In Memoriam
Hon. Lewis L. Whitman 1934-2021
Work for Clients
Mr. Whitman served as a guardian ad litem for many incapacitated clients in the Commonwealth, representing their interests in court and with their families and fiduciaries. He had been appointed by courts in complex matter dealing with intra-family disputes involving substantial business and real estate issues which have been brought to successful conclusions. Mr. Whitman advised his business clients on all day-to-day operational matters and provided counsel to individuals regarding business and personal matters. He had a strong real estate and business background and interest.Professional Activities & Affiliations
- Boston University School of Law, Adjunct Professor of Law
- Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Boston, Board Member
- Hebrew College, Trustee
- Mr. Whitman had lectured widely to lawyers, judges, and others and had written in the areas of family law and pretrial procedure.
Publications/Presentations
- Annotated Articles 3, 5 and 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code for the State of New Hampshire.
- An Overview, A section of Families in Conflict: A Litigator’s Guide Through the Thicket (MCLE-NELI, Inc. 1982).
- Domestic Abuse chapter, Massachusetts Family Law Manual, Massachusetts Continuing Education, Inc. (1986) and 1988 and 1992 revisions, 1994 Revised Edition and 1996 revision.
- Pretrial Procedure Part of Summary of Massachusetts Law Massachusetts Practice Series, West Publishing. These chapters deal with law and procedure prior to trial and cover jurisdiction and venue through and including discovery. The scope of these chapters includes Rule 1 through Rule 37 of The Rules of Civil Procedure.
Judicial Experience
Mr. Whitman served as a judge from 1973 to 1992 in the Massachusetts Trial Court. Appointed to the Quincy District Court, from October 1980 until June 1981, he was assigned to serve in the Massachusetts Superior Court and sat in Suffolk, Middlesex, and Norfolk counties hearing criminal and civil jury and jury-waived cases. He sat in virtually every district court in Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, and Barnstable counties and has served as a Probate and Family Court Judge as result of interdepartmental assignments. From 1981, until he retired, he was the judge principally responsible for administering and hearing the civil cases in the Quincy District Court with a total of approximately 3,000 entries annually. Together with the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers, experienced trial lawyers worked as mediators in tandem with a trial judge (usually Judge Whitman) in a very successful alternate dispute resolution program which has since been expended to the Superior Court and was proposed as a model to be replicated nationally.The Quincy District Court domestic violence program has received favorable national attention and is one of three courts nationally to participate in the Family Violence Project of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, funded by the United States Justice Department. The “Quincy Model” has been proposed for replication throughout the Commonwealth and nationally.Education
- B.S. (with distinction), Babson Institute, 1956
- LL.B. (cum laude), Boston University School of Law, 1959
- LL.M., Harvard Law School, 1960
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts