Standing Orders and Supplemental Rules – What You Don’t Know Can Harm You

Most family law practitioners are well versed in the Rules of Domestic Relations Procedure, but there is a second set of rules and standards that is not as well publicized or known. For many, the existence of Standing Orders and Supplemental Rules comes into being when they are faced with it for the first time: either a judge mentions that something has to comply with Standing Order 1-17, another lawyer says you aren’t complying with Rule 410 properly, or, as most of us saw, the rules all changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In this seminar, participants can expect to obtain an in-depth discussion on the existing Standing Orders and Supplemental Rules of the Probate & Family Court as it pertains to their practice. The discussion will include rules regarding the training and use of Guardians ad Litem and parent coordinators, impoundment, document production, what is and isn’t visible to the public, litigation practice in the Probate and Family Court and what rules remain after COVID that can be used in your practice. 

Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Standing Orders | Mass.gov

Massachusetts Supplemental Rules of the Probate and Family Court | Mass.gov

About the Faculty

Honorable Frances M. Giordano, First Justice, Essex Probate & Family Court

Attorney Donald L. Pitman III, The Pitman Law Offices LLC, Newburyport

Attorney Teresa R. Reade, Reade Law Firm, LLC, Peabody