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Lisa M. Cukier

Partner

Office Phone: 617.345.3471
Location: Boston, MA
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Practice:

Bar Admissions:

Massachusetts

Experience:

Lisa M. Cukier is a partner at Burns & Levinson and currently serves as an Executive Committee member. She concentrates her practice in all aspects of estate and trust litigation, fiduciary litigation, probate law, child custody, parentage issues and divorce, planning and litigation for blended families and same-sex couples, adoption, guardianship and conservatorship, and elder financial exploitation.

Prior to joining Burns & Levinson in 2002, Ms. Cukier served as Assistant General Counsel for the Department of Mental Health and as Assistant General Counsel for the Department of Mental Retardation. She prosecutes and investigates disabled persons abuse cases, and elder abuse cases, and represents Guardians, Trustees and Executors in petitions for fiduciary license to sell real estate, and estate plan petitions.

Memberships:

Boston Bar Association
Boston Estate Planning Council
Massachusetts Bar Association

Additional Information:

Trained in Conciliation of probate litigation and divorce matters and serves as parenting coordinator and mediator in contested custody disputes
Newton Montessori School, Board of Directors and Strategic Planning Task Force
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, past member on Board of Editors
Massachusetts Family and Probate Inn of Court, Past-President (2004-2005 term)
Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association, past Co-chair(1997 - 2001)
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MA), past Board of Directors

Education:

J.D., Suffolk University Law School, 1991
B.A., Northeastern University, 1986

Awards:

Ms. Cukier was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (2010-2012) in the field(s) of Family Law. Best Lawyers® is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 41,000 leading attorneys throughout the country cast almost 3.9 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Inclusion in Best Lawyers® is considered a singular honor.
On May 5, 2006, Lisa M. Cukier was honored and presented with the 2006 MBA Community Service Award at the MLGBA Annual Dinner.
On June 18, 2005, Ms. Cukier was honored as a "Woman of Distinction In Law and Public Service" at the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers Annual Business Meeting and Banquet.
Ms. Cukier was selected for inclusion in Massachusetts Super Lawyers® (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005). Super Lawyers and Rising Stars employ an annual jurisdictional selection process. Only five percent of lawyers in the state were selected to the Super Lawyers list and 2.5 percent to the Rising Stars list. The listing appears annually in the November issue of Boston magazine and in New England Super Lawyers.

Quotes:

5/25/2011, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - Probate Court to Lose 20 Percent of Judges
Lisa Cukier was quoted in this article by Christina Pazzanese.
3/24/2011, Boston Business Journal - Women execs talk advancement
Lisa Cukier was quoted in this article by Greg Walsh.
6/27/2010, The Boston Globe - Boston executives on issues of diversity
Lisa Cukier was quoted in this article.
7/13/2009, WBZ News Radio - Commonwealth Suing Federal Government Over Gay Marriage
Lisa Cukier discusses equal rights for gay marriages.
8/10/2008, Sacramento Bee - Gay divorce has raised many tricky questions
Peter Zupcofska was featured in this article by Rob Hotakainen. Lisa Cukier was mentioned in this article.
10/19/2007, Boston Business Journal - Goodridge ruling doesn't simplify estate planning
Lisa Cukier was quoted extensively in this article by Chris Mahoney.
7/31/2007, WGBH/PBS - Interview with Emily Rooney
Lisa Cukier and Peter Zupcofska discuss the legalities surrounding same sex divorces with Emily Rooney. Emily Rooney Interview
3/5/2007, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - Letter to the Editor
Lisa Cukier's letter to the editor disputes the Editor's position that the SJC is running scared and is retrenching from its stance in Goodridge (same sex marriage case). Lisa's letter argues that while the SJC's decisions look conservative, they are actually quite progressive; each of the SJC's decisions in related cases since Goodridge have all used traditional bright-line tests to equalize the rights of gay and straight citizens, which is really quite a revolutionary concept and totally progressive.
6/1/2005, MBA Lawyers Journal - "American Inns of Court Continue to Promote Professional Ethics"
Lisa Cukier was quoted in the article.
4/11/2005, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - "When Aging Issues Lead to Family Conflict"
Lisa M. Cukier was quoted in this article written by Arline Kardasis and Rikk Larsen.
10/17/2004, National Public Radio - Interview: On Point (NPR)
Lisa Cukier was interviewed by Tom Ashbrook of National Public Radio - On Point. The interview was regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
5/18/2004, WBZ - Interview: "The David Brudnoy Show"
Lisa Cukier was interviewed on WBZ's The David Brudnoy Show regarding the general legal matters associated with same-sex marriages.
5/14/2004, Washington Blade - "Massachusetts Weddings a Legal Pandora's Box"
Lisa Cukier and Evelyn Haralampu were quoted in this article.
3/5/2004, Washington Blade - "Obscure Law May Stop Out-of-State Mass. Marriages"
Lisa M. Cukier was quoted in this article.
1/21/2004, Channel 9, BNN - "Legal Lines"
Lisa M. Cukier was interviewed regarding the Goodridge Same-Sex Marriage case.
6/19/2003, Boston Herald - "Gay Marriages in Canada may Cause Dilemma Across Border"
Lisa M. Cukier was quoted in this article.

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Recent Articles and Publications:

A Perspective from the East Coast
"She Thinks" Blog, July 23, 2011

The Doom of DOMA
Boston Spirit Magazine, November/December 2010

Get To Know Us...
Boston Spirit Magazine, Seasonal People Issue, May/June 2010

Rebuilding and Renewal - In Business and the Community: An Interview with Scott Moskol
Boston Spirit Magazine, January/February 2010

View more articles and publications

Speaking Engagements:

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Conference, 11.12.2011
Location: Boston, MA
Role: Speaker
Topic: Hot Topics in Estates and Probate Litigation involving LGBT elders

Same Sex Estate Planning and Family Law Issues, 11.10.2011
Location: Northeastern School of Law
Role: Speaker

Wills, Trusts and Probate, 10.26.2011
Location: Newton Community Education, Newton North High School
Role: Speaker

Wills, Trusts and Probate, 10.19.2011
Location: Newton Community Education, Newton North High School
Role: Speaker

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