Fundamentals of Special Needs Trusts Administration Webinar Faculty
Robert B. Fleming
Attorney at Law
Fleming & Curti P.A.
Tucson, Ariz.
Robert B. Fleming is a partner in the Tucson law firm of Fleming & Curti P.L.C., with a practice limited to trust (and special needs trust) administration, guardianship, conservatorship, estate planning, and probate. Fleming is a co-author (with Lisa Davis) of The Elder Law Answer Book, and (with Professor Kenney Hegland) of New Times, New Challenges: Law and Advice for Savvy Seniors and Their Families. Fleming has been selected as a fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is a past chair of both the Mental Health and Elder Law and the Probate and Trust Sections of the State Bar of Arizona, and a past president of the National Elder Law Foundation.
Fleming is certified as an estate and trust specialist by the State Bar of Arizona, and as a certified elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. At different times, he was president of the Pima County Bar Association and the Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Arizona (he no longer qualifies to be a member). Fleming is a founding member of the Special Needs Alliance (www.specialneedsalliance.com). Perhaps more importantly, he is a husband, father, scuba diver, pilot and martial arts practitioner.
Mary Alice Jackson
Attorney at Law
Boyer & Jackson P.A.
Sarasota, Fla.
Mary Alice Jackson is a partner in the firm of Boyer & Jackson P.A. with offices in Austin, Texas, and Sarasota, Fla. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is board certified in elder law by the Florida Bar. Jackson's practice focuses on special needs trust planning, long-term care counseling, estate planning, and probate. She is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell, and has been named as one of Florida's "legal elite" by Florida Trend magazine and as a Florida Super Lawyer. Jackson is a co-author of Planning for the Elderly in Florida, a LexisNexis publication. She is a member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national association of special needs planning attorneys, and serves on its board of directors. She also serves on the public policy committee for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Jackson is a past chair of the Florida Bar Elder Law Section and served as president of the Sarasota County Bar Association in 2005. She is an adjunct professor in the Stetson University College of Law Elder Law LL.M. program and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Excellence in Elder Law at Stetson University College of Law, her alma mater. Jackson and her husband, Bob, reside in Austin, Texas, with their standard poodles, Biscuit and Max.
Mary E. O'Byrne
Attorney at Law
Frank, Frank & Scherr LLC
Lutherville, Maryland
Mary E. O'Byrne, is a partner in Frank, Frank & Scherr LLC, graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law, and is a member of the Order of the Coif. She earned her MBA from the University of North Carolina and her bachelor's degree from Yale University. Her practice focuses on special needs planning, as well as elder law and estate planning. She teaches on these topics for the Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers, and other state and national educational forums. In her prior career, O'Byrne worked for over ten years in the health insurance and HMO industries, concentrating on strategic planning and information systems. Admitted to the Maryland bar, she is a member of the Elder Law and Estates and Trusts sections of the Maryland Bar Association, as well as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Special Needs Alliance. O'Byrne is also the executive director of First Maryland Disability Trust, a pooled asset special needs trust.
