Deborah Little

Deborah Little is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She is affiliated with Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, where she focuses on fiduciary/trust litigation, insurance coverage, and commercial litigation. Licensed in Pennsylvania and Florida, she advises trustees on multi-generational trust administration and represents clients in complex disputes. Her practice spans over 30 years, with notable engagements in fiduciary duty cases and insurance coverage disputes.

Education: BA from The Pennsylvania State University, JD from The Ohio State University.

Research interests include fiduciary law, trust administration, insurance coverage strategies, and commercial litigation. She has contributed to publications addressing fiduciary exceptions, ERISA compliance, and post-pandemic legal challenges. Recent work includes advising on coverage for business interruptions due to COVID-19 and representing clients in multi-state asbestos litigation.

Awards:

• Selected for The Best Lawyers in America (2015–2025)
• Inducted into the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County (2021)

Advising & Grants: Advises corporate and individual trustees on fiduciary obligations and coordinates with family offices. Her litigation experience includes over 400 asbestos-related cases and national counsel roles for medical device manufacturers. She currently serves on Dentons’ Florida team for insurance disputes and is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee.

Labs/Teams: Part of Dentons’ cross-jurisdictional litigation teams, including the Family Office/High Net Worth Sector liaison role.