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Hard Work, Integrity, and Dedication

This fall voters will decide who fills an important, complex and sensitive legal job—that of the new 33rd District Judge of Probate, Saybrook region (Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Lyme, Essex, Deep River, Chester, Haddam, and Killingworth). This judge’s decisions will affect us personally, and can affect a family for life—for good or bad.

Besides adjudicating our wills after death, probate judges also handle many life issues, including overseeing establishment of conservatorships for the elderly and disabled, child adoptions, termination of parental rights, and guardianships for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The position requires someone with extensive knowledge of probate law, utter sensitivity to human conflict, common-sense practicality in dispute resolution, a fairness of mind, and a character tempered by compassion. Candidate Attorney Jeannine Lewis of the law firm Hudson and Kilby has this demanding skill set.

Well-qualified with extensive experience in estate administration and conservatorship litigation, Lewis has also successfully advised parents on guardianship issues and issues specific to disabled children; she has served as conservator for disabled adults.

Lewis has spent her legal career providing thoughtful, professional legal representation to the most vulnerable members of the District 33 community (the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled, and children).

Her hard work, integrity, and dedication have been recognized by her peers as evidenced by her appointment to the committee to aid the probate court administrator in developing standards of conduct for conservators, and as chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Elder Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. Her attorney training manual on how to properly represent individuals at probate court is available on the Probate Administration website.

For all these reasons Attorney Lewis received an unprecedented majority vote in round 1 of the recent nine-town District 33 Democratic Nominating Convention.

Marta Daniels

Chester