Attorney Profile

Joyce Kauffman

Joyce Kauffman

Law Office of Joyce Kauffman
231 Third Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
Contact Contact Joyce Kauffman
T: 617-577-1505
F: 617-577-1012

Visit: www.kauffmanlaw.net
Practice areas: Family Law (80%), Estate Planning & Probate (10%), Alternative Dispute Resolution (10%)

Profile

Attorney Kauffman’s practice focuses entirely on family law for both traditional and non-traditional families – divorce, guardianship, paternity/maternity, adoption, reproductive technology law, and related issues -- through litigation, mediation, and collaborative law.  Attorney Kauffman has been in the forefront of lesbian and gay family law in Massachusetts.  She has handled several same-sex divorces since same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts and was on brief in the historic co-parent adoption case that established the right of same-sex couples to jointly adopt in Massachusetts.  Attorney Kauffman has represented hundreds of lesbian and gay individuals and couples in their quest to legalize their relationships with their children, including obtaining three-parent adoptions for several families.  Attorney Kauffman has written and lectured widely on family law, particularly how family law impacts the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and how same-sex marriage impacts family law.  

Selected to:

Massachusetts Super Lawyers 2009
Massachusetts Super Lawyers 2008

About Joyce Kauffman

Admitted: 1992, Massachusetts

Professional Webpage: www.kauffmanlaw.net

Honors and Awards: 2003 Barney Frank Award, Massachusetts School of Law; 2005 Fisher Davenport Award, Family Pride Coalition and COLAGE; 2007 Gwen Bloomingdale Pioneer Spirit Award, Mass. Lesbian and Gay Bar Association
Bar/Professional Activity: Mass. Lesbian and Gay Bar Association:  Board of Directors, 1997-2003; Co-Chair, Board of Directors, 2000-2003; Chair, Family Law Section, 2003-2006. Boston Bar Association:  Civil Gideon Task Force, 2007-present. National Center for Lesbian Rights:  National Family Law Advisory Council, 2003 to present.
Pro bono/Community Service: 2006 to present, Volunteer, Senior Partners for Justice
Scholarly Lectures and Writings: Quotation of the Day, New York Times, Sunday, June 15, 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/06/15/todayspaper/index.html); "Marriage, Civil Union, Domestic Partnership - What's the Difference?" Divorce Center Briefs, February 2008 Contributor; "Legal Issues of Importance to Clinicians," Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health, Makadon, Mayer, Potter, and Goldhammer, editors, published by the American College of Physicians, 2007; "Protect Your Family," Bay Windows, November 30, 2006 "Protecting Our Relationships," 2006 (http://www.therainbowbabies.com/ProtectingOurRelationships.html)  "On Legal Gay Marriage," 2006 (http://www.therainbowbabies.com/LegalGayMarriage.html); "Ignoring Children's Needs is True Immorality," Boston Globe, OpEd, March 14, 2006 (http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/03/14/ignoring_childrens_needs_is_true_immorality/); "Red Flags in a Blue State:  Lesbian and Gay Divorce in Massachusetts,"  Family Mediation Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3, Summer 2005; "Adoption Basics for One-, Two-, or Multiple-Parent Families," Representing Nontraditional Families, K. Triantafillou, ed., MCLE, 2000; revised 2005"De Facto Parents: State of the Law in Massachusetts," Family Mediation Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1, Winter 2003; "One Egg + One Womb = Two Moms," And Baby Magazine, Premier Issue 2001; "Same-Sex Co-parent Adoptions," Adoption and Reproductive Technology Law in Massachusetts, S. Crockin, ed., MCLE 2000            
Educational Background: Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MAJ.D., May 1992                        Cambridge Dispute Settlement Center, Cambridge, MA Mediation Training, Spring 1993Divorce Mediation Training, Winter 1994             Lesley College, Cambridge, MA; M.Ed., Counseling and Psychology, May 1981 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA; B.S., Child Development, February 1971 
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Testimonials

"Super Lawyers' Platinum Profile recognition has been the perfect vehicle for Caesar Rivise to spotlight to the Bar and to the public the depth of talented IP lawyers in our firm."
Manny Pokotilow, Managing Partner
Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein, Cohen & Pokotilow, Ltd.
Philadelphia, PA

"My Platinum profile ad has definitely paid off! My law firm is a boutique five-attorney law firm in San Francisco that had never advertised prior to this, except in Martindale-Hubbel. We have been a traditional insurance defense firm, and wanted to subtly let people know that we also do select plaintiff's cases. In the last quarter of 2006, we were retained in three significant plaintiff's cases, two of which are high-profile media cases. I also placed an ad in the Super Lawyers section of San Francisco magazine, to reach non- lawyers. Now, people at the gym, the coffee shop, the drycleaners tell me they had no idea what I do, and they will come to me when they need a lawyer. So, the ad also worked to reach non-lawyers in the community as well."
Debra Bogaards
Pave & Bogaards
San Francisco

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