Elizabeth Crowley handles all aspects of divorce and family law, including divorce, paternity, removal, modification and contempt actions, high-conflict child custody disputes, and alimony and child support actions. She has substantial experience representing clients with complex financial holdings and managing related disputes. She also drafts and negotiates prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.
In her fiduciary, estate and trust litigation practice, Elizabeth handles all aspects of probate and trust law, including will contests, trust disputes, accounting actions, breach of fiduciary duty actions, guardianships, and conservatorships. She has skillfully handled numerous high-conflict family and non-family disputes over family businesses, inheritances, and control over and rights to trust benefits.
Elizabeth blends her deep knowledge of the law and adept advocacy and negotiation skills to advance and achieve her client’s goals. Her tailored approach to each client is marked by an unwavering commitment to understanding her client’s goals, formulating and executing a strategy, and actively counseling and guiding every client throughout the process so that they are part of the solution.
An effective and skilled trial attorney with an impressive track record, Elizabeth is equally adept at negotiating complicated settlements to resolve matters in her clients’ best interests. When that is not possible, she works diligently to attain their goals through litigation. Inside and outside the courtroom, Elizabeth has a proven track record of being a dedicated and hands-on advisor to her clients: accessible, measured, practical and results driven.
Elizabeth also takes on many pro bono cases for parents whose children have been abducted or improperly removed out of one country to the U.S. and is on the U.S. State Department’s attorney referral list for pro bono clients. Known as Hague Convention cases, these matters require a deep understanding of international regulations and nerves of steel to bring these children back home where law dictates they belong.
Affiliations
- Member, Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court
- Member, Greater Boston Family Law Inn of Court
- Member, Boston Estate Planning Council
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Member, Trial Law Institute
- Member, Diversity Law Institute
- Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
- Member, Boston Bar Association
- Member, Women’s Bar Association
- Board Member and Volunteer, Horizons for Homeless Children
- Founding Member, Horizons P.L.A.Y. Network
Honors
- Lawdragon 500: Leading Family Lawyer (2024)
- Boston magazine’s Top Lawyers List, Family Law (2022)
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- Top Women of Law (2021)
- Up and Coming Lawyers (2013)
- Best Lawyers in America, Family Law (2016-2024)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers list (2016-2023)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list – Family Law (2010-2016)
- National Academy of Family Law Attorneys – Top 10 Under 40 Attorneys Award for Massachusetts (2016)
- American Institute of Family Law Attorneys
- 10 Best Under 40 Attorneys Award for Massachusetts (2016)
- 10 Best Female Attorneys in Massachusetts: Client Satisfaction in Family Law (2016)
- National Law Journal and Connecticut Law Tribune – Boston Rising Star (2015)
Articles + Talks
ARTICLES
- “Compromise Agreements,” MCLE Fiduciary Litigation in the Probate Court, 2016
- Various chapters, MCLE Massachusetts Divorce Law Practice Manual, 2016
- “Can You Undo Divorce Decrees Once They’re Final?,” Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor, 2016
- “3 Keys to Child Safety,” Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor, 2015
- “International Parental Child Abductions: The Hague Convention Can Help,” Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor, 2015
TALKS
- International Kidnapping: A Nuts and Bolts Primer for the Family Law Practitioner, Boston Bar Association, 2022
- COVID-19 Part 2: Lessons Learned in Family Law and Our Path Forward, Social Law Library, 2021
- COVID-19: Divorce Questions and 19 Possible Solutions, Social Law Library, 2020
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Education
- J.D., Suffolk University Law School
- B.A., College of the Holy Cross
- Represented the owner of a multiple multimillion-dollar businesses in divorce proceedings and succeeded in securing a settlement, resulting in the client retaining all business interests without the need for any liquidation or transfer of control.
- Won a major appellate victory for a client whose ex-spouse filed suit in federal court seeking part of a $20M bonus that the client received nearly two years after the parties’ divorce. The result secured in the appeal overturned a nearly $6M verdict, allowing the client to retain these funds.
- Represented a client in divorce proceedings and succeeded in securing a favorable settlement wherein the client’s valuable multimillion-dollar family business interests and inheritance were excluded from division and remained their own post-divorce.
- Represented a client in a multistate, high-conflict divorce and custody proceedings and succeeded in securing a favorable settlement wherein the client retained sole legal and physical custody of their three children.
- Represented a client in a post-divorce alimony reform action and succeeded in securing a sizable six-figure settlement when the client’s ex-spouse was initially seeking that the client receive nothing or be required to reimburse the ex-spouse for past alimony payments made.
- Represented a client in divorce proceedings with a multimillion-dollar marital estate and succeeded in securing a favorable settlement that included a buy-out of the ex-spouse’s business and inclusion of their inherited wealth from early on in the marriage, which they sought to exclude.
- Represented the family of an elderly person who had a net worth of over $50M dollars and whose estate plan was changed at the last minute to benefit largely two new home health aides to the exclusion of the elderly person’s family. Succeeded in negotiating a highly complex settlement restoring the vast majority of the estate to the elderly person’s family, including valuable works of art and waterfront real estate.
- Represented an adult child in a hotly contested will contest over parents’ multimillion-dollar estate against client’s two siblings. After a 12-day trial, the last will secured by the client’s siblings was overturned and the prior will in favor of the client was allowed. The siblings appealed and the prior decision was upheld at the appellate level. The siblings applied to the Supreme Judicial Court for further appellate review and their request was denied. Later represented the client in the divorce and succeeded in securing a favorable settlement for the client that allowed them to keep their inheritance and valuable real estate that their business operated out of and where the client resided.
- Represented an elderly client who established a trust over 20 years ago against an estranged adult child who sued for control over and a distribution of the trust assets despite their intention that the child not receive anything, if at all, until the client’s death. After trial, succeeded in defeating the child’s attempt to get more than what the trust provided for, as well as the attempts to secure other financial benefits from the client that were unintended. Also succeeded in securing an award of counsel fees on behalf of the client that must be paid by the child.
- Represented a client, a physician, post-trial in their appeal of a probate court’s decision that removed custody of their young child from the client following their move out of state to start a new job, awarding custody to the other parent. Client previously had sole legal and physical custody by agreement of the parties. Prevailed on the appeal, and the Appeals Court vacated the Probate and Family Court judge’s decision, finding the change in custody erroneous and remanding to a different judge in the Probate and Family Court for further proceedings. After a four-day trial, prevailed in securing a custody and parenting plan that returned the minor child to the client’s home and allowed the child to attend school in the client’s town, which opposing parent had vehemently objected to.