Biography
Ms. Pierce focuses her practice on sophisticated estate planning and estate administration for individuals and families. She counsels clients on a broad range of complex estate planning issues including gift and generation skipping transfer tax planning; structuring wealth transfers with grantor retained annuity trusts, irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships and limited liability companies. She also advises on effective techniques for gifting and transferring real property. In addition, she is experienced in preparing prenuptial and marital property agreements as well as gift and estate tax returns.
Ms. Pierce counsels clients with respect to estate and trust litigation issues and has advised and assisted trustees of irrevocable trusts on a broad range of issues. Additionally, she helps clients with their philanthropic planning by creating private foundations, charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts.
Prior to joining Sideman & Bancroft, Ms. Pierce was a partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP in San Francisco. Before that, she practiced with Cooley Godward LLP in San Francisco and Peckham, Lobel, Casey, Prince & Tye in Boston.
Professional Involvement
Ms. Pierce is a member of the American Bar Association, the Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section of the San Francisco Bar Association and the San Francisco Estate Planning Council.
She is active in the community and currently serves on the board of the San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation. She also sits on the Planned Giving Committee of the San Francisco Ballet and volunteers at Marin Country Day School. She is a former board member of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library where she also chaired its Planned Giving Committee.
Admitted to practice in California, Massachusetts and U.S. Tax Court.
Recognized in 2016-2026 for Private Wealth Law in Northern California in the Chambers High Net Worth guide
Named Best Lawyers® 2019 San Francisco Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year”
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America®: 2013-2026
Listed in Northern California Super Lawyers®: 2019-2026
Education
- Tufts University B.A. 1991
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law J.D. 1994
Admissions
- California
- Massachusetts
