Boston - On January 29, 2025, Governor Maura Healey nominated Laurel Barraco, Bethany Brown, Evelyn Patsos and Brian Salisbury to serve as Associate Justices of the Probate and Family Court. The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.  

“The Probate and Family Court plays a critical role in helping resolve cases that involve some of the most personal and sensitive matters. It’s important to appoint thoughtful and compassionate judges, as their decisions help shape the lives of families across the state,” said Governor Maura Healey. “I know that these four talented attorneys will strengthen the bench with their decades of legal experience.” 

“I am excited to work closely with the Governor’s Council to confirm these four nominees and hope to see them serve on the Probate and Family Court,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. 

The Probate and Family Court Department handles court matters that involve families and children, like divorce, child support, and wills. The Probate and Family Court Department's mission is to deliver timely justice to the public by providing equal access to a fair, equitable, and efficient forum to solve family and probate legal matters and to help and protect all individuals, families, and children impartially and respectfully.

Earlier this term, Governor Healey appointed 10 judges to serve as Associate Justices of the Probate and Family Court: Jennifer Bingham, Colleen Carroll, Caryn Mitchell-Munevar, Manisha Bhatt, Bernadette Stark, Michelle Yee, Jessica Dubin, Alexandra Flanders, Mikalen Howe, and Carla Salvucci. Governor Healey also appointed Stephanie L. Everett, Esq. to serve as the Suffolk Register of Probate, and Mark Ames to serve as Hampshire Register of Probate.

For more information about the Probate and Family Court, visit its homepage.

About the Nominees:

Laurel Barraco has, since 2016, been an Owner and Attorney at Callahan, Barraco, Inman & Bonzagni, where she represents clients in all phases of litigation pertaining to divorce, modifications, contempt actions, restraining order hearings, paternity suits, and adoptions. She has broad experience attending and advocating on behalf of clients at depositions, motion hearings, pre-trial conferences, evidentiary hearings, mediations, and trials.  Previously, Attorney Barraco was a Partner at another law firm where she also specialized in family law. From 2020 to 2024, Attorney Barraco was named a Super Lawyers ® Rising Star, and in 2020 she was named a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Excellence in the Law Honoree. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Public Policy & Administration from Northeastern University and a Juris Doctor from New England Law-Boston.  

Bethany Brown is the Founder and Managing Partner of the Law Office of Bethany C. Brown where, for more than 20 years, she has concentrated her practice in family law, handling all facets of domestic relations and probate practice including divorce, paternity, adoption, and guardianship, modification, contempt, abuse prevention orders, and wills. Prior to starting her own practice, Attorney Brown was an Associate at another law firm where her practice focused on domestic relations and probate matters. Attorney Brown has also served as a Union Representative on behalf of the public and private sector members of the Service Workers International Union Local 254. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science Philosophy from Suffolk University and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University School of Law.  

Evelyn Patsos currently serves as the Deputy Legal Counsel and Elder Justice Innovation Grant Project Director at the Probate and Family Court. Previously, she served as a Deputy Assistant Register and Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code Magistrate in the Worcester Probate and Family Court. Before that she was in private practice, focusing on all aspects of domestic relations law, including divorce, custody, and pre and post-nuptial agreements.??Since 2007, her work has focused on the implementation and management of the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code and the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code.??In 2017, Attorney Patsos assisted in the creation of the Fiduciary Litigation Session (FLS) pilot project in the Probate and Family Court and now manages the day-to-day operations of two specialized probate sessions.  In 2021, she was instrumental in securing a $1 Million-dollar federal Elder Justice Innovation Grant to create the first ever Office of Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Oversight within the Administrative Office of the Probate and Family Court.??She currently serves as Project Director for this grant. Attorney Patsos also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. She is the co-editor of the?MCLE Massachusetts Probate Manual?and is a contributing author of several chapters.?She is also a contributing author of?MCLE’s Guardianship and Conservatorship Practice Under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, and the editor and a contributing author of the?MUPC Estate Administration Procedural Guide, published by the Administrative Office of the Probate and Family Court. 

Brian Salisbury is a Partner at Doherty, Dugan, Cannon, Raymond, & Weil, P.C., where his practice includes all aspects of divorce and family law litigation, probate and fiduciary litigation, serving in fiduciary roles, and serving as a Special Master, Discovery Master, Category F Guardian ad Litem investigator in domestic matters, a Category V Parent Coordinator, and a Category D Guardian ad Litem in probate/fiduciary matters. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.