Meet Shannon
Shannon Braun is a Shareholder and member of the firm’s Estates & Trusts practice. She represents a diverse client base that includes professionals, executives, business owners, philanthropists and high net-worth individuals and families. Shannon assists her clients in developing, implementing and managing comprehensive plans to achieve their goals relating to the preservation and tax-efficient transfer of wealth. As a part of her process, she regularly works with outside professional advisors in a collaborative, team-based approach to achieve her clients’ goals. She has extensive experience providing legal advice on matters involving business succession planning, charitable giving, estate and gift taxation, fiduciary income taxation, marital property agreements, and probate and trust administration.
Shannon also serves as a member of Godfrey & Kahn’s Estate, Trust and Fiduciary Litigation practice, as well as its Trust Company Industry Group. Working closely with her litigation colleagues, she represents and counsels individual and corporate fiduciaries and beneficiaries in estate and trust administration disputes. Shannon has broad experience counseling corporate fiduciaries and trust administrators with respect to the resolution of substantive trust, tax and accounting matters. She also assists both public and private trust companies in the ongoing management of their operations. Shannon’s collaborative approach helps her achieve creative and practical solutions for her clients while navigating complex issues and family dynamics in a thoughtful yet meticulous manner.
Shannon graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School, completing an estate planning concentration, with honors. She is a frequent speaker on topics involving business succession planning, charitable giving and wealth transfer techniques, and she served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, teaching a course regarding the use of trusts in estate planning. In addition to these roles, Shannon is also an actively engaged member of the local community and firm, serving on numerous boards and firm committees.
Education
Juris Doctor, University of Wisconsin Law School, 2009, cum laude, Order of the Coif, Estate Planning concentration, with honors
Bachelor of Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006, Legal Studies and Political Science, Criminal Justice Certificate, with distinction
Activities
Association for Women Lawyers – Board Member (2014-2019)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee – Volunteer (2010-2016)
Godfrey & Kahn Women's Leadership Forum – Committee Member
Greater Milwaukee Young Professional Adviser Council – Member (2019-2020)
Herbert J. Mueller Society – Member
Marquette Legal Clinic – Volunteer
Susan G. Komen Wisconsin – Board Member (2014-2019)
University of Wisconsin Law School - Adjunct Professor (Use of Trusts in Estate Planning, 2019)
Wills for Heroes – Volunteer
Wisconsin Humane Society Young Leaders – Board Member (2014-2016)
Honors
Named a 2016 “Up and Coming Lawyer” by the Wisconsin Law Journal
Recognized as a Wisconsin Rising Star (2017 - 2019)
Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Trusts and Estates, 2022 - present, Banking and Finance Law, Litigation - Trusts and Estates, 2024 - present)
Recognized as 2022 Notable Women in Law by BizTimes
Founders Award, Association of Women Lawyers (2022)
Admitted To Practice
WisconsinProfessional Associations
American Bar Association, Association for Women Lawyers, Milwaukee Estate Planning Forum, State Bar of Wisconsin, The Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation