GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS
BOSTON – Tuesday, February 7, 2012 – Governor Deval Patrick today announced the nominations of three experienced attorneys as associate justices of the Probate and Family Court: Beth A. Crawford for the Hampshire County Division, Richard J. McMahon for the Bristol County Division and Jennifer Marie Rivera Ulwick for the Norfolk County Division.
“I am very pleased to nominate these well qualified attorneys to the Probate and Family Court bench,” said Governor Patrick. “I commend them for their demonstrated expertise and understanding of the emotional and complex legal issues facing litigants every day in this court.”
Beth A. Crawford is an Assistant Judicial Case Manager at the Hampshire Probate and Family Court, a position she has held since 2004. Her prior work experience within this court includes service as a Family Court assistance project coordinator and as a case management coordinator. Crawford was engaged in private practice in Northampton for nine years, specializing in domestic relations, juvenile and criminal law. She also worked for four years for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, child support enforcement unit. Crawford is a member of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) Standing Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Probate and Family Court Guardianship of Minor Study Task Force. She also is a past president of the Hampshire County Bar Association. Crawford is a graduate of Kenyon College (B.A. cum laude, 1983) and University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., 1987). She resides in Haydenville. Crawford is slated to fill the vacancy on the Probate and Family Court, Hampshire County Division, created by the retirement of the Honorable Gail L. Perlman.
Richard J. McMahon is the executive director of South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc., a multi-office legal services program based in Fall River. He has devoted his 31-year legal career to the representation of low-income clients, both as an active trial attorney in Probate and Family Court and as a supervisor and mentor of legal services staff attorneys on probate and family law matters. McMahon is an active participant in the SJC Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, the SJC Access to Justice Commission and is currently president of the Bristol County Bar Association. He was a 2010 recipient of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Community Service Award. McMahon is a graduate of St. Francis College (B.A., 1976) and George Mason University School of Law (J.D., 1980). He is a resident of New Bedford. Upon confirmation, McMahon will fill the vacancy on the Probate and Family Court, Bristol County Division, created by the retirement of the Honorable Elizabeth O’Neill LaStaiti.
Jennifer Marie Rivera Ulwick is an assistant judicial case manager at the Middlesex County Probate and Family Court, a position she has held since 2000. Since 2009, Rivera Ulwick also has been working in the administrative office of the Probate and Family Court on the implementation of the new Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code. She serves as chair of the Probate and Family Court Procedures Subcommittee. Rivera Ulwick practiced law from 1997 to 2000 at the Boston firm of Packenham, Schmidt & Frederico, focusing on domestic relations, probate administration and estate planning. She also served as a law clerk at the Probate and Family Court from 1995 to 1997. Rivera Ulwick is a member of Boston Bar Association Council and the president-elect of the Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court. She was the 2009 recipient of the Middlesex Bar Association Public Service Award. Rivera Ulwick is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire (B.A., 1990) and Catholic University Columbus School of Law (J.D., 1994). She resides in Winchester. Rivera Ulwick is slated to fill the vacancy on the Probate and Family Court, Norfolk County Division, created by the retirement of the Honorable Robert W. Langlois.
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