans addressing tax, trust, and incapacity considerations, including sophisticated wealth‑transfer strategies coordinated with family LLCs, partnerships, and complex asset structures.
- Represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in probate and trust administration matters, including complex accountings, trust funding, and estate and trust settlement issues, as well as contested disputes involving accountings, tax matters, beneficiary claims, and fiduciary‑duty breach allegations.
- Represents business owners and family enterprises in succession planning, integrating estate, tax, and corporate considerations to support smooth generational transitions, including advanced trust and entity planning techniques to shift future appreciation, preserve control, and manage liquidity needs.
- Represents families and business owners in the formation, governance, and restructuring of family entities, including LLCs and family limited partnerships used for asset management, liability protection, and long‑term planning.
- Represents clients with investment and real‑estate portfolios in reorganizing assets into tiered LLC and partnership structures to enhance liability protection, streamline governance, and support long‑term estate‑planning objectives, including intra‑family transfers and trust‑owned property management.
- Represents clients in charitable planning, including donor‑advised funds, charitable trusts, and coordinated philanthropic strategies as part of integrated estate plans.
- Represents business owners and families in ongoing advisory matters involving entity selection, governance, employment issues, and contract matters that intersect with estate planning and family enterprise management.
- Represented the founder of a privately held company in post‑merger integration following the $60 million sale of the business to a public company, including coordination of governance, employment, and operational matters during the transition period.
- Served as corporate counsel to a $300 million publicly traded technology and digital‑printing company, advising on corporate governance, licensing, employment matters, and SEC reporting obligations.
- Served as outside corporate counsel to publicly traded companies in the life‑sciences and technology‑enabled services sectors, handling contract negotiations, software licensing, employment and workforce‑transition matters (including WARN Act compliance), SEC reporting, internal HR investigations, and governance support during a transition from public to private ownership.
- Represented a privately held health‑care services company in complex contract negotiations, employment‑related issues, and regulatory compliance matters.
- Represents employers and senior executives in employment matters including severance agreements, employment contracts, workforce transitions, regulatory compliance, and discrimination issues.