Gov. Charlie Baker has nominated Thomas J. Barbar of the South End to serve as an associate justice in the Middlesex Probate and Family Court.
Barbar has over 20 years serving clients in the private sector specializing in family law, probate litigation and estate planning.
“The experience and temperament these attorneys bring to their respective courts will serve the Commonwealth well,” said Gov. Baker. “I am pleased to nominate them for the Governor’s Council advice and consent.”
Barbar has worked at Deutsch Williams Brooks DeRensis & Holland since 2004, most recently for the last 10 years as a principal. Barbar began his legal career as a student defender in the felony division of the Dade County Office of the Public Defender in Miami, Fla., and then as a student attorney at the New England School of Law Lawyering Process Clinic. Upon graduation from law school, he worked as a law clerk for Capozzoli & Drew, and later as an associate in the law office of Diane Capozzoli. From 1997 to 2004, Barbar was a sole practitioner specializing in probate litigation and domestic relations matters, as well as civil litigation and residential real estate. He received his Juris Doctor in 1993 from New England Law – Boston. He also attended the University of San Diego Law School in Mexico City, Mexico. Barbar received a bachelor of Arts in English from Villanova University in 1986. He currently resides in the South End with his husband.
The Probate and Family Court Department has jurisdiction over family-related and probate matters such as divorce, paternity, child support, custody, parenting time, adoption, termination of parental rights, abuse prevention and wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, and changes of name.
Judicial nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the Governor’s Council. Applicants for judicial openings are reviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) and recommended to the governor. Governor Baker established the JNC in February, 2015 pursuant to Executive Order 558, a non-partisan, non-political Commission composed of volunteers from a cross-section of the Commonwealth’s diverse population to screen judicial applications. Twenty-one members were later appointed to the JNC in April, 2015.