Mark I. Zarrow

Lian Zarrow

Springfield, Massachusetts 01089

508-799-4461

Child Custody, Child Support Modification, Civil, Commercial, Discrimination, Divorce, Divorce Modification and Enforcement, Elder, Negligence, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Trusts and Estates


Mark Zarrow’s practice emphasizes mediation, arbitration, appeals, and the protection of elders through protective services orders, guardianships and conservatorships.

A Lian Zarrow partner since 1982, he has tried cases and briefed and argued appeals before the Massachusetts Trial Court, Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court; the U.S. District Court; and the U. S. Court of Appeals.

Mediation and arbitration practice

  • Mark has mediated and arbitrated hundreds of matters concerning divorce and separation, personal injury, contract and business disputes, construction issues, employment discrimination, and consumer complaints.
  • Serves on the Arbitrator Panel of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation’s Home Improvement Contractor’s Arbitration Program
  • Arbitrator for the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ BBB AUTO LINE program
  • Approved to serve as trial master and discovery master by the Massachusetts Superior Court and Massachusetts Probate and Family Court
  • Panelist on the Superior Court panel of arbitrators
  • Member of the Massachusetts Council of Family Mediators
  • Served on the Standing Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution of the Administrative Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court for many years

APPELLATE PRACTICE
Mark’s appellate cases include:
Lipsitt v. Plaud, 466 Mass. 240 (2013). In this case Attorney Zarrow prevailed before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in overturning a lower court decision, which dismissed a claim for unpaid wages under the statute of limitations. He also convinced the Court to overturn the lower court’s holding that the individual who ran the defendant corporation could not be held personally liable.
Carpenter v. Carpenter, 73 Mass.App.Ct. 732 (2009). Based on Attorney Zarrow’s argument the Massachusetts Appeals Court overturned the lower court’s ruling that the former husband’s municipal pension could be partly assigned to the former wife, where almost twenty years had elapsed since the original divorce.
Cormier v. Quist, 77 Mass.App.Ct. 914 (2010). Attorney Zarrow convinced the Massachusetts Appeals Court to remand the case to the trial judge because the judge had not considered that the child was in his mother’s sole custody, in a case that was brought to determine whether the child, who was born out of wedlock, should have his mother’s, as opposed to his father’s, surname.

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts, 1978
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit, 1980
  • U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts, 1979

Education

  • Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts
    • J.D. - 1978
  • J.A.M.S./Endispute - 1996
    • Major: Mediation Training
  • State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Information and Library Science, Buffalo, New York
    • M.L.S. - 1973
  • Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
    • B.A. - 1972
    • Major: English Literature

Published Works

  • "Protecting Elders from Abuse and Neglect," in Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts: Protecting Legal Rights, Preserving Resources and Providing Health Care Options, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 1998
  • "Protection from Abuse," Elder Law Handbook, Massachusetts Bar Association, 1992

Classes/Seminars

  • Guardianship Seminar, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education

Honors and Awards

  • "Outstanding Commitment and Service Award," from the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central
  • Henry Lee Willis Center Community Volunteer Award for "Outstanding Advocacy Work Against Homelessness"

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Worcester County Bar Association, President, September 1, 2013 - August 31, 2014
  • Massachusetts Bar Association House of Delegates, Member

Pro Bono Activities

  • Volunteer lawyer for the Worcester County Bar Association
  • Volunteer mediator with the Family Services of Central Massachusetts mediation program
  • Provides shelter visits for the Harry Zarrow Homeless Advocacy Project
  • Serves as Lawyer for the Day at Worcester County Probate and Family Court
  • Trustee and treasurer of the Worcester County Law Library Trust
  • Trustee (183-1996) and President (1992-1994) of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
  • Lecturer and Seminar Panelist with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education
300 Main Street
The Day Building
Worcester, MA 01608

P: 508-799-4461
F: 508-799-6522
E: [email protected]