Margot Rose Thistle

I started at the firm of Kevin P. O'Malley, P.C. in November 2010, with a background in all aspects of Family Law, as well as Estate Planning.  I used my time in law school to gain practical experience through internships, fellowships and clinical placements in various organizations in Massachusetts and New York.

After my first year of law school, I interned at Lawyers for Children in Manhattan, a non-profit law firm that serves as law guardian to foster children in abuse, neglect and contentious custody disputes. Lawyers for Children provided me with unique insight into custody, adoption, and housing issues, as well as child abuse and neglect.  I worked with the transitional youth population securing housing, benefits, jobs, and educational programs as these children transitioned from the foster care system to life on their own. This internship also included intensive legal training in domestic violence, LGBT issues, government benefits, mental health issues, sexual abuse and immigration laws.
 
I served as a Summer Fellow/Student Attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau working in the Family Law Unit where I represented victims of domestic violence with their various family law matters including but not limited to; divorce, custody, restraining orders, child support and contempt cases. Often these clients were women who had been brought to the United States by their abusive husbands. These clients had sustained physical, emotional and mental abuse. Once the client left the abuser, they often found themselves without means, family or a support system here in the US.

 I also worked as a Student Attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services with a focus in domestic relations law. As a Student Attorney, I became familiar with the Family and Probate Courts of both Middlesex and Suffolk County

Additionally, I was Research Assistant while at New England Law working primarily on the impact of the Adoption and Safe Family Act, as well as analytical and substantive research of the foster care system.

Prior to law school, I worked as a Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst for the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. My focus was the Health and Human Services Organizations of the Commonwealth, and I worked to balance sound policy with fiscal responsibility for the agencies I collaborated with.