About
Mary R. LaCivita
Phone: (781) 742-7328
Fax: (781) 281-9419
E-mail: mary@lacivitalaw.com
Ms. LaCivita practices family law exclusively including complex and smaller divorce, paternity, modification and enforcement matters, restraining orders and prenuptial agreements. She has developed a reputation for bringing compassion and civility into family law negotiations but also for being a tough advocate when settlement is not possible. Ms. LaCivita’s extensive trial and motion practice is balanced with out-of-court negotiated settlements. Her intention is to keep all cases out of court if possible with an understanding that it cannot always be avoided and is sometimes a necessary course for resolution in high-conflict custody, support or asset division cases. The array of problem-solving processes she presents to clients allows her to apply the appropriate process towards each individual case. She strongly believes that it is her responsibility to explain all viable options to her clients to assist them in choosing the right path for each client and their family.
Though more than 90% of family law cases are settled by agreement, Ms. LaCivita has experience in a wide array of situations from advising clients who mediate or negotiate on their own with their spouse or co-parent, fully-negotiated out of court settlements (which are then presented and approved by the court), situations that require a court filing and some court involvement to fully litigated actions concluding in trials and post-trial submissions.
Prior experience:
Prior to opening The Law Offices of Mary R. LaCivita, Ms. LaCivita was Of Counsel to Orsi, Arone, Rothenberg, Iannuzzi & Turner, LLP for three years (2010-2013), maintaining an independent family law practice. Prior to that she worked at Boston Law Collaborative, LLC as a Senior Associate concentrating in family law for five years (2005-2010). She also worked at Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye, LLP as an associate in the Domestic Relations group for four years (2001-2005). She started her legal career serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Justices of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court in Barnstable, Suffolk and Bristol counties (2000-2001).
Education:
Ms. LaCivita graduated cum laude from Boston University in 1994, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She earned her Juris Doctorate (cum laude) from Suffolk University Law School in 2000, after working as a litigation paralegal at Hill & Barlow for three years between college and law school. She was an Executive Board member and Second Year Trial Competition Director on the Moot Court Board at Suffolk University Law School. She was also a Regional Quarterfinalist in appellate advocacy for the National Moot Court Team during law school.
Awards:
Ms. LaCivita was named as one of Massachusetts’s “Rising Star Super Lawyers” in family law in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011 by the publishers of Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine.
Memberships:
Ms. LaCivita is a member of the Bar Association of Norfolk County (BANC) and The Massachusetts Association of Guardians ad Litem (MAGAL).
Classes/Seminars:
Massachusetts Family Law Practice for Paralegals, Half Moon Seminars, Presenter and Author/Contributor, 2012
The Kinder, Gentler Settlement Meeting: How What you Say and What You Eat Can Make a Difference, Seacoast Collaborative Divorce Professionals, Presenter, 2011
The Unemployed/Underemployed Spouse in a Divorce Case, Boston Bar Association, Presenter, 2010
Family Law for Paralegals, Mass. Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), Presenter and Author, 2006
Pro Bono Work:
In addition to her private practice, Ms. LaCivita has always been driven to donate a portion of her time to free legal services for those in extreme need. Earlier in her career, Ms. LaCivita was a mentor for the Women’s Bar Foundation’s Family Law Project for Battered Women. She also regularly volunteered as Lawyer for the Day in Plymouth, Norfolk and Middlesex Counties. In more recent years, she has focused her pro bono work on criminal cases from wrongful prosecutions in District Court and in the Massachusetts prison system to a murder appeal. Ms. LaCivita feels compelled to exercise her privilege by contributing to social justice in her Brockton community.
Background:
Ms. LaCivita was born and raised in Danville, Kentucky and presently resides with her son in Brockton, Massachusetts.