Hon. Isaac Borenstein, Attorney

Judge Isaac Borenstein (Ret.) joined the firm on October 5, 2009. After his retirement from the Superior Court on September 12, 2008, he became a Partner at Rudolph Friedmann LLP. He had a very successful year of business there and decided to join Denner Pellegrino, LLP. Prior to his retirement, he had spent sixteen years as an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, and six years as a Judge of the Lawrence District Court. He has brought to Denner Pellegrino, LLP his extensive skills, experience and reputation as a Judge, trial lawyer and law professor. At our firm he specializes in all areas of criminal defense and civil litigation. He also handles appellate work, mediation and arbitration, and consults with individuals, institutions and attorneys in the general practice of law.

As a private attorney he has built a successful trial and appellate practice in State and federal Court, on criminal and civil cases. He has handled estate and probate disputes; contested divorces; wrongful death actions; a complex sixty-one (61) count indictment in federal court; major felonies at the trial and appellate level, and others.

On the Superior Court, Judge Borenstein presided over more than three hundred jury trials, more than one hundred jury-waived trials, as well as hundreds of complex motions, including motions for the suppression of evidence, dismissal, and summary judgment, as well as reviews of final administrative agency decisions. The complex civil and criminal matters he handled on the Superior Court included claims such as wrongful death, products liability, construction, personal injury, medical malpractice, contract and business disputes, and others. He also presided over cases with charges of murder, rape, robbery and other serious criminal matters. Judge Borenstein issued hundreds of written decisions in all of these areas.

As a Judge on the Lawrence District Court, one of the busiest in the state, he handled both jury and jury-waived trials on civil and criminal cases. He administered the juvenile delinquency session, where he was responsible for cases involving issues of juvenile justice, abuse and neglect petitions, and a variety of other family law matters.

Prior to going on the bench in November, 1986, for eleven years he established a reputation as an excellent trial attorney, in civil and criminal cases in state and federal court. He has also been a full and part time law professor, teaching evidence, criminal law and procedure, torts, administrative law, and trial practice. As a Judge and law professor he received excellent evaluations, numerous awards, and much public recognition. He immigrated to the United States from Havana, Cuba in 1961, just short of his 11th birthday. He is fluent in Spanish.

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Lecturer In Law, Northeastern University School of Law

Boston, Massachusetts

September, 1985 present

Since 1985, I have maintained a relationship with the School of Law both as a Lecturer in Law and as a Co-operative Education employer. My teaching assignments have included Administrative Law, Torts, Evidence, Advanced Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Civil Trial Practice, and Criminal Trial Practice. In both classroom and co-op settings, I advise and counsel law students on academic and professional matters. Evaluations of my teaching and co-op supervision have been consistently excellent. The graduating classes of 1992, 1998 and 2000 selected me as their faculty speaker, the only times a part-time Lecturer in Law has been chosen to deliver the faculty address at commencement. Part-time faculty are no longer eligible for this honor.

Adjunct Professor, Suffolk Law School

Boston, Massachusetts

Spring, 2003 - present

I currently teach two courses: Constitutional Law/Criminal Procedure, covering significant federal and state cases, statutes and rules on the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and related state law; Evidence, with an emphasis on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Fall, 2000

I taught Civil Pre-Trial Litigation to mostly senior law students; this course covered all aspects of a case except trial, from interview and complaint to discovery and settlement.

Adjunct Professor, Boston College Law School

Newton, Massachusetts

Spring, 2003

I taught evidence, focusing primarily on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Visiting Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law

Boston, Massachusetts

August, 1998 May, 1999

During the academic year, while on sabbatical from the Superior Court, I was a full-time member of the faculty. I taught Torts and Criminal Law to first-year students. I advised students, supervised research and teaching assistants, and served on faculty committees. Students' evaluations of my teaching were excellent.

Associate Professor of Law (Assistant Professor 1984 to 1985; Visiting Assistant Professor 1983 to 1984)

New England School of Law

Boston, Massachusetts

September, 1983 December, 1986

As a full-time, tenure track professor, I taught courses in the areas of criminal law and criminal procedure. I also served on faculty committees and advised students on academic and professional issues. In addition, I supervised students in criminal law field placement settings. Evaluations of my teaching were consistently excellent. While at New England, I represented a number of retained and court-appointed clients in state and federal court. I resigned upon my appointment to the Lawrence District Court.

Lecturer in Law, Northeastern University School of Law,

Staff Attorney and Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School at the Legal Services Institute

Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

May, 1979 July, 1982

As attorney, clinical supervisor, and faculty member, I represented low-income clients while teaching and supervising law students in an innovative clinical legal services program run through Harvard Law School. My students' caseloads included landlord-tenant disputes, immigration, deprivation of entitlements, care and protection and related juvenile matters. I supervised staff and worked closely with Professors Gary Bellow and Jeanne Charn.