Attorney Profile
DEDICATED AND SKILLED LAWYER
Phyllis Rubenstein has built her professional career upon her tireless dedication to and compassion for her clients and her skilled practice of law. Initially trained as a high school social studies teacher, Ms. Rubenstein decided to attend law school after a few years in the teaching field and graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 1982. She worked for the Legal Aid Society of New York , in both the Criminal Appeals Bureau and the Criminal Trial Division, for five years before moving to Vermont, where she clerked for Rubin, Rona, Myer and Kidney, in Barre, Vermont, concentrating her practice on criminal defense and juvenile matters. Ms. Rubenstein opened her solo practice in Montpelier, Vermont, in 1989. Her areas of practice quickly spread to family law, social security disability law, real estate, personal injury, probate and wills.
Ms. Rubenstein has served as the chairperson and is a member of the Vermont Bar Association Family Law Committee. She was also a member of the Family Court Project and the Permanency Planning Implementation Committee (juvenile court). She was a founding member and co-chairperson of the Vermont Bar Association Section of Collaborative Law and served as chairperson or co-chairperson from its inception until August 2014. She has been the secretary, vice president and president of the Washington County Bar Association. Ms. Rubenstein is also a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the National Organization of Social Security Claims Representatives.
Widely recognized as a highly skilled lawyer, with the knowledge and experience to successfully handle complex legal matters, Ms. Rubenstein has been a presenter at numerous legal conferences on issues related to family law and social security disability. She has also been a pioneer in bringing collaborative law to Vermont through her efforts to share her passion about collaborative law with professional colleagues and clients, to create the Vermont Bar Association Collaborative Law Committee, to draft a change to the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings so parties with minor children have an incentive to reach agreements through the collaborative law process and to help bring the most esteemed leaders in collaborative law to Vermont to train lawyers, mediators and other professionals. Ms. Rubenstein was interviewed about collaborative law in January, 2010, for The Bridge, a weekly Montpelier newspaper. To read the article, go to http://www.montpelierbridge.com/jan8-09Bridge_1-8.pdf.