Elizabeth Bawden is a partner at Withers Bergman LLP, specializing in estate planning, planned giving and tax exempt organizations. She teaches Estate and Gift Tax as well as Estate Planning at UCLA School of Law. Ms. Bawden is also faculty in the American institute for Philanthropic Studies' Certified Specialist in Planned Giving Program teaching charitable gifting. She received her B.A. cum laude in Philosophy from Wheaton College and her J.D. from UCLA Law School, specializing in taxation, where she served as Executive Editor of the UCLA Law Review. She is certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization as a legal specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law.

After receiving her J.D., Ms. Bawden clerked for the Honorable Wiley Y. Daniel in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. She is frequently featured as a speaker at continuing education programs. Ms. Bawden is a fellow in The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Election as an ACTEC fellow is one of the highest honors a trusts and estates attorney can receive. Fellows are selected on the basis of professional reputation and ability in the fields of trusts and estates, and on the basis of having made substantial contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing, teaching, and bar activities.  Ms. Bawden is ranked by Chambers and Partners' High Net Worth Guide 2022 in Private Wealth Law. Giving back is an important personal value and Ms. Bawden received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from the Los Angeles Council of Charitable Gift Planners, where she has served as president and has been a member for almost 20 years. She serves on the board of the Heifer International Foundation, supporting the work of Heifer International to end hunger and poverty around the world by providing livestock and training to struggling communities.

Ms. Bawden is a regular speaker at continuing legal education and charitable events. Recent articles include "Ways Clients Can Help Their Children Buy a House" in Financial Advisor on May 18, 2022, "Preparing for Sunset - What Every Lawyer Needs to Know about the Gift and Estate Tax" in The Daily Journal on June 25, 2019, "Navigating the Twists and Turns of Testamentary Gift Annuities" in Planned Giving Today, January 2019, and "Shoes for the Cobblers Children: What Lawyers Need to Know About Estate Planning" in The Recorder on May 4, 2016 (co-author with Dina Y. Nam),  "How Wealth Individuals Can Strategically Gift Education" in Family Wealth Report on December 10, 2015 (co-author with Dina Y. Nam). Bawden’s publications include "Accomplishing Clients' Estate Planning Goals in a Post-ATRA Environment" in Best Practices for Structuring Trusts and Estates (Aspatore Books, a Thomson Reuters business, 2015 ed.); "Planning for Non-Traditional Families" in Mittra, Sid; Sahu, Anandi; and Starn, Jr., Harry (Eds.); Practicing Financial Planning for Professionals (11th ed. American Academic Publishing, 2012); and "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow – Three Common Mistakes Courts Make When Police Lose or Destroy Evidence with Apparent Exculpatory Value," 48 Clev. St. L. Rev. 335 (2000).