Governor Patrick Announces Nomination of Respected Jurist as Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Press Release

Governor Deval L. Patrick today announced the nomination of Appeals Court Justice Barbara A. Lenk to serve as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). Justice Lenk, the senior Associate Justice on the Appeals Court and a former Superior Court judge, is slated to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Judith A. Cowin.

"I am honored to nominate Justice Lenk to the Supreme Judicial Court," said Governor Patrick. "She is a brilliant and thoughtful jurist, with a deep sense of justice. Justice Lenk will continue to make extraordinary contributions to the Commonwealth and our judicial system as a member of our highest court."

Justice Lenk has served the Commonwealth as a member of the judiciary for over 17 years, beginning with her 1993 appointment to the Superior Court. She joined the Appeals Court as an Associate Justice in 1995. From 1979 to 1993, Justice Lenk was a civil litigator at the Boston firm of Brown Rudnick Freed & Gesmer, where she was a partner and member of the Executive Committee for six years. Justice Lenk has been a leader in many professional and community activities, including serving as co-president of the Boston Inn of Court, chair of the Massachusetts Appeals Court Personnel Committee and a member of several other court management committees. She is a member of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Academic Affairs Committee at Western New England College. Justice Lenk is currently the vice president for Adult Education and member of the Board of Directors for Congregational Kerem Shalom in Concord. She is a frequent lecturer and panelist on legal matters, and is a former Chair of the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal.

Justice Lenk is a graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D., 1979), Yale University (Ph.D., 1978) and Fordham University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1972). She is a resident of Carlisle, Massachusetts. Justice Lenk is Governor Patrick's fifth nomination to the state's highest court, following the nominations of Justice Margot G. Botsford (2007), Justice Ralph D. Gants (2008), Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland (2010) and Justice Fernande R. V. Duffly (2010).

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