ROSENBERG - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team
• Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Real Estate and Development

Andrea Hickey joined Rosenberg, Freedman and Lee, LLP in 2016 as a Partner. She serves as the Managing Attorney of the firm's Cambridge office. She was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1987 and is also licensed to practice in New York. In addition, she is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Prior to joining the firm, she owned and operated a busy private practice in Cambridge, MA where she concentrated on residential conveyancing including buyer, seller and mortgage lender representation and resolution of complex title matters. Prior to opening her private practice in 1997, she was an Associate with the Law Offices of Charles W. Gordon, Jr. in Cambridge, MA where for 10 years she concentrated on residential and commercial real estate conveyancing, rent control, tax and estate administration. Andrea is active in the Real Property Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association where she served as Vice Chairperson, and recently she was appointed to the Lawyer Referral Service Committee of the Massachusetts Bar Association. She presently serves as a Member of a local municipal Board of Zoning Appeals, and as Co-president of a New York City co-op. She is a Member of the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association, American Land Title Association and the New England Land Title Association. Over the years, her volunteer affiliations have included the Cambridge, Arlington, Belmont Bar Association where she served as President and the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers where she served as a Hearing Committee Member. She has also volunteered with the Land Acquisition Committee of Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, the EXPLO Teen Summer Program Mock Trial Program Wellesley College and is a frequent participant in the Massachusetts Bar Dial a Lawyer Program.

Job Titles:

• Financial Administrator

Job Titles:

• Member of the Women 's Bar Association of Massachusetts
• News
• Retired

Ann, now retired, joined Rosenberg, Freedman & Lee LLP in 1994 as part of the elder law and estate planning practice group, concentrating in the area of Medicaid, helping clients achieve and maintain eligibility. She retired in 2012. Ann is a member of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA). The WBA seeks to advance the role of women in the legal, economic, political and social spheres. The WBA actively supports legislation and advocates judicial decisions which seek to eliminate discrimination, particularly gender discrimination. She served on the WBA Board of Directors from 1997 to 2009 and on its Legislative Policy Committee since 1988 and as Chair from 1993 to present. In October 2009, she received the Lelia J. Robinson Award, the highest award given by the Women's Bar Association, named for the first women admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts. She was also the inaugural recipient of the WBA Service Award in April 2003. In December 2008, she was a member of the inaugural class of the Women of Justice award (now called the Top Women of Law), given by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Ann received her JD from Northeastern University School of Law. She did her undergraduate work at the University of New Hampshire - Durham.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Elder and Disability Law / Estate Planning

Ashley Y. Aubuchon joined Rosenberg, Freedman & Lee's Estate Planning and Elder and Disability Law Group in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Ashley worked as an attorney at Oalican Law Group and Cohen & Oalican. She received her law degree from New England School of Law and her B.A. cum laude from Wheaton College, in Norton, Massachusetts, where she majored in psychology. Ashley has worked in the elder law field since 2009 and focuses her practice on Medicaid planning, estate planning, and estate administration. Ashley is a frequent speaker at nursing homes, councils on aging, and financial institutions, on various topics, including estate planning and asset protection planning. Ashley serves on the MassNAELA board of directors, as a co-chair of the MassNAELA Membership Committee, and as a co-chair of the Boston Bar Association Trusts and Estates section Elder Law and Disability committee. Ashley spends her time outside of work with her husband chasing her two young energetic boys. You can often find her on the pickleball court and, if you're lucky, you might meet her goldendoodle Nugget when you visit the office.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Elder and Disability Law / Estate Planning

Audrey O'Shaughnessy joined the firm in 2022 with over a decade of experience in elder law and estate planning. She was designated an "Up and Coming Lawyer" by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2014 and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in both 2012 & 2013. Attorney O'Shaughnessy served as a Board Director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder law Attorneys (MassNAELA) from 2010-2015, she has been active in MassNAELA's Public Policy Committee, Membership Committee, and Publications Committee, and has authored numerous case summaries and articles for MassNAELA. Attorney O'Shaughnessy was a recipient of the 2015 Women's Bar Foundation Pro bono Award for her work with the Foundation's Elder Law Project, she is an active member of the Women's Bar Association (WBA), and she served as a co-chair of the WBA Solo and Small Firm Committee from 2009-2012. Attorney O'Shaughnessy has volunteered her time extensively over the years with several organizations, including the Women's Bar Foundation Elder Law Project, The Volunteer Lawyers Project, Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau, and Habitat for Humanity. She is a graduate of Hampshire College (2003) and Northeastern Law School (2006), and is admitted to practice in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
• Probate and Trust Administration

Benjamin T. Strobeck is an associate with Rosenberg, Freedman, & Lee, LLP's Probate and Trust Administration group. He received his law degree from New England Law | Boston and his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Ben is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), where he serves on the Membership Committee and is a long-term participant of the Mentor/Mentee Program for new attorneys to elder law.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team
• Senior Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Elder and Disability Law / Estate Planning

Attorney Donald N. Freedman concentrates his practice in elder law, work and entitlement-related legal problems of adults with disabilities, transition issues for young people with special needs entering adulthood, special estate planning for families with children with disabilities and other special needs, and advising trustees, guardians and other fiduciaries on most appropriately meeting their responsibilities. He has argued important elder and disability law cases before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In 2021 (as he has annually since 2008), he was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America™ in the field of elder law. As published in Boston Magazine, he has been named a Massachusetts "Super Lawyer" in elder law, estate planning, probate and health care annually for the years 2004-2021, and in 2006 and 2007 was listed in the "top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers" in any field. For thirty-one consecutive years, he has been rated "AV Preeminent" for the "highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards" by Martindale-Hubbell. In 2009, Attorney Freedman was given a Scholar-Mentor Award by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. for "outstanding contributions to legal education" over the prior twenty-five years. Attorney Freedman has written and spoken widely on elder and disability law topics. He and Attorney Emily Starr, of Worcester, conceived the most important treatise for Massachusetts attorneys on elder and disability law, the three-volume, "Estate Planning for the Aged or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts," published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. He and Attorney Starr have authored chapters and edited every edition of the treatise through its 4th edition (2015). He has also co-authored with this wife, Ruth I. Freedman, Ph.D., the chapter, "Planning for Now and the Future: Social, Legal and Financial Concerns," in Life Course Perspectives on Adulthood and Old Age, (American Association on Mental Retardation 1994). More recently published articles include "On Competency and Capacity of Older Adults to Make Decisions" in the Journal of Geriatric Care Management (Spring 2013) and "Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Disease: Key Legal and Financial Issues for the Aging Life Care Manager" in the Journal of Aging Life Care (Spring 2018). Out of the office and over the years, Attorney Freedman has assumed voluntary governance positions in a number of human services, education and advocacy organizations, including as board chair of the Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association and board chair of the Learning Prep School, for children with special needs. He has also served on the Governor's Commission on Mental Retardation and the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, as well as on the board of directors of Jewish Vocational Services where he chaired the Disability Services Committee. He has also been active with Temple Emanuel, in Newton, where he currently serves on the Daily Minyan, Bereavement and Inclusion Committees, and volunteers with the Stars of David, an activity group he and his wife helped found about thirty years ago for Jewish adults with developmental disabilities or other special needs. A 1969 graduate of Brandeis University, Attorney Freedman obtained his law degree from Boston College Law School in 1972 and has done graduate work with the Boston University School of Law Graduate Tax Program.

Elizabeth Baum, J.D., M.P.H., is graduate of Boston University School of Law with a Master's Degree from Harvard School of Public Health. Over the past two and a half decades, Ms. Baum has enjoyed serving as a Guardian, Conservator or Trustee in many complex fiduciary matters. Ms. Baum's work as a fiduciary often leads her to address complicated medical, residential, financial, family and supportive services issues, including end of life planning and decision-making. Ms. Baum is a National Certified Guardian by the Center for Guardianship Certification as well as a member of the National and Massachusetts Guardianship Associations. She often presents at continuing education seminars for lawyers and human services providers. Ms. Baum works closely with a CPA, financial planners and a bookkeeper to manage the financial affairs of the individuals for whom she is fiduciary. She maintains close professional ties with many care managers, medical, and mental health professionals with whom she often consults and contracts in her practice. Attorney Baum often has been appointed by the Massachusetts Probate Courts as a fiduciary for elderly or disabled individuals. Ms. Baum also has represented elderly, mentally ill and developmentally disabled individuals as well as families and nursing homes in Guardianship and Conservatorship proceedings. Probate Judges also have appointed Attorney Baum as a guardian ad litem in numerous mental health and family law matters including divorces in which the client is incapacitated.

