After forming in 1925, the Broward County Bar Association (BCBA) will soon have its first woman of color serving as president after Alison F. Smith, Esq. was recently named president-elect of the organization.
“I’m beyond excited and consider it to be a privilege and an honor to represent the BCBA,” Smith says. “As the first woman of color to be president in our organization’s history, I take this position with the utmost seriousness and am humbled to lead BCBA.”
Smith, an attorney at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, was sworn in as President-elect on July 2 and will officially take over the position next year. As a member of BCBA, Smith previously served as Chairperson of the Government Law Section, Co-Chairperson of the Bench and Bar Convention and Secretary and Treasurer on the Executive Committee. She also helped developed Ignite Your Passion, a BCBA program partnership with Broward College that focuses on introducing minority students to experienced professionals tot offer guidance, support and encouragement.
“Alison Smith is a smart, thoughtful and energetic leader who understands the business and service aspect of the balance that a Bar Association has to manage,” says Braulio Rosa, Executive Director of BCBA. “I have known Alison for almost a decade and always have enjoyed working with her to develop good services and products for the BCBA and those we serve.”
While president, Smith will govern an organization with nearly 4,000 members, 19 practice sections, 19 committees and three affiliate organizations, including the Association of South Florida Mediators and Arbitrators, the Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida and the North Dade Bar Association.
“Broward County lawyers will be well served by the commitment and passion that Alison brings to BCBA leadership,” says Mitch Burnstein, Managing Director of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman. “Those of us who work with her see that same level of commitment and passion with her clients.”
Before working as an attorney, Smith graduated magna cum laude from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law and received a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Legal Studies from Nova Southeastern University.
