Patricia A. O’Connell

Patricia A. O'Connell is a partner at Kajko, Weisman & Colasanti, LLP, where she focuses her practice on family law, including:

- Sophisticated divorce proceedings involving high net-worth individuals, closely-held businesses, gifted and inherited assets, trusts, and other matters unique to complex marital estates

- High-conflict custody and parenting disputes, including the removal of children across state lines

-- Agreements pertaining to the use of assisted reproductive technology; and

Prior to joining Kajko, Weisman & Colasanti, LLP, Ms. O'Connell practiced exclusively in family law with another prominent domestic relations law firm in Boston. Every year since 2009, she has been recognized as a "Rising Star" or "Super Lawyer" in the field of family law by Super Lawyers (as published in Boston Magazine).

Ms. O'Connell, who has been an adjunct professor at Northeastern University School of Law, continues to write and lecture frequently on issues pertaining to domestic relations law. She is the co-author of all five editions of Trying Divorce Cases in Massachusetts, a step-by-step guide for lawyers litigating divorce cases. Ms. O'Connell is a frequent panelist for the continuing legal education, including the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2013 Annual Family Law Conference. There, she shared her "Client Primer: The Basics of Equitable Distribution and the Treatment of Gifted and Inherited Assets in Massachusetts" (MBA, Inc. 2013, included in 2013 MBA Family Law Conference course materials). Other published works include "Meeting with the Custody Advisor" in The Family Advocate (American Bar Association, Spring 2012) and a chapter in "Calculating Divorce: It's Getting Personal!" (MCLE, Inc. 2011).

She received her B.A. in History (cum laude) from the College of the Holy Cross in 1996 and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2000.