SMITH - Key Persons
After serving as a senior Investigator for the Massachusetts Office of Bar Counsel for eight years, Aisha Milbury Ellis joined DeMoura|Smith in March 2015. Since joining DeMoura|Smith, Aisha has effectively represented clients before the Massachusetts Superior Courts, State Appeals Courts, Federal Courts, Probate Courts and administrative bodies such as the MCAD. She has also effectively handled various multi-party civil litigation matters, including, Premises Liability, Negligence, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, Contract Disputes, Consumer Law, Employment Law, Discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Election Law (including Recount Proceedings), Estate Asset Recovery, Higher Education law, and has conducted Sexual Misconduct Investigations and Independent Workplace Investigations.
Before serving as a senior Bar Counsel Investigator, Aisha worked at the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers and the Boston Bar Association. She was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 2008. Aisha is a 2008 graduate of New England School of Law and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Massachusetts. In 2007, Aisha received the Massachusetts Black Judges Conference Book Award, given annually to recognize excellence in academic achievement. While a Criminal Justice major at University of Massachusetts, Aisha received the Distinction in Criminal Justice Award in 2003.
Bob Smith is a highly experienced trial lawyer and trusted advisor to individuals and a diverse group of corporate and institutional clients in a variety of industries. Clients value his knowledge, insight, practical advice, candor and passion for their cause.
Francisca D. Morant is an advocate and counselor with over thirty years of experience representing businesses, individuals, and institutions.
Francisca's work in both private practice and as Associate General Counsel for a leading Metro-Boston health care institution provides significant depth to DeMoura|Smith's practice. DeMoura|Smith clients will benefit from the insight and expertise Francisca has gained as a litigation attorney at Nutter McLennen & Fish LLP and Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, two of Boston's oldest, most respected law firms, and as Associate General Counsel of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center.
Francisca has handled significant cases involving complex commercial issues, products liability, and banking, contract, insurance, environmental, real estate and employment law. She has appeared in Massachusetts state and federal courts handling all aspects of civil litigation from the preliminary pleading and motion stage through discovery, trial, and appeal.
As Associate General Counsel for Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Francisca developed further expertise, counseling the institution and its affiliates on a wide range of matters, including intellectual property, employment, zoning, risk management, regulatory requirements, health law, and contracts.
Just prior to joining DeMoura|Smith, Francisca served as a guardian ad litem, appointed by the Juvenile Court, advocating for the educational, medical, residential, and governmental services required for the proper care, custody, and maintenance of children in need.
A graduate of New York University School of Law and Harvard University, Francisca is fluent in three languages, including Spanish. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts.
Jim is a trial lawyer with over ten years' experience representing companies, fiduciaries and individuals in commercial disputes, real estate cases and probate litigation matters. Before becoming an attorney, Jim was a self-employed carpenter. He combines the skillful precision and attention to detail acquired in the workshop and lumberyard with the lessons he learned as a small business owner to help his clients solve their legal problems, effectively. Jim is an inventor too. He holds an international patent for a yard waste holding product that he designed in 2012. He brings this inventiveness and curiosity to his legal work for DeMoura|Smith clients. In 2018, Jim was recognized by his peers in Massachusetts Super Lawyers® as a ‘Rising Star' for his work for Estate and Trust Litigation clients.
Jim's recent matters, highlighting the breadth and depth of his practice, include (a) the successful defense of an internet reseller against claims by a national manufacturer alleging improper resale of their goods, (b) achieving a favorable settlement for a beneficiary in a will contest where the client received more than what he had been bequeathed in the will, (c) handling a Probate Court contested guardianship involving multiple stakeholders including a hospital, nursing home and social services agency, and (d) obtaining summary judgment in favor of his client in Land Court preventing the development of adjacent lots containing wetlands.
He is admitted to practice in all Massachusetts state courts. Jim graduated from Northeastern University School of Law and received his bachelor's degree in English from Colgate University. While he was a law student, Jim clerked for the Massachusetts Trial Court.
He is a past director and chair of the business education committee of the Beverly Chamber of Commerce. Jim is a member of the Boston Bar Association and ProVisors.
