Experienced Guidance

When Life Gets Legal SM

Gina M. Barry

  • Shareholder

"I focus my practice on helping people plan for the future. Even young people should start thinking about how they will support themselves in their retirement years, and everybody needs a basic estate plan, including a will, health care proxy and power of attorney. I am down to earth, and I pride myself on making difficult and complex issues easy to understand for my clients. I have a broad client base including a mix of ages, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations."

Gina is a partner and a member of the estate planning and elder law department, whose practice includes sophisticated estate planning issues. Gina also has extensive experience in matters of guardianship, conservatorship, long-term care planning, estate/probate administration, and residential real estate.

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Education

  • Western New England University School of Law, Springfield, Massachusetts
    • J.D. - 1999
    • Honors: cum laude
  • Westfield State College, Westfield, Massachusetts
    • B.A. - 1996
    • Honors: magna cum laude
  • Holyoke Community College
    • A.A. - 1994
    • Honors: With High Honors

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts, 1999
  • Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts

Classes & Seminars

  • Seminar: The Probate Process From Start to Finish, October 28, 2013
  • Seminar: Estate planning questions and answers, October 21, 2013
  • Seminar: Taking Control of Your Future: A Legal Checkup, May 18, 2011
  • Seminar: The Importance of Designating a Health Care Proxy Before You Need it, May 4, 2011
  • Seminar: Estate Planning Basics, July 29, 2010
  • Seminar: Paralegal Course: The UPC in Action – The Guardianship and Conservatorship Process & Preview of the 2011 Probate Changes, June 17, 2010
  • Seminar: Pet Estate Planning, February 4, 2010
  • Seminar: Demystifying the Emerging Treatment & Law of Eldercare, December 9, 2009
  • Seminar: Staying in Control: Understanding Massachusetts’ New Guardianship Laws, November 16, 2009
  • Seminar: When It’s All Going to the Dogs: A Primer on the Emerging Trend of Pet Trusts and Estate Planning, November 15, 2009
  • Seminar: Drafting the Simple Will, November 10, 2009
  • Contributor: Estate Planning Bits
  • Quoted: And to My Dear Woofy... Estate Planning, Bank Investment Consultant, July 2008
  • Guest on NPR discussing Leona Helmsley's $12M bequest to her dog, August 29, 2007
  • Speaker: Liberty Under Law: Empowering Youth, Assuring Democracy, Central High School, May 2007
  • Lecturer: The A-Z’s Of Real Property Issues, Suffolk University Law School, March 2007
  • Guest: WWLP TV Senior Showcase, 11/03
  • Court-Certified GAL Training for Category D Matters, MCLE, November 2002

Pro-Bono Activities

  • President and Founder, The Joy of Jasper Horse Sanctuary

Honors

  • Designated as "Super Lawyer" 2013 in Boston Magazine
  • Distinguished: Top Woman Attorney in MA by Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2012
  • Recipient: Super Lawyers Rising Star Award Boston Magazine, 2012
  • Recipient: Super Lawyers Rising Star Award Boston Magazine, 2011
  • Recipient: Chapter Member of the Year, BNI Holyoke North, MA, 10/13/2011
  • Designated as "Super Lawyer Rising Star" 2010 in Boston Magazine
  • Recipient: Top Five Business Women in Western Mass, Western MA Women's Magazine, 2010
  • Recipient: SuperLawyers Rising Star Award Boston Magazine
  • Estate Planning Specialist Blends Law with a Passion for Animals, BusinessWest, October 20, 2005
  • Women in Business Spotlight, Valley Business Outlook, September 2005
  • "Woman of the Year" distinction, Women Business Owners Alliance, 2005
  • "Up and Coming Lawyer 2004" distinction, MA Lawyers Weekly, 2004
  • Catherine Bean Street Scholarship, Recipient
  • CALI Award for Excellence in Torts
  • CALI Award for Excellence in Critical Race Theory
  • "Lawyer of the Year” for Springfield Elder Law, Best Lawyers, 2019
  •  Designated as 2015’s Woman of Influence by Women Business Owners Alliance
  • Distinguished Alumni for 2015, Holyoke Community College
  • Recipient, First Annual Visionary Achievement Award from Western Mass Women's Magazine, 2014
  • Recipient, SuperLawyers Massachusetts and New England Award, 2013-2019
  • Recipient, SuperLawyers Massachusetts and New England Rising Star Award, 2006-2008, 2010-2012
  • Designated as one of the Top Five Business Women in Western Mass, Western Mass Women's Magazine, 2010
  • Recipient, 40 Under Forty award, BusinessWest, 2009

Past Positions

  • Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court, Law Clerk, 1999 to 2000

Fraternities or Sororities

  • Pi Sigma Alpha
  • Alpha Chi

Professional Associations

  • Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Hampden County Bar Association
  • Estate Planning Council of Hampden County
  • Connecticut Bar Association
  • National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
  • Hampden County Bar Association, New Lawyer's Section, Chair, 2003 to 2004
  • Hampden County Bar Association, New Lawyer's Section, Probate Court Bench Bar Liaison, 2003 to 2004
  • Holyoke North Business Network International, Membership Committee
  • Women's Partnership Communications Committee, Co-Chair
  • Women's Partnership Board of Directors, 2003 to 2005
  • Joy of Jasper Horse Sanctuary, Founder, 2007-Present
  • Greater Springfield Business & Professional Women's Club, First Vice President, 2005-2006
  • Greater Springfield Business & Professional Women's Club, Second Vice President, 2004-2005
  • Western Massachusetts Elder Care Professionals, Member, Steering Committee
  • Meadows Homes Human Rights Committee, Member
  • Women's Business Owners Alliance of the Pioneer Valley, Inc., Cheryl Reed Memorial Loan Fund Chair
  • National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, Director, 2018 to Present
  • Western Massachusetts Elder Care Professionals Steering Committee, Member

Published Works