A Practice That Reflects My Values
After working for major law firms in Baltimore, Boston, and Worcester, and working for a large multinational corporation, I moved to the small town of Brewster on Cape Cod and hung out the proverbial shingle. Why? Because I wanted to do the following:
- Give individuals and businesses the opportunity to obtain at affordable rates the same high quality legal services I previously provided large, deep pocket, corporate clients by tailoring my services to fit their unique needs and budgets and working in partnership with them to accomplish their objectives at the least possible cost to the client (without sacrificing, of course, quality).
- Practice law in a way that reflects my values: speaking the truth with love, respecting the dignity and worth of each individual, and believing that the forces of justice will triumph in the end because they are right and good.
I strive to provide cost-effective and responsive representation for individuals and small businesses in a wide range of areas of the law, including trademark and copyright, estate planning, civil litigation, general business law issues (contract drafting, setting up corporations and LLCs, promissory notes, buying or selling a business), and divorce.
Refreshingly Honest & Down-to-Earth
Unlike many lawyers, I am down-to-earth and easy to talk to.
If a matter requires expertise I don't have, I will try to refer you to a lawyer who does. (My motto, after decades in practice, is, "I know what I know. I know what I don't know. And I know the difference.")
If I think a matter will cost more in terms of legal fees than it is worth on a risk/reward basis, I won't hesitate to tell you. Contact me to learn more about me or my practice or to arrange a consultation.
My professional and personal life experiences have given me the ability to provide clients with unique and effective approaches to their legal concerns. After beginning my legal career as an associate at a leading Baltimore firm which is now DLA Piper, one of the largest