DEVLIN FARMER: Offering a Road Map to Resolution
My legal career started with a passion for helping people in need. After graduating from the University of Ottawa in 1999, I returned to my home province of British Columbia, Canada to article (apprentice) with legal aid. My first posting as a newly minted Barrister & Solicitor was at the start of the Alaska Highway in northern British Columbia. Right away, I was thrown into early morning bail hearings, arguing appeals, conducting family and criminal trials, appearing in Provincial and Superior Court, managing a legal aid office and working closely with First Nations and other community groups to improve access to legal aid.
In 2002, I became the Coordinating Attorney of the Pro Bono Legal Project in Malden, MA. Again, I was learning at a break-neck speed and working closely with different community groups and the Courts to make sure that my clients not only had a fair shake at winning their cases but also built a foundation to avoid legal difficulties in the future. Working with Community Legal Aid in Worcester as an Elder Law Attorney rounded out my five plus years in legal aid.
I served the Commonwealth for five years as the senior Staff Attorney at the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct where I investigated and prosecuted allegations of misconduct against state court judges. This proved to offer a unique vantage from which to observe the administration of justice in Massachusetts, as well as an opportunity to work with and learn from the best lawyers and judges in the state. I still rely on skills I acquired at the CJC.
In 2010 I decided to concentrate my practice solely in the area of family law: working directly with clients who are facing family law struggles is the most satisfying work I’ve done. I decided not just to represent my clients as an effective advocate but to learn how to implement the latest conflict resolution tools. I trained in mediation and Collaborative Law in both Canada and Massachusetts, and took on a leadership role in the collaborative law community. This allows me to advise clients on all their family law options: litigation, mediation, arbitration and collaborative law.
I am engaged with the Northampton legal community, most recently serving as a court-appointed mediator for The Mediation and Training Collaborative, serving as a board member for the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council, helping a committee for the Probate and Family Court in Hampshire and Franklin Counties draft new pamphlets and a model Separation Agreement for public use, and being active in the Hampden Hampshire Collaborative Law group. I also serve as Lawyer for the Day and Conciliator at the Hampshire Probate and Family Court. I will be teaching Mediation at Western New England School of Law for the 2018/2019 academic school year.
In my non-legal life, I am married with two children. I serve on the Montessori School of Northampton Board of Trustees and the Trustees for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. I enjoy hiking the gorgeous New England countryside, x-country skiing, bicycling everywhere I can, Ashtanga yoga, writing fiction and reading. I've discovered new interests as my kids pursue soccer and circus school (!). My favorite meals are hanging out in a diner with my family in Florence or having drinks and dinner with my wife and friends in Northampton. Also, whether I’m living in northern British Columbia or Northampton, bears for some reason keep coming to my backyard.
In 2002, I became the Coordinating Attorney of the Pro Bono Legal Project in Malden, MA. Again, I was learning at a break-neck speed and working closely with different community groups and the Courts to make sure that my clients not only had a fair shake at winning their cases but also built a foundation to avoid legal difficulties in the future. Working with Community Legal Aid in Worcester as an Elder Law Attorney rounded out my five plus years in legal aid.
I served the Commonwealth for five years as the senior Staff Attorney at the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct where I investigated and prosecuted allegations of misconduct against state court judges. This proved to offer a unique vantage from which to observe the administration of justice in Massachusetts, as well as an opportunity to work with and learn from the best lawyers and judges in the state. I still rely on skills I acquired at the CJC.
In 2010 I decided to concentrate my practice solely in the area of family law: working directly with clients who are facing family law struggles is the most satisfying work I’ve done. I decided not just to represent my clients as an effective advocate but to learn how to implement the latest conflict resolution tools. I trained in mediation and Collaborative Law in both Canada and Massachusetts, and took on a leadership role in the collaborative law community. This allows me to advise clients on all their family law options: litigation, mediation, arbitration and collaborative law.
I am engaged with the Northampton legal community, most recently serving as a court-appointed mediator for The Mediation and Training Collaborative, serving as a board member for the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council, helping a committee for the Probate and Family Court in Hampshire and Franklin Counties draft new pamphlets and a model Separation Agreement for public use, and being active in the Hampden Hampshire Collaborative Law group. I also serve as Lawyer for the Day and Conciliator at the Hampshire Probate and Family Court. I will be teaching Mediation at Western New England School of Law for the 2018/2019 academic school year.
In my non-legal life, I am married with two children. I serve on the Montessori School of Northampton Board of Trustees and the Trustees for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. I enjoy hiking the gorgeous New England countryside, x-country skiing, bicycling everywhere I can, Ashtanga yoga, writing fiction and reading. I've discovered new interests as my kids pursue soccer and circus school (!). My favorite meals are hanging out in a diner with my family in Florence or having drinks and dinner with my wife and friends in Northampton. Also, whether I’m living in northern British Columbia or Northampton, bears for some reason keep coming to my backyard.
Professional Memberships
Law Society of British Columbia 1999 (non-practicing)
Supreme Judicial Court, Massachustts 2002
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts 2002
International Association of Collaborative Practitioners
Massachusetts Bar Association
Hampshire County Bar Association
Franklin County Bar Association
Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation
Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council - Board Memeber
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
American Bar Association (ABA)
Supreme Judicial Court, Massachustts 2002
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts 2002
International Association of Collaborative Practitioners
Massachusetts Bar Association
Hampshire County Bar Association
Franklin County Bar Association
Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation
Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council - Board Memeber
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
American Bar Association (ABA)
Certifications |
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- Court appointed mediator
- Collaborative Lawyer (Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council and the International Association of Collaborative Practitioners)
- Limited Appearance Representation certified, Massachusetts Probate and Family Court
- Court appointed Conciliator
- Notary Public