On Friday, December 8, Governor Maura T. Healey nominated Manisha Bhatt and Michelle A. Yee for Probate and Family Court Justices. The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation. "AALAM applauds the nominations of Manisha Bhatt and Michelle Yee for these two important positions," said Emily Sy, AALAM President, "both nominees will bring a wealth of experience to the bench and will also increase the diversity of our judiciary to better reflect the communities they serve." 

For more information about the Probate and Family Court, visit its homepage. 

About the Nominees: 

Manisha Hemendra Bhatt has represented indigent clients in probate and family matters for the last 22 years as an attorney for Greater Boston Legal Services. In this role, she worked on divorce, paternity, guardianship and abuse prevention matters, often for limited English-speaking immigrants in communities throughout Massachusetts. Attorney Bhatt has taught and lectured for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE) and served on committees for the Trial Court on Probate and Family Court issues. As the daughter of South Asian immigrants, she has been a leader in the South Asian legal community. Attorney Bhatt served as President of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston and continues to serve on its Advisory Board. She was instrumental in creating their award-winning grassroots access to justice initiative, the “Know Your Rights” program. The program is a twelve-session, two semester, legal educational seminar for leaders in the South Asian Community intended to give such leaders the knowledge about fundamental legal rights they need to assist members of their communities. Attorney Bhatt has a B.A. from Boston College and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. 

Michelle A. Yee has been a valuable part of the Probate and Family Court system for more than 18 years. She currently is the Senior Program Manager in the Administrative Office of the Probate and Family Court, where she has been instrumental in the implementation of the Pathways Case Management Initiative in all 14 divisions of the court.Attorney Yee was previously the Judicial Case Manager in the Essex divisions, where she was responsible for the management of the daily court operations. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Judicial Case Manager, Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (“MUPC”) Magistrate, Sessions Clerk, and Judicial Law Clerk in the Essex and Norfolk divisions. She also worked as an associate at a small firm prior to working for the Probate and Family Court. Attorney Yee has a B.S. from the University of Miami and a J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law. She is the daughter of Filipino and Chinese immigrants, and she grew up in Minneapolis, MN. She lives in Peabody with her husband of 22 years and two sons.