Governor Healey Nominates Lyonel Jean-Pierre, Jr. and Timothy Horan to Probate and Family Court

 Governor Healey Nominates Lyonel Jean-Pierre, Jr. and Timothy Horan to Probate and Family Court 

BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura Healey nominated Lyonel Jean-Pierre, Jr. and Timothy Horan to serve as Associate Justices of the Probate and Family Court. The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.

“Both Attorney Jean-Pierre Jr and Attorney Horan will bring a wealth of knowledge to the Probate and Family Court, and the bench will benefit from their unique perspectives and deep understanding of the law,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We’re grateful to the Governor’s Council for their consideration of these nominations.”

“The Probate and Family Court plays a critical role in our judicial system, and I am excited to work closely with the Governor’s Council to confirm these 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, including 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. 

Governor Healey has appointed 14 judges to serve as Associate Justices of the Probate and Family Court: Laurel Barraco, Bethany Brown, Jennifer Bingham, Colleen Carroll, Caryn Mitchell-Munevar, Manisha Bhatt, Bernadette Stark, Michelle Yee, Jessica Dubin, Alexandra Flanders,  Evelyn Patsos, Brian Salisbury, 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: 

Timothy Horan has spent the last twenty-one years in private practice, first at a small law firm and, since 2016, as a solo practitioner, where his practice has focused on all aspects of probate and family law, including divorce and custody disputes, estate planning, and probate matters.  He has also handled a wide range of criminal and civil matters in the District and Superior Courts. Prior to that, he served as an Investigator and Prosecuting Counsel for the Division of Professional Licensure where he oversaw investigations and prosecutions related to healthcare fraud. He has also served as an Analyst and Victim Witness Advocate at the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.  He holds a Bachelor of Science from Fitchburg State University and a Juris Doctor from New England School of Law. 

Lyonel Jean-Pierre, Jr. is the Managing Attorney at Community Legal Aid in Worcester where he manages a team of attorneys dedicated to providing legal assistant to indigent clients on family law matters being litigated in the Probate and Family Court and the District Court. Prior to this, Attorney Jean-Pierre worked as a Clinical Instructor in the Family Practice area in the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau where supervised and provided instruction to law students representing indigent clients in family and domestic relations law cases in the Probate and Family Court. He also spent two years in private practice where his practice focused on domestic relations matters in both the Probate and Family and Juvenile Courts.  Early in his career he spent two years as an attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services advocating on behalf of incarcerated individuals. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University and the Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.