Jim lives in Hamilton, Massachusetts with his wife Jacquelyn and four children. He coaches youth sports and enjoys spending time with family and friends. He is very active in the Hamilton-Wenham Touchdown Club, the booster club for the high school football team, currently serving as its President.
Ken DeMoura is an accomplished trial attorney and counselor to individuals and businesses. Since 1986, he has appeared before all state and federal courts in Massachusetts and handles a wide range of matters including commercial disputes, product liability, employment, intellectual property, partnership, banking, construction, professional liability, criminal and bankruptcy cases. He has tried dozens of cases to verdict and handled over fifty arbitration matters. Ken is a certified mediator and commercial arbitrator. He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
Ken has been recognized by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers In America® since 2012 and as a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyers' honorary society composed of only one half of one percent of all American lawyers. Since 2005 Ken has been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer® and included in the Super Lawyers® Corporate Counsel New England Editions in the area of business litigation since 2010. He is AV® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®. In 2014, Ken was selected as "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers of America® in the Mass Tort Litigation and Class Action Defense category for Boston. He serves as a director and the treasurer of the national Complex Commercial Litigation Institute.
Ken received his JD (magna cum laude) in 1986 from New England School of Law and BA in Political Science (summa cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in 1983. At New England School of Law, Ken was the first-place finisher in the National Honors Moot Court competition and received the Dean's Scholarship for highest class G.P.A. and Amos L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Achievement at graduation. While a law student Ken interned at the Massachusetts Attorney General's office in 1982.
After graduating from law school, Ken joined Bingham Dana & Gould (later known as Bingham McCutchen) as a litigation associate where he practiced until 1994. In 1994, he formed a litigation boutique law firm continuing to represent individuals, businesses and institutions in civil litigation matters. In 2000, Ken joined Adler Pollock & Sheehan as a litigation partner and served as managing partner of the Firm's Boston office from 2001 to 2007. In 2008, he joined the national law firm of LeClairRyan where he practiced law as a litigation partner until forming DeMoura|Smith LLP in 2012.
From 1987 until 2013, Ken was an adjunct professor of law at New England School of Law. Ken served as a Special Prosecutor for the Plymouth County District Attorney's office in 1987 trying criminal matters. He has also served as an advisor to the Trial Advocacy Workshop at Harvard Law School since 1991. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the South Boston Neighborhood House, past chairperson of the Saint Brigid School Board and coach in the South Boston Little League and Youth Soccer programs.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Registered Nurse
- Legal Nurse Consultant )
- Registered Nurse and Certified Legal Nurse
Linda Wood is a registered nurse and certified legal nurse consultant. A graduate of Massachusetts General Hospital's Nursing School, Linda uses her knowledge, training and clinical experience to provide critical analysis and review on the firm's medical/legal cases. Her in-depth understanding of medicine and the healthcare system is invaluable to the evaluation of symptoms, injuries, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, as well as standards of care, causation, damages, and other medically issues relevant to our clients' claims or defenses. Linda lends her medical expertise and experience in cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, toxic tort, long-term care/elder law, regulatory compliance, employment discrimination and medical malpractice.
Linda has been a registered nurse since 1979, spending years in community and hospital settings, surgery, and acute care practices. She received her certificate as a Legal Nurse Consultant from Northeastern University in 2000. Since 2002, Linda has been practicing in the medical aesthetics profession. She spent ten years working in the Boston area for one of the nation's top cosmetic dermatology practices. She has developed an expertise in cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures, including lasers, cosmetic injectables, neurotoxins and dermal fillers.
Lynne is a highly experienced paralegal providing essential and effective support across our practice, especially in civil litigation matters in state and federal courts in the areas of employment discrimination and tort defense.
Prior to joining DeMoura|Smith, Lynne was a para-professional in Boston University's Office of General Counsel for eleven years working on litigation matters and jury trials as well as real estate, licensing, construction, immigration, and general business matters. Lynne also served as a Senior Assistant to the Executive Vice President for several years, providing support across all departments of the nation's fourth-largest private university during a time of significant growth and construction, including a new sports/recreation complex and arena.
Lynne is a United States Tennis Association certified teaching professional and currently the Coach of the Stonehill College Women's Varsity Tennis Team. She was a two-time recipient of The Boston Globe Coach of the Year Award in Women's Tennis while coaching at Ursuline Academy.
