Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC, a regional law firm based in Towson, is pleased to announce that partner Mariela D'Alessio, Chair of the firm’s Estates and Trust Department, has been selected by Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star in the field of law for 2019. D'Alessio had previously been named a Rising Star from 2014-2018.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Rising Stars must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. The objective of Super Lawyers is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.

D’Alessio joined Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC as an associate attorney in 2014 and was named partner in January 2019. As Chair of the Estates and Trust Department, she focuses her practice on estate planning and estate and trust administration. She regularly meets with clients to implement an individualized and complete estate plan, which often includes a Last Will and Testament, Living Will, Medical and Financial Powers of Attorney, and Trusts. In addition to the drafting of a client’s unique estate plan, she is frequently retained to handle the administration of both estates and trusts.

"We are so excited that Mariela has been named a Rising Star for the sixth year in a row,” said David K. Gildea, managing partner of SGS. "This is a well-deserved recognition from Super Lawyers, and a testament to Mariela’s knowledge of estates and trust law. She is a great asset to our clients here at Smith, Gildea and Schmidt, and we love having her as a part of our team.”

Prior to joining SGS, D’Alessio worked initially as a paralegal and then as an associate attorney at the AV-rated firm of Bodie, Dolina, Hobbs, Friddell and Grenzer, P.C. D’Alessio is a graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law and Villa Julie College, now known as Stevenson University. While in law school, D’Alessio served as a judicial intern to Judge Peter O. Dearing, Probate Division of the Fourth Circuit of Duval County, Florida.

D'Alessio is licensed to practice law in Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

About Smith, Gildea & Schmidt

Smith, Gildea & Schmidt is a regional law firm with 13 lawyers whose practice areas include complex civil litigation, class action, land use, business law, estates and trusts, governmental affairs, and domestic relations, among others. The firm’s clients range from multinational corporations to individuals with particular legal needs. The land use attorneys have an active practice that encompasses most of the jurisdictions in the state of Maryland. The complex civil litigation section has vast courtroom experience in both the federal and state courts. For more information, go to www.sgs-law.com.