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Richard M. Novitch

Overview

For over 20 years, Richard M. Novitch has represented business owners, professionals, and other individuals in various types of matrimonial and child-centered litigation, arbitration, and mediation.  He also is frequently called upon to draft prenuptial agreements to protect business interests and premarital, inherited, and gifted assets.

A veteran courtroom attorney, Mr. Novitch has tried numerous cases in the Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts involving a wide range of matters, including divorce, child custody and relocation cases, support modification actions, and complaints for contempt.  He recently persuaded a court to permit his client to relocate to California with the parties’ daughter.  And in another, he secured the retroactive termination of an alimony obligation on behalf of his client, which included an award of tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Having worked at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Mr. Novitch is equally adept as an appellate attorney with extensive experience briefing and arguing cases of first impression before the Supreme Judicial Court and Massachusetts Appeals Court.  His recent appellate experience includes:

  • Jones v. Jones, 101 Mass. App. Ct. 673 (2022)
  • Shak v. Shak, 484 Mass. 658 (2020)
  • Miller v. Miller, 478 Mass. 642 (2018)
  • Sbrogna v. Sbrogna, 92 Mass. App. Ct. 639 (2018)
  • Popp v. Popp, 477 Mass. 1022 (2017)
  • DeMarco v. Demarco, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 618 (2016)
  • Alexander v. Alexander, 72 Mass. App. Ct. 1118 (2008)

A tireless advocate, Mr. Novitch additionally has advanced arguments and helped shaped the trajectory of matrimonial law as amici curiae (friend of the court), in such cases as:

  • Bassichis v. Flores, 490 Mass. 143 (2022)
  • Malachi M. v. Quintana Q., 483 Mass. 725 (2019)
  • Chin v. Merriot, 470 Mass. 527 (2015)

Mr. Novitch also has exte­nsive experience in litigation involving fiduciaries – including post-death disputes over business and partnership interests, the enforceability and interpretation of wills and trusts, the removal of trustees, and challenges to various estate planning vehicles based on a lack of capacity or undue external influences.   In one recent case, he secured summary judgment and the dismissal of a challenge to a will.  In another, he persuaded a trial court to void and annul a marriage after the death of the husband and, as a matter of first impression, to invalidate a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity more than 10 years after its execution.

Mr. Novitch is a frequent lecturer on matrimonial and fiduciary litigation matters for the  Massachusetts Bar Association, the Boston Bar Association, and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), and has been quoted in the media, including The New York Times and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.  He is deeply knowledgeable of cutting-edge legal issues and innovative courtroom tactics.  Mr. Novitch combines his scholarship with practical experience to provide well-rounded, sound, and creative representation for clients.

Mr. Novitch previously served as a staff attorney for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and was a law clerk for the Massachusetts Superior Court and Massachusetts Probate & Family Court.  He is a former hearing officer for the Board of Bar Overseers.

Experience

  • Partner, Todd & Weld LLP, 2016-present
  • Partner, Lander & Lander, P.C., 2005-2016
  • Associate, Todd & Weld LLP, 2002-2005
  • Staff Attorney, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2000-2001
  • Law Clerk, Massachusetts Superior Court, 1999-2000
  • Law Clerk, Massachusetts Probate & Family Court, 1998-1999

Credentials

Education

  • Suffolk University Law School (J.D., magna cum laude, 1997)
  • Clark University (B.A., 1994)

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • U.S. District Court, Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit

Professional Activities

  • Member, Board of Directors, American Probate & Family Inns of Court, Massachusetts Chapter
  • Member, Board of Directors, Massachusetts Chapter of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Family Law Section Council Member (2016-present)
  • Middlesex Bar Association
  • Former Hearing Officer, Board of Bar Overseers

Publications/Presentations

  • Panelist, 27th Annual Family Law Conference, MCLE, May 2024
  • Presenter, Real Estate Valuations and Sales, 2023 Domestic Relations Financial Summit, MCLE, February 2023
  • Panelist, "Post-Death Litigation Involving Non-Probate Assets," Massachusetts Bar Association's 10th Annual Probate Law Conference, November 2022
  • Co-Moderator, "Game-Changing Impact of Cavanagh on Determining Child Support & Alimony," MCLE, October 2022
  • Panelist, "The Confidentiality and Privilege Conundrum: What Can Be Asked and What Can't Be Answered," Massachusetts Chapter, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, October 2022
  • Panelist, Boston Bar Association, Practice Tips for Family Law Appeals, March 2022
  • Panelist, Asset Valuation: What is it Really Worth?, MCLE Domestic Relations Financial Summit 2022
  • Presenter, "Social Media Evidence: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Greater Newburyport Bar Association, October 2021
  • Panelist, Massachusetts Association of Guardians ad Litem Fall Conference, September 2021
  • Panelist, "Sexts, Texts, and Tweets: The Use and Misuse of Social Media and Electronic Information in Family Law Disputes,” American Family and Conciliation Courts, April 2021
  • MCLE Panelist, "Securing & Collecting Your Fees in Family Law Practice," February 2021
  • MCLE Panelist, "Complex Issues in Asset Division," October 2020
  • MCLE Panelist, "Evidence Admissibility in Family Cases, July 2020
  • Panelist, "The Shak Decision and Beyond," Boston Bar Association webinar, June 2020
  • MCLE Panelist, "Complex Issues in Asset Division in Family Law Cases," October 2019
  • Speaker, Massachusetts Bar Association's Annual Family Law Education program, "Massachusetts Appeals Court Update," June 2019
  • Speaker, Massachusetts Chapter of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Annual Dinner, March 2019
  • Co-Chair, Massachusetts Bar Association 28th Annual Family Law Conference, November 2018
  • MCLE Panelist, "Complex Issues in Spousal Support," October 2018
  • MCLE Panelist, "Domestic Abuse in Divorce and Custody Litigation," June 2018
  • MCLE Panelist, "'1st Look' at the Impact on Family Law of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," February 2018
  • MCLE Panelist, "Proving and Defending Allegations of Domestic Abuse in Family Law Cases," May 2017
  • MCLE Panelist, "Top 25 Cases Every Divorce Lawyer Should Know" January 2017
  • Panelist, Important Family Law Cases of 2015, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2016)
  • Panelist, Advocating Under the Alimony Reform Act, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2014 and 2015))
  • Speaker, Dividing Employee Benefits in Divorce, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2007)
  • Lecturer, Use of Attorney Liens in Divorce Matters, Boston Bar Association (2011)
  • Presenter, Child Custody, Support and Domestic Abuse, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2006)
  • "Dividing Employee Benefits in Divorce and the Occasional Interplay of Federal Legislation," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2007)
  • "Smoking and its Impact on Child Custody Determinations," Massachusetts Family Law Journal (1997)

Honors and Awards

  • Named to Best Lawyers in America in Family Law (2021-2025)
  • Named to Massachusetts Super Lawyers for Family Law (2017-2024)
  • Named to Boston magazine's Top Lawyers 2023
  • Member of American Academy for Certified Financial Litigators, 2015-Present