Biography
Alison’s litigation practice encompasses a broad range of commercial areas — including contract, corporate governance, unfair competition, trademark, real estate, construction, and banking matters — with a primary focus on employment law. She represents both employers and employees in all types of litigation, including discrimination claims, harassment claims, and overtime claims. She also works with employers to protect against litigation, including the preparation of employee policies, sexual harassment training, drafting of employment agreements, compliance with overtime, family and medical leave, and disability regulations, and advising on discipline and terminations. She has represented numerous restaurants, hotels, inns, and other hospitality industry clients.
Alison also acts as an arbitrator, mediator, evaluator, and special master by appointment from state and federal courts and by election of private parties.
Following graduation from law school, Alison practiced at Choate Hall & Stewart in Boston. She is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She serves on the Federal Court Advisory Committee for the District of Vermont and as a director and president of Housing Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation that owns and operates more than $65 million worth of low-income housing throughout Vermont.
Alison lives in Stowe, where she grew up. She skis alpine, cross-country, and back-country and plays competitive ice hockey, and enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, building rock walls, and spending time with her three adult children.
Education
Boston College Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1983); Harvard College (A.B. 1979)
Bar Admissions
Admitted to state and federal courts in Vermont and Massachusetts; U.S. Courts of Appeals, First and Second Circuits
Memberships
Vermont Bar Association; Vermont Association for Justice
Recognition
Alison has been annually recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® — the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession — as a leading attorney in Employment Law, for both Individuals and Management, Labor and Employment Litigation, and ERISA Litigation since 2011. Starting in 2015, Alison has also been recognized yearly as a leading attorney in Leisure and Hospitality Law. She was named by Best Lawyers as Vermont’s “Lawyer of the Year” in Labor & Employment Litigation for the years 2012 and 2022. Alison has also been acknowledged as “Lawyer of the Year” for her work in Employment Law/Individuals for 2014 and 2019, and in Employment Law/Management for 2021. She has also been recognized as a leading employment attorney in New England Super Lawyers. Alison’s numerable recognitions also include Vermont’s only state-wide business publication, Vermont Biz, which has repeatedly featured her in its yearly list of “Top Business Lawyers”.