Committed to clients and community, Elizabeth delivers award-winning expertise

Elizabeth T. Pierson is a longtime Westside resident who formerly lived and practiced in Pasadena.

She is a devotee of the performing arts, an avid traveler, and an amateur photographer whose photos of architecture and landscapes appear on this site.

Download a PDF of Elizabeth’s resume. Or use the contact form to start a discussion about your specific needs.

Areas of Practice
• Estate Planning
• Transfer Tax
• Probate & Estate Administration
• Trusts
• Wills
• Conservatorships
• Controversy Work

Certified Legal Specialties
Certified Specialist, Estate Planning Probate and Trust Law, California State Bar, 1995 to Present

Bar Admissions
• California, 1988
• U.S. District Court Central District of Calif., 1988
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1988
• Supreme Court of California, 1988
• U.S. Tax Court, 1992

Education
Gould School of Law
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
J.D., 1988

Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
A.B., Economics, 1985

Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge
Cambridge, England, 1986
International Law Studies

Publications
Editor, Lawgic’s California Wills and Trusts, a software tool designed exclusively for estate planning attorneys

As the California editor, Elizabeth is responsible for drafting and updating complex estate planning forms used by hundreds of attorneys statewide and one of the editors involved in keeping current forms used by lawyers nationwide.

Co-author (with Jonathan G. Blattmachr and Mitchell M. Gans), “Finding a Fix for Powell”
Estate Planning Journal (WG&L)
Volume 28, No. 3 (2021)

Co-author (with Joan M. Cotkin, Michael Heumann, and Douglas Schwartz), “A Primer for California Art Collectors”  
California Trusts & Estates Quarterly
Vol. 21, No. 2 (2015)
 
Co-author, "Windsor's Impact on Estate Planning and Administration"
California Trusts and Estates Quarterly
Vol. 18, No. 4 (2013)

Co-author, “Perfectly Imperfect Planning: Leaving IRAs to QTIP Trusts When Spousal Rollover is Not an Option,”
California Tax Lawyer, Vol. 20, No. 1 (2011)

Professional Associations and Memberships
Elizabeth is a fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a national organization of peer-elected lawyers and law professors.

She is a former member of the California State Bar’s Trusts and Estates Section Executive Committee, is a past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Taxation Section and its Committee on Estate and Gift Taxation, as well as a former member of the Executive Committee of the California State Bar's Taxation Section and the Beverly Hills Bar Association Trusts and Estate Section.

Elizabeth is the former Editor-in-Chief of the California Trusts and Estates Quarterly and is now one of four Tax Alert Editors.

In addition, she is a former member of the California State Bar Estate Planning Law Advisory Committee, which is responsible for the state bar process that certifies qualified applicants as specialists in the field of trusts and estates.

Honors and Awards
Southern California Super Lawyer for Trusts and Estates, Super Lawyers Magazine
This distinction is given to the top 5% of attorneys in each specialty through nominations by other lawyers.
2009, 2011 to Present

AV® Preeminent™ rating (5.0/5.0) from Martindale Hubbell, their preeminent rating for competence and ethics in the practice of law.

Pro Bono Activities
Elizabeth enjoys sharing her legal expertise and fundraising skills to further important causes. From 2011 to 2015, she served on the Planned Giving Committee and the Leadership Network for OPCC, Santa Monica’s leading organization dedicated to a comprehensive approach to the needs of the homeless.

She’s been on the Annual Fund Executive Committee for the University of Southern California Gould School of Law since 2008.

Past volunteer commitments include two years on the advisory board for the Los Angeles campus for The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, a not-for-profit, accredited institution founded in 1979.

Elizabeth also served on the board of directors for the Duke University Alumni Club of Southern California for seven years, two as communications chair and five as president.

While living in Pasadena, she spent four years on the board of directors for Villa Esperanza, a nonprofit serving children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was on board’s executive committee for her final three years.

In addition, Elizabeth was a member of the Mentor Awards Committee for the Los Angeles Women's Foundation (now the Women’s Foundation of California) for four years.

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