Heather O'Connor | Marlborough Family Lawyer

She founded the O’Connor Family Law Firm based on the principle that, with the correct guidance, a person can come out of a divorce or family-law related dispute in a better position than coming in, both legally and personally. She provides a holistic-approach with her clients because she understands there is so much more to a divorce or custody dispute than the simple or even complex legal issue. Her clients have described her as a lifesaver. Someone who came into their life at the right moment, took charge, and changed things around. She believes in creating partnerships with her clients because it takes a joint effort to get desired results within a family law case.

Attorney O’Connor is compassionate and empathetic to her clients because she understands what it’s like going through the difficulties presented within a divorce having been divorced for over thirteen years herself with three children. She is no nonsense and believes in efficiency. Heather O’Connor is upfront and truthful regarding the difficulties in any given case. She is not going to tell you what you want to hear; she is going to tell you what you need to hear.

She is a certified mediator making her a superb negotiator, which is necessary since the majority of family law issues reach settlement without going to trial; yet, she will argue zealously before a judge for her client’s rights if a fair settlement cannot be reached. And she likes to win.

Attorney O’Connor’s favorite cases surround the issue of parental alienation—where one parent is acting in a manner that makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for the other parent to have a relationship with his or her children. She is passionate about protecting clients who have suffered from domestic violence, but is very familiar with the ways in which restraining orders and criminal complaints are utilized simply to get an upper-hand in a divorce or custody battle. For those cases, Attorney O’Connor fights extremely hard to get restraining orders and domestic assault and battery charges dismissed for her clients.

Lawyer.com Member Questionnaire

Please describe a case(s) in the last year or two where you made a big difference.
A father had come to me because Mom had a restraining order and hadn't been allowed to see his kids for almost two months. By the time the kids saw Dad again, they were really angry due to lies Mom had told them. The case went on for almost two years and ended with a trial. My client, through the judgment, ended up with sole legal and physical custody, the marital home, the majority of his retirement accounts, and she had to pay a lot of his legal fees. The Dad and the kids are still doing excellent!

How did you build a successful practice?
I saw the need for divorce attorneys who could understand all the emotions that are behind a divorce as I heard this as a constant complaint from other people as I went through my own divorce 14 years ago. We built our firm on the premise that a divorce is 25% law and 75% attitude. We help our clients look at things in a more positive light to get them through the divorce process and moving on toward incredibly successful lives post divorce. It also helps that we have a great reputation for being aggressive litigators and passionate about what we do.

What should clients look for in a lawyer?
Same thing you should look for in any relationship… Honesty, respect, and trust. Those are the cornerstones to any relationship, personal or business. A lawyer is someone whom you have to be able to tell the truth to and you have to believe that they are fighting for you and the advice that they give you our what they honestly believe is best for you and not for any other reason. I'd love to say that we only give our clients good news, but that would not be true. I think that even when we have to give our clients bad news, our clients appreciate the fact that we will fight for them because we believe in them and that if were telling them something they don't want to hear, it's for their own good. Our clients feel more like family a lot of times. We think that's a good thing.

How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases?
It's extremely important. Knowing who the judge is and what way they come out typically in a number of different situations is crucial to being able to provide advice to a client regarding whether they should settle or push forward and litigate.

What information can you provide in a free phone consultation?
The phone consultation is really more so a way for our firm to assess whether or not the person who has contacted us has a case that we want to take on.

What information do you need in a free phone consultation?
We usually go through the case background - The underlying reason which has brought the person to contact our firm as well as any goals that the person has already established. You can think of the phone consultation as an interview… The person calling is trying to get an idea as to whether not they want to move forward with the firm and we are trying to figure out whether or not we want to move forward with that person. To have a successful attorney client relationship, both sides need to be on the same page.

What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community?
Our clients trust us. We are litigators and fight aggressively in Court, but only when it's appropriate. In many instances, it's better to try to work out an agreement with the other side. But, if the other side refuses to be reasonable, we have no problem putting on the boxing gloves and walking into the ring. We allow our clients to be in charge of their lives. We will never push them to make a decision they're not comfortable with. We fully explain their rights and the potential benefits and risks with each possibility, but at the end of the day, we allow our clients the autonomy to make the ultimate decisions that will affect them in their future. We also legitimately care - our clients aren't just clients; we fight for them as though they're family. We also like to win, and that doesn't hurt. The one thing I hear the most that seems to set us apart from other firms or solo practices is that we can strategize with the client in relation to what their goals are. We partner with the client to agree on a strategy and then everyone, our firm and the client, are expected to stick to that strategy. We hear that not a lot of other places do that.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
When we can help a client focus on moving forward instead of being stuck where they are. When our past clients send us referrals because they had such a good relationship with us and trusted us. When we get updates from our clients informing us of how their lives post divorce are even better than they had imagined. We really love fighting for the underdog, and if it is extremely rewarding to get an amazing outcome in a very difficult case.

What are your other interests in addition to law?
I was a professional figure skater. I have three kids (ages 15, 18, and 20), and an amazing boyfriend who brings two more kids to the group (ages 13 and 15). I absolutely love to travel and read.

Are you involved in your community?
My 15 year old plays high school football, so there's always something going on with that.

• Rhode Island Bar Association | Member | 2011 - Present
  Massachusetts Bar Association | Member | 2011 - Present

• Top 40 Under 40 | American Society of Legal Advocates | 2016
  Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 | American Society of Legal Advocates | 2015
  CALI Excellence for the Future Award | CALI | 2011
  CALI Excellence for the Future Award | CALI | 2010
  CALI Excellence for the Future Award | CALI | 2009
  Summer Corps Standout Award | Equal Justice Works | 2009
  Legal Intern Fellow Recipient 2009 | Massachusetts Bar Foundation | 2009

• Parental Alienation - Author Presentation & Panel Discussion | Parental Alienation | 2017
  Guest Speaker at CT PASI Monthly Meeting | Parental Alienation | 2017

Heather A O'Connor has been a Premium Member since September 14, 2017.
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