In 2010, Lynne played on a USTA 4.0 Women's tennis team which won the USTA National Championship in Tucson, Arizona. She has completed four marathons in New York City; Washington, DC; and Boston(twice).
Lynne is a graduate of Boston College where she played Field Hockey and Ice Hockey. She played in the Women's Ice Hockey Beanpot tournament. She was inducted into the Barnstable High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Melanie McCauley joined our firm as an associate in January 2020 to assist clients in litigation matters. She handles business disputes, personal injury cases, employment claims and fiduciary and probate suits. Melanie has appeared in matters before the Massachusetts Superior Court, Massachusetts Probate Court, Massachusetts Appeals Court and United States District Court as well as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
Melanie is a 2018 magna cum laude graduate from New England Law | Boston. She received her bachelor's degree in Environmental Science with a Concentration in Environmental Policy from Assumption College. While in law school, she served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Peter Lauriat in the Suffolk Superior Court. She also volunteered in the Mock Trial Program for Delinquent Youth in which she taught students committed to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) about trial procedure and assisted them in conducting their very own mock trial.
Applying her curiosity, compassion, understanding, creativity and analytical ability to every case, Melanie is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for her clients.
When she's not practicing law, you're most likely to find Melanie spending quality time with her family and friends or hiking with her Bernese Mountain dog, "Moose".
Job Titles:
- Senior Estate Planning Paralegal
- Senior Trust & Estates Paralegal
Nicole Palladino is a Senior Estate Planning Paralegal with over twenty years' experience. She assists and supports our Estate Planning attorneys and works directly with our clients, their financial advisors, agents and government agencies to achieve their objectives in the preservation and transfer of their assets.
Nicole meets with DeMoura|Smith clients to collect both personal and financial information and helps in the drafting of Wills, Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, Living Wills and real estate related documents which include Realty Trusts, Schedules of Beneficial Interests, Deeds & Homesteads as they relate to our clients' needs. She has a firm knowledge of the process from beginning to end. In her paralegal career she has supported high-level of professionals in practice areas such as estate planning, patent & trademark, probate and trust administration and real estate (as it relates to the estate planning process).
Outside of the office, you are most likely to find Nicole on her Yoga mat, enjoying the outdoors (during warm weather of course!), cooking or spending time with family and friends.
Education:
Marion Court College, Associate Degree in Legal Studies, 1996
Northeastern University, Paralegal Certificate, 1999
Professional Affiliations:
Massachusetts Paralegal Association
Paul Robertson is a trial attorney and counsel in the Firm's Litigation Practice Group. He has extensive experience both as a litigator of complex commercial disputes and product liability matters and as a consultant in the field of electronic information management. He has tried many cases to verdict and litigated hundreds of complex commercial matters before courts, agencies, and arbitration tribunals at the state, federal, and international level. Paul's representations include the New England Patriots, the Kingdom of Spain, and (on a pro bono basis) victims of the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center bombing. He has a strong record of reaching successful resolutions for his clients, whether large or small.
Paul's significant arbitration experience includes representations of clients before International Chamber of Commerce arbitral panels located in multiple European countries.
Paul also counsels clients with multi-national operations on electronic information best practices. These best practices include defensible records management systems, cross-border transfers, archive and legal hold processes, and litigation preparedness.
Paul was previously a partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP in Boston, where he was a member of the hiring committee and co-founded and led the firm's Document Retention and E-Discovery Practice Group. In 2004, Paul co-founded the Sedona Conference Working Group on International Electronic Information Management, Discovery, and Disclosure. He was co-President of the Boston Inn of Court in 2005-2006. Paul has authored dozens of publications, and lectured and led conferences in the U.S. and in Europe, on matters relating to litigation, generally, and e-record disclosure and management, in particular. In 2006, he testified, on invitation, before the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
During an extended sabbatical from 2007 to 2016, Paul and his wife Sima circumnavigated the globe aboard a 41-foot sailboat, Leander. Their two children, Alexander and Aylin, were born en route and became the only other crew members aboard.
Paul is admitted to practice in Massachusetts. He is a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law and received his AB in Politics from Princeton University.