About Danielle G. Van
Danielle G. Van Ess constructed a legal trajectory that crosses classroom rigor and community work. She earned a B.A. from The George Washington University in 1994, studying Spanish language and literature, philosophy and women’s research. She returned to Boston University School of Law for her J.D., completed in 1998. Two decades later she further a LL.M. in Taxation from the same faculty in 2021, concentrating on trusts and estates.
Her early professional roles put policy and training at the middle of her day. In 2002 she served as a body of workers lawyer and lead coach on the National Center on Full Faith and Credit. That submit involved law school training and practical hassle-fixing on jurisdictional and enforcement questions. In 2007 she labored as an impartial legal representative for the Southwest Center for Law & Policy, a position that broadened her exposure to nonprofit legal practice and cross-jurisdictional issues.
Van Ess launched her personal practice in 2008. She is the founding proprietor, lawyer and counselor at DGVE law, LLC. Running a small firm has required her to switch roles often: counselor, drafter, litigator when needed and supervisor. The company listing identifies DGVE law, LLC as her principal workplace.
Professional associations and board service were a steady part of her career. She has been involved with the Massachusetts Forum of Estate Planning Lawyers since as a minimum 2010 and served in a chain of officer roles: vice-president, president, instant beyond president and maximum lately secretary from 2020 to 2023. Outside the discussion board she joined the Hingham Cemetery Corporation board of administrators in 2019 and stays on that board.
Her educational and expert steps point clearly towards confidence, property and tax work. The LL.M. in Taxation, with its emphasis on trusts and estates, built on a tradition that already addressed property planning, probate and associated tax questions. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Virginia, which informs how she advises clients with ties across state lines.
Colleagues and clients know her for hands-on estate planning and for dealing with the tax mechanics that frequently accompany those things. She balances transactional drafting with guidance thru probate and fiduciary administration. Today she practices thru DGVE law, LLC, continuing to handle trust and estate making plans, tax things, and probate administration.
