J. Gardner Govan is a co-chair of Godfrey & Kahn’s Estate Planning Practice Group, where his practice is concentrated in the areas of estate and gift planning, business succession planning, fiduciary income taxation, charitable giving, probate administration and marital property agreements. Gardner's clients include current and former owners of closely-held businesses and professionals and executives of public companies. 

Gardner is a frequent speaker on estate planning topics to many lay and professional groups, including the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bar Association, the Waukesha Estate Planning Council, the Milwaukee Estate Counselors Forum, Mid-Winter Estate Planning Clinic, the Wisconsin Institute of Public Accountants, the Milwaukee Estate Planning Council and the CLEW Tax Workshops.

Gardner received his secondary school education at Phillips Academy and Swarthmore High School and he received his undergraduate education at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School magna cum laude where he was selected to the Order of the Coif. 

Gardner is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bar Association, the Milwaukee Estate Planning Council, and the Mid-Winter Estate Planning Clinic. Gardner is actively involved in charitable organizations, he is currently serving on the committee for the State Bar for the Uniform Trust Code for Wisconsin and is a past President of the Wisconsin Humane Society.