Lymari J. Santana | Attorney

Lymari J. Santana joined Mansfield Tanick & Cohen, P.C. in an Of Counsel capacity in 2005.  As one of the founding shareholders of Mack & Santana Law Offices, P.C., Lymari brings to the practice of family law a decade of litigation and trial experience, and a diverse background. Lymari was born in Augusta, Georgia, but she spent most of her childhood in Puerto Rico. She received a bilingual education and speaks, reads and writes Spanish as fluently as English.

After graduating with honors from the Detroit College of Law, Michigan State University, in June of 1994, Lymari worked in the general litigation firm James M. Hacker, P.C., in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and served as the assistant prosecutor for the Village of New Haven. After working on civil litigation, criminal defense and federal appeals at James M. Hacker, P.C., Lymari joined the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) in June 1995, to fulfill her four-year commitment to the armed forces. Lymari started her military service at Fort McClellan, Alabama, where she worked in a variety of capacities. During her first year of service Lymari advised soldiers, family members and retirees on family law, wills and estates, consumer law and tax issues. In 1996, Lymari became a military trial counsel and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. Lymari was responsible for prosecuting military criminal trials and federal misdemeanor trials. In 1998, Lymari requested transfer to the United States Army Trial Defense Service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At Fort Bragg, Lymari served in the 82nd Airborne Division as a criminal trial defense counselor, responsible for representing defendants in criminal jury and bench trials and administrative hearings. Lymari remained with the JAG Corps until April 2000, when she decided to enter into private practice. Lymari was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her service as defense counsel from 1998 through 2000.

Lymari moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and commenced private practice in family law. Lymari chose private practice in family law because she wanted to continue to use her skills to assist individuals in times of personal crisis. Lymari brought her extensive litigation experience to the field of family law, and successfully settled and litigated a wide variety of cases with varying levels of complexity. Lymari was responsible for representing clients in a wide variety of family law issues such as: division of marital and non-marital assets, litigation and settlement of property issues, business valuations, child custody settlement and litigation, child support, spousal maintenance, post-decree modification, drafting discovery documents, pleadings and appeals.

Lymari was selected as a Minnesota Rising Star for 2005 by Minnesota Law & Politics, which recognizes the top Minnesota lawyers who are 40 years or younger, or who have been practicing less than ten years. Lymari's peers and colleagues in the legal profession have chosen her for this honor, which is awarded to only 2.5% of Minnesota lawyers. Lymari is a member of the Minnesota State Bar, Michigan State Bar and the Hennepin County Bar Association and the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association. Lymari served as president of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association from April 2004 to April 2005, and she is currently serving on the board as Past-President. (Lymari served as the organization's Secretary from September 2001 through April 2003, and as President Elect from April 2003 to April 2004.) Lymari is also a member of the National Hispanic Bar Association.

Lymari attended the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, on an Army Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship and earned a degree in political science with honors in 1991. After graduation, Lymari moved to Detroit, Michigan, to pursue a law degree at Detroit College of Law, Michigan State University. At Detroit College of Law (DCL), Lymari was selected to join the DCL Journal of International Law & Practice. Lymari's article A Sign of the Times: Latin America Comes Together was published in 1993. Lymari was also the winner of the DCL Moot Court Class Competition in 1993, and the runner-up in the DCL All-School Moot Court Competition in the spring of 1993.

Lymari lives in Plymouth, Minnesota, with her husband, who is a Minneapolis firefighter. Lymari enjoys reading, sports, movies, the local Latin restaurants and traveling to Puerto Rico.