Fundamentals of Estate Planning 2024

Leslie serves as the Managing Director of Fiduciary and Legal Services for Pitcairn Trust Company, a private trust company with $8 billion AUM. She provides legal and tax expertise on client matters including estate planning, compliance, corporate matters, and the administration of trusts, guardianships, and decedents’ estates. She previously held roles at Butera Beausang Cohen Brennan, LP and the Internal Revenue Service in Philadelphia.

Leslie is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (ret.). She is the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of Ambler Savings Bank (the first female chair in its 150-year history), a member of the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws, and a member of the Audit Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association. She is a past president of the Montgomery County Estate Planning Council and the Rotary Club of Ambler. Along with presenting on tax, estate planning, and elder law topics for various organizations, Leslie has authored articles on estate planning. Outside of the legal and tax universe, Leslie participates in dozens of charitable runs every year, including the Philadelphia Broad Street Run.

Justin H. Brown is a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP where he is a member of Ballard’s Private Client Services Group and the Tax Group. A Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, he develops creative strategies for wealth transfer, asset protection, and business succession. Justin also counsels fiduciaries on their duties and obligations in connection with the administration of estates and trusts. A leader in the area of digital asset planning, he implements cutting-edge strategies to help clients plan for technologically innovative asset classes. Justin is a co-host of “The Digital Planning Podcast,” which educates individuals about all things digital in estate planning, business planning, and estate administration. Now in its seventh season, The Digital Planning Podcast is internationally known as one of the leading podcasts on digital estate planning. Justin was previously an adjunct professor at Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law where he taught income taxation of trusts and estates. He is the immediate past Chair of the Probate and Trust Division of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. A frequent writer and speaker, Justin was awarded the ADL’s national Daniel R. Ginsberg Leadership Award in recognition of his work in ADL education. He received his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, his J.D. from The American University Washington College of Law, and his LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law.

Alison Smith is a member at McNees Wallace & Nurick, LLC, in its Pittsburgh office, where she practices in the areas of estate and trust administration, fiduciary liability, estate planning and charitable organizations.Before joining McNees, she served as chief counsel at PNC Bank, providing legal support to the bank’s asset management group on legal matters relating to the administration of estates and trusts, charitable trusts and endowments, and fiduciary liability, and served as in-house counsel to the PNC Foundation and the Fund for Charitable Giving.Alison is an ACTEC fellow, a member of the Joint State Government Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estate Laws and a participant in the Office of Elder Justice in the Courts Financial Institutions Working Group.She is a past chair of the PBA Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section and currently chairs the Section’s Pro Bono Committee.She has received several awards for her commitment to Pro Bono, including the PBA Special Achievement Award, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University Public Interest Alumni Award, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Louis J Goffman Award and the SeniorLAW Center Oustanding Pro Bono Champion recognition.Alison received her J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law and her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Tennessee.