Horan appointed chief justice of the Housing Court
Trial Court Chief Justice Jeffrey A. Locke last week announced the appointment of Judge Diana H. Horan as chief justice of the Housing Court for a five-year term starting March 25, 2023, in accordance with G.L. c.211B, §5. Horan has served on the Housing Court since 1999 and was the first female judge appointed to that court. She will succeed Chief Justice Timothy F. Sullivan, who will retire on March 24, 2023, after almost 20 years in the Housing Court, including more than seven years as chief.
Horan is currently an associate justice of the Central Housing Court Division in Worcester after serving as first justice there for almost 20 years. In 2018, she also became the acting first justice of the MetroSouth Division to build a new division created as part of the Housing Court expansion. She was recently named chair of the statewide Steering Committee of the Tenancy Preservation Program and serves on the Housing Court’s Post Pandemic Committee. She also has served on committees that developed the self-represented litigant guidelines and revised the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Horan and Court Administrator Thomas G. Ambrosino will reappoint Benjamin O. Adeyinka as deputy court administrator for the Housing Court.
Judge Horan began her legal career in the Disability Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services and moved to the city of Worcester as assistant city solicitor before being named first assistant clerk magistrate in the Housing Court. She has taught business law and conflict resolution/mediation at Clark University and judicial administration at Anna Maria College. She has served on the Boards of Trustees at Western New England University and the Flaschner Judicial Institute. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and Western New England University School of Law.
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Trial Court to present Women's History Month
Celebration on March 21
On Tuesday, March 21, from 12:30-3 p.m., the Trial Court will present its Third Annual Women's History Month Celebration at Chelsea High School, 299 Everett Ave, and via YouTube livestream.
The following women will be honored:
- Gloria M. Steinem, journalist and feminist activist
- Hon. Maura T. Healey, governor of Massachusetts
- Hon. Stacey J. Fortes, District Court chief justice
- Amanda Rowan, assistant clerk magistrate for the Middlesex Superior Court, who co-chairs the MBA's Lawyer Well-Being Committee
- Molly Baldwin, founder and CEO of ROCA, Inc.
- Hon. Kimberly L. Driscoll, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts
- Dr. Deborah A. Ramirez, professor of law at Northeastern University
- Stacey K. Borden M.Ed., executive director of New Beginnings Reentry Services
- Crystal Haynes, journalist and Boston25 news reporter and anchor
Click here to RSVP to attend in person. The YouTube livestream will be available here.
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Probate and Family Court eFiling update
The Probate and Family Court has announced that complaints to establish paternity and petitions for guardianship of a minor are now available to eFile.
For more information on eFiling in the Probate and Family Court, go to eFiling in the Probate and Family Court.
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Job Openings
Research attorney position in the Housing Court
The Massachusetts Trial Court is seeking to fill a research attorney position in the Housing Court.
The position involves analyzing and researching legal issues and questions for the justices of the Housing Court and the Administrative Office, preparing legal memoranda, and drafting judicial decisions and other documents. An employee is hired at the research attorney I level and is eligible for reclassification to the research attorney II level upon meeting the requirements of that level.
Candidates must have at least two years of post-law-school, professional legal work experience. A prior postgraduate judicial clerkship, particularly in the Housing Court Department, is preferred.
Click here for more information and to apply.
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Assistant general counsel for the DMH
The Department of Mental Health (DMH) is seeking an experienced assistant general counsel (counsel II) to provide legal services on behalf of the department’s Legal Division.
Under the direction of the general counsel, the assistant general counsel provides legal advice, representation and assistance in all aspects of administrative and civil litigation, including but not limited to matters involving labor relations and discrimination, and supports Senior Legal Office attorneys in managing DMH's litigation practice.
Click here for more information and to apply.