Job Titles:

• Retired

After 27 years with the firm, Ellen McVay has retired, an event that we feel cannot let pass without a measure of public recognition. Ellen brought extraordinary intelligence, knowledge and experience to her work. She was able to work patiently and effectively with even the most needy clients. Her ability to stare down a legal challenge seemed unlimited. Her door was always open to colleagues and staff in need of any kind of assistance. She was committed to ensuring that her clients' wishes were thoroughly informed as well as honored. She had a wonderful capacity not to take herself too seriously. But above all, Ellen exemplified wisdom infused by her faith. In a world typified by materialism and self-interest, Ellen projected a selfless dedication to her clients as well as colleagues, staff and family. So apparent in coloring her work has been a sense of compassion, empathy and concern.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team
• Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Estate Planning

Hope C. Vassos joined the firm in December 1996, and concentrates her practice in estate planning. She previously practiced for many years in the trusts and estates department of the former Boston firm Hutchins & Wheeler. Attorney Vassos has been named a "Super Lawyer" in the areas of estate planning and probate, as published in Boston Magazine. She has served on the estate planning curriculum advisory committee of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. and was also a contributing author to Estate Planning for the Aging and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts. She has lectured before professional and civic groups on estate planning, estate taxation and generation-skipping taxes. She is a graduate of Smith College and received her law degree from Boston University, where she was a member of the Law Review.

Job Titles:

• Senior Counsel
• Real Estate and Development

Job Titles:

• President in Obtaining All Municipal Approvals for the Eruv

Job Titles:

• Family Law
• Member of the New York

Attorney Karen M. Buckley is passionate about using her professional strengths to help people resolve life's complicated issues. She assists her clients through some of the most difficult times of their lives, so she feels it's essential to inject humanity into the progess. Since earning her law degree in 1987 from the University of Buffalo, Karen has developed a practice based on competence and compassion. Karen brings over twenty years of experience with the law, together with an intuitive ability to sift the facts of a particular case. By determining how the law fits the facts, Karen can then make sound, supported arguments to the court. She is able to explore creative and reasonable solutions with her clients. Karen takes the time needed to educate and understand her clients. She discusses with them not only where they are now, but how they arrived at this point and how to move forward. "If I can help clients envision a better future for themselves while I'm looking out for their best interests, I feel I'm doing my job" Karen says. "It's not only about winning, it's about doing what's best for you and your family, not only today but into the future." In family law cases, Karen works with her clients to put the children first and to come to an equitable solution. "You do need to be a strong advocate for your client", she says "but you don't need to see a protracted fight in every case." In many cases, there is an appropriate settlement that can and should be reached. Karen is trained in collaborative law, and advises clients going through the mediation process. All avenues of resolution will be analyzed to find a course that best suits her clients' circumstances. In civil litigation, Karen particularly enjoys helping clients find a reasonable, appropriate solution to their disputes. Proper use of discovery and a willingness to keep the client's best interest - in every sense of its meaning - in mind often allow Karen to achieve a positive result. Karen has litigated cases throughout Massachusetts. She has practiced before the probate and family courts in Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Worcester, Plymouth and Barnstable counties, as well as various superior and district courts in the Boston, Metrowest, and North Shore areas. While earning her undergraduate degree at the University of Albany, Karen was selected to participate in an internship with the New York State Assembly. She received her J.D. in 1987 from the University of Buffalo Law School. After practicing law in New York State for nearly seven years, Karen moved to Massachusetts where she practiced since 1994. She is admitted to practice in both New York and Massachusetts, as well as the 1st and 2nd Circuits of the Federal Courts of Appeals, the District of Massachusetts and the Northern and Western Districts of New York federal courts. Karen is a member of the New York and Massachusetts Bar Association, the Greater Boston Family Law Inn of Court, the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council, the International Association of Collaborative Professionals, and The Divorce Center. She also volunteers her time as a trial judge in the Massachusetts Bar Association's annual high school mock trial competition. Karen has been appointed as the attorney for children under the ARC program in Middlesex and Norfolk Probate and Family Court and volunteers as a conciliator in Suffolk and Norfolk Probate and Family Court. An active community member, Karen coached for many years in the Parkway Youth Soccer League, volunteered on the School Parent Council for her children's schools, and also serves on the finance council of her church. Karen is also a volunteer in the Boston Main Streets program. Karen is married and has two children.

Job Titles:

• Managing Partner
• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Real Estate and Development

Laurance is currently the Managing Partner of Rosenberg, Freedman and Lee LLP and focuses his practice in Real Estate Law, Zoning & Land Use, Licensing and Small Business development. Laurance has over 20 years of experience working with real estate professionals and homeowners, and regularly represents clients before the City of Newton permit granting authorities such as the City Council (formerly known as Board of Aldermen), the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals, Newton Historical Commission, and the Board of License Commissioners. Laurance has successfully obtained special permits from the Newton City Council and variances from the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals for various development and home-improvement projects. Laurance's permitted projects include a 12-unit residential LEED-Silver building with two affordable housing units on Jackson Street; a 20-unit residential building on California Street with three affordable housing units; a 6-unit residential development in the Nonantum area of Newton; one-of-a-kind contemporary renovation of a mixed-use residential home with an artist studio in Newton Upper Falls; a 7-unit residential development with one affordable unit in Four Corners; obtained "Dover Amendment" approvals for Hebrew College/Temple Reyim for their joint campus on Washington Street, and the Suzuki School of Music in Waban village; and Zoning Board of Appeal variances for two Newton families to improve their homes in Newton Centre and West Newton. Laurance has been named "Top-Rated Attorney" by Super Lawyers - a rating service of lawyers (superlawyers.com) - from 2015 to 2022 and previously as a "Rising Star" as published in Boston Magazine in 2009 through 2012 and 2014. Laurance is a member of the Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts and has donated his time for pro bono work as a volunteer attorney for the Women's Bar Foundation of Massachusetts, a non-profit organization, in its Family Law Project. Laurance is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Newton Boys and Girls Club.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team
• Senior Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team
• Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team
• Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Elder and Disability Law / Estate Planning

Attorney Paula J. Morgan, who has been with the Firm since 1986, concentrates her practice in the areas of probate, trust and estate settlement and estate planning, with emphasis on entitlements for elders and persons with disabilities. Attorney Morgan was named a "Super Lawyer" in the areas of Estate Planning and Probate and Elder Law in 2005 and 2006, as published in Boston Magazine. Attorney Morgan is a frequent lecturer in continuing legal education programs, particularly on estate administration. She has served on the Estate Planning and Administration Curriculum Advisory Committee of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE).

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Probate and Trust Administration

Peter C. Beebe is an associate with Rosenberg, Freedman & Lee LLP's Probate and Trust Administration group. Prior to joining Rosenberg, Freedman and Lee, LLP., Peter volunteered as an attorney at the Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) in their Elder Health and Disability Unit. As a volunteer attorney, Peter assisted low income and indigent elders seeking legal aid regarding their termination, reduction or continued access to various state and federal benefits, including: SSI, SSDI, SNAP, MassHealth, EAEDC, Veterans Benefits, etc. Peter provided legal aid at all levels of the administrative appeals process. Peter C. Beebe is a 2013 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) and a 2006 graduate of Bowdoin College.

Job Titles:

• Legal Assistant
• Member of the Paralegals and Legal Assistants Team

Job Titles:

• Member of the Attorneys and Staff
• Elder and Disability Law / Estate Planning