Lisa Nachmias
Davis
Davis O'Sullivan & Priest LLC - Attorneys
at Law
Elder Law & Special Needs,
Estate Planning & Probate,
Nonprofit Organizations
Priest LLC
59 Elm Street
Suite 540
New Haven, CT
06510
Tel: 203-776-4400
Fax: 203-774-1060
PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
I have practiced law for over 33 years. Wow. Time flies! My practice includes both planning for individuals (estate planning and administration, elder law, planning for those with disabilities) and -- although to a lesser extent -- advising nonprofit organizations.
In the first
category,
planning for individuals:
- I have been certified as a "Certified
Elder Law Attorney"
("CELA") by the National Elder Law Foundation since 2004 (important
note:
such certification is not officially
recognized in Connecticut, which does not yet recognize elder law as a
"specialty"; click the link for more information on what this term
means).
- I am now the sole author of The
Elder Law Answer Book (updated annually, published by Wolters
Kluwer), which
covers a wide variety of
estate planning, probate, and elder law topics in a useful Q&A
Format.
- I am a frequent speaker on elder law/special needs and
estate planning topics, both for professionals, and for community
groups such as the Alzheimer's Association.
- I have served on the Executive Committee of the
Connecticut Bar Association Elder Law Section since 1998,
and serve on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
I'm active on the Public Policy/Legislation/CLE Committees of these
organizations. I'm also a member of the Special Needs Alliance,
an invitation-only nonprofit organization dedicated to the practice of
disability and public benefits law.
- I was elected to membership in ACTEC, the American
College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, in 2022.
- To improve public knowledge in these areas, I maintain
this website, contribute to the consumer website CTElderLaw.org maintained by
Connecticut Legal Services, and host
a listserv for elder law attorneys in Connecticut. I also
created the original website of the Agency
on Aging of South Central
Connecticut, where I served on the Board of Directors from
2003-2008. From 2009 - 2012 I served on the board of directors of
the Connecticut Chapter of National
Alliance on Mental Illness.
In the second
category, advising nonprofit
organizations, I am less active than before, but believe I
can still be helpful In this area:
- I am a member of the Connecticut Bar Association Tax Section.
- From 1998 to 2017, I was a Visiting Clinical Lecturer
in Law
at the Yale
Law School, where I was a co-director of the Yale Law School
Nonprofit Organization Law Clinic, helping hundreds of
students help hundreds of new nonprofit organizations get their
start. The Clinic is no longer operating, alas, since Professor
John Simon's retirement and death in 2022.
- Through my web pages, I still try to give organizations and those who want to help them as much "do-it-yourself" guidance as possible. My articles in this area include "How to Stay Out of Trouble Under the Excess Benefit Rules," published in Connecticut Lawyer magazine; and "Remember Your Fractions: The Public Support Test," published on this website and based on materials used in the Yale clinic's curriculum. My website also has "D.I.Y." tools including sample forms.
I started my own practice in January, 2006 after being a
partner in the firm of Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn. Other past
associations have included Robinson & Cole, in Hartford, and
Cummings & Lockwood, in New Haven. In 2009, my friends and
colleagues Shawn
L. O'Sullivan and Kathy
K. Priest joined with me to establish our new firm, Davis O'Sullivan & Priest LLC,
and we have practiced together happily since then., joined in 2023 by
associate Nicholas Zebb, formerly staff attorney at the New Haven
Probate Court.
In 2011, 2012 2013, 2015, 2020, 2021, and 2023,
"Superlawyers"
named
me as one of
the top
twenty-five women lawyers in the State of Connecticut. I'm
just reporting this. I don't claim to be worthy of this
distinction! And it always sounds as if I should wear tights and
have a cape! (They have me in a few other categories too --
"superlawyer" in Elder law 2007 - 2023; top fifty women lawyers in New
England in 2012, 2013.) Martindale-Hubbell has given me an AV®
Preeminent™ rating of 4.9 out of 5.
I received my B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale
College in 1982 and my J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990, following
which I held a clerkship with the late Justice David M. Shea of the
Connecticut Supreme Court.
Return to
sharinglaw.net Index
Information topics (just click on the blue heading):
Planning for the
disabled
Planning
for the elderly
Living Trusts
Tax
Planning
Tax-Exempt
Organizations
Page last updated
February 17, 2023
Back
to my professional home page
Disclaimer:
This site was first created
in 1997 by a kind friend (with the crazy idea that law and the "web"
would be a great combination) and is updated by me for the general
informational use of the public. Writing to me does not
create an attorney-client relationship; I can only provide general
information, and will not provide advice about a particular case
without a formal engagement.
Web-site design by Tintern Productions
Lisa Nachmias Davis
Davis O'Sullivan & Priest LLC
Attorneys at Law
59 Elm Street, Suite 540
New Haven,
CT 06510
Phone:
203-776-4400
Fax:
203-774-1060