Brandon Smith, JD

Brandon’s career arc has not necessarily been a straight line, but these diverse experiences helped inform and shape his career path. Working for a legal services office that helped low-income families and then for the Attorney General of Pennsylvania in its charitable trust and foundations division taught him that legal work is far more than paperwork; there’s a human connection, and that aspect is very important to him and LNW. He sees his role here as twofold: to help our clients understand their options in estate planning to benefit subsequent generations, and to educate our team so they’re even more comfortable educating their clients about the world of estates and trusts. 

Brandon’s first full-time position was at the law firm, Williams Coulson, where he worked as trusts and estates associate for several years. After moving to California, he continued to work in the practice of law before joining a startup involved in patent research and reviews. His estate planning experience and his legal and taxation education were invaluable in his next position as Wealth Strategist at UBS Financial Services. There, he created custom, sophisticated financial plans and provided planning advice for the firm’s wealthiest clients. He advanced from an associate level to director and wealth strategist of advanced planning during his five-year tenure. Some of the white papers he authored dealt with topics ranging from equity compensation to charitable remainder trusts to qualified small business stock.  

Brandon was the first director of estate planning for Wetherby, and now LNW.  The desire to find not only an optimal financial result, but a palatable human result for families is at the heart of all engagements.  Brandon takes the responsibility to toe that line seriously, but hopes to do so with a bit of humility and humor along the way.