Mr. Hargrove is an Estate & Trust tax attorney and CPA. Having one of the largest Estate & Trust Practices in the Midwest he transitioned in February of 2011 with his long-time partner, Roger Madden, and 16 other professionals to form the law firm of Hargrove Madden LLP (www.hargrovemadden.com).
By the middle of 2012, Hargrove Madden had grown to become the largest estate planning practice in the country with over 30 estate planning attorneys with offices in 23 states. The firm downsized when it spun off its online practice to form NetLaw (www.netlawinc.com). Mr. Hargrove raised just under $7 million in private equity funding to create NetLaw, the national estate planning document and LifeVault technology and marketing company. The firm, through the co-counsel relationship with NetLaw's network of estate planning attorneys, has established itself as a 50-state estate planning practice.
In 2012, the firm was the recipient of the American Bar Association award recognizing it as having the best online delivery of legal services of any law firm, of any discipline, in the United States.
Mr. Hargrove has authored the book, "The End of Lawyers, Thank Goodness: Estate Planning and the End of Inefficient Lawyers" (August, 2015).
Just prior to starting the firm Hargrove Madden, Mr. Hargrove chaired the Estate & Trust practice for a 160-Attorney law firm. He practiced as a CPA after law school and then became a tax attorney in 1985 and in 1990 began to practice only in the area of Estate Planning, Trusts, Charitable Planning and Business Succession Planning. Mr. Hargrove now works extensively in the areas of Estate and Gift Tax Planning, Charitable Planning, Asset Protection Planning and Business Succession Planning.
Mr. Hargrove is the only attorney and CPA in Kentucky to be designated as an accredited estate planner by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Mr. Hargrove has been included in eight editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and has been selected as one of the Best Lawyers in Trust & Estates Law by his peers, as published in The American Lawyer. He also received national recognition as a SuperLawyer®, a national listing of outstanding lawyers who have attained the highest degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Mr. Hargrove maintains the top "AV" peer-rating from Martindale Hubbell®.
Before entering the practice of law, Mr. Hargrove served as senior tax specialist with the international accounting firm of Grant Thornton. Thereafter, Mr. Hargrove became one of the founding partners of the 28-member Lexington/Washington, D.C. law firm of Newberry, Hargrove & Rambicure (predecessor to HargroveBaker, PSC). He led one of the region's largest estate planning practices consisting of 16 people, including six tax attorneys, three accountants and six paralegals and legal assistants to assist their clients with their estate planning needs. He merged his practice into Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC in 2003.
Mr. Hargrove is a frequent speaker nationally on estate and charitable planning and has written numerous articles on the subject. Mr. Hargrove also serves as an advisor to many universities, healthcare organizations, & foundations in the areas of planned giving, development and fundraising.
Education
- Western Kentucky University (B.A., 1980 cum laude)
- University of Kentucky, (J.D., 1983)
Bar and Professional
- Certified Public Accountant (KY)
- Kentucky Bar Association
--- Trust and Estate Section, Past Chairman
--- Trust and Estate Legislative Committee, Past Chairman
- Fayette County Bar Association, Lexington, Kentucky
--- Founding Fellow
--- Trust and Estate Section, Past Chairman
- Bluegrass Estate Planning Council, Past Chairman
- Lexington Employee Benefits Council, Past President
- Estate Planning Council of Louisville
- Louisville Estate Planning Council
- Louisville Bar Association
--- Business Law Section
--- Probate and Estate Planning Section
--- Taxation Section
Hargrove Madden Achievements& News Articles
- Lexington Venture Club: Recipient of the 2013 eAchiever award
- American Bar Association: Recipient of the ABA 2012 James Keane Award for Excellence in eLawyering (given by the ABA to one law firm in the United States every year to recognize the innovative online delivery of personal legal services)
- Best of Lexington Award (Estate Planning Law): 2012, 2013
- Lexington Herald Leader: Lexington-based Hargrove Madden has been awarded the 2012 American Bar Association eLawyering Award
- The Lane Report: Cutting Edge of Legal Innovation, July 2012
- Legal Management Magazine: Lessons from Leaders in Online Legal Services, Oct./Nov. 2012
- Law Crossings: Legal Services Sold in Online Packages: Hargrove Madden Beats All, April 2012
Personal Achievements
- 1995-Current. Accredited Estate Planner, National Association of Estate Planners & Councils
- Named in six editions of The Best Lawyers in America®
- Named as Best Lawyer, Trust & Estates Law, The American Lawyer
- National recognition as a SuperLawyer®
- Top "AV" peer-rating from Martindale Hubbell®.
- Multi-year National Businessman of the Year Award from the Business Advisory Council of the NRCC
Community Involvement
- Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky, Member of Board of Trustees, Executive Committee
- Kentucky Historical Society Foundation, Member of Board
- Western Kentucky University, Former Member of Board of Trustees
- Western Kentucky University Research Foundation, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Board Chair
- University of Kentucky Health Care Wealth Advisor Council
- Lexington Christian Academy Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky, Former Board Chair
- Highview Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky, Deacon and Adult Sunday School Teacher
- Immanuel Baptist Church, Lexington, Kentucky, Former Chairman of Trustees and Chair of Deacons
- Baptist Healthcare Foundation, Louisville, Kentucky, Former Chairman of the Board
- Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, Former Chairman of Development Council
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