Profile

Alison T. Smith focuses her practice on fiduciary liability and litigation, trusts and estates, and nonprofit law, with an emphasis on charitable trusts, providing legal advice to clients across Pennsylvania. Before returning to private practice, she served as Chief Counsel at PNC Bank, a leading national financial institution. There, she provided support to the bank’s asset management group on legal matters relating to the administration of estates and trusts, including charitable trusts and endowments, and fiduciary liability.

Fiduciary liability and litigation
Alison advises corporate fiduciaries and banks in the management of fiduciary risk, administration of trusts and estates, document interpretation and the application of legal standards, statutes and regulations. She also represents fiduciaries, beneficiaries and other interested parties in Orphans’ Courts proceedings and litigation involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duty.

Trusts and estates
She provides comprehensive legal counsel on estate and trust administration, estate planning and business succession planning, and assists with drafting estate planning documents, including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, annuity trusts, and charitable trusts and shareholders’ agreements. Alison has extensive experience assisting clients with the administration of trusts and estates, ensuring compliance with tax and probate filing requirements. She also represents executors, administrators and trustees in various legal proceedings, including accountings and contests of wills and trusts.

Charitable and nonprofit law
Alison advises nonprofit organizations on matters including formation, governance, mergers and acquisitions, obtaining tax-exempt status and stewardship of charitable gifts. She leverages her knowledge and experience to guide charitable and nonprofit organizations in understanding their fiduciary responsibilities, especially with respect to charitable donations, ensuring compliance with regulations and navigating mergers and affiliations. She also provides legal support for the administration of charitable trusts and private foundations, including cy pres actions and federal tax law requirements.

Community involvement
She is passionate about providing access to estate planning legal services for low-income individuals and families. The Pennsylvania Bar Association has recognized Alison for her work by honoring her with the Louis J. Goffman Award in 2023 and the Special Achievement Award in 2022 for her dedication and leadership in establishing estate planning clinics for low-income clients and developing a model template that includes orientation training for PBA members to deliver service for these individuals.

Alison is actively involved in organizations and initiatives that further the legal profession. She is the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section Delegate to the PBA House of Delegates, a member of the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Decedents’ Estates Laws Advisory Committee and regularly serves as a course planner and speaker for Pennsylvania Bar Institute sessions concerning estates, trusts and charitable organizations.

EDUCATION

Duquesne University School of Law, J.D.

    • Law Review, Associate Recent Decisions Editor, Volume 33
    • Published Casenote, 32 Duq.L.Rev. 939 (1994)
    • Published Comment, 33 Duq.L.Rev. 655 (1995)
    • Juris Newsmagazine, Law Editor

University of Tennessee, B.A. in political science, minor in business, summa cum laude

    • Minnie O. and James Elliott Memorial Scholarship
    • Fred M. Roddy Memorial Scholarship

HONORS/AWARDS

  • Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Louis J Goffman Award, 2023
  • Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University, Public Interest Alumni Award, 2023
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association Special Achievement Award, 2022
  • ACH Clear Pathways Creative Spark Flame Award, 2013

MEMBERSHIPS

  • Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Decedents’ Estates Laws Advisory Committee, 2024 – Present
  • ACH Clear Pathways
      • Board of Directors, 2015 – Present
      • Former Board Chair/President, 2017 – 2021
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association, Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section
      • Chair and Coordinator, Pro Bono Committee & Section Estate Planning Clinic, 2021 – Present
      • Section Delegate, 2023 – Present
      • Newsletter Associate Editor, 2012 – Present
      • Former Council member, 2013 – 2022
      • Past Chair, 2020 –2021
      • Past Vice Chair, Probate, 2018 – 2020
      • Former Secretary, 2015 – 2018
  • Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI)
      • Course Planner, Fundamentals of Estate Planning and Estate Planning Beyond the Basics, 2013 – Present
      • Speaker, Insolvent Estates, Estate Planning for Younger Beneficiaries, Nonprofit Law Institute, 2013 – Present
      • Course Planner, Estate Law Institute, 2024 – Present
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, PA ACTEC Fellows, 2024-present
  • PNC Legal Department Pro Bono Council, 2020 – 2024
  • Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts Working Group, Power of Attorney Resource Guide for Financial Institutions, 2020 – 2022

Bar Admissions

Pennsylvania

Contact Info

Practice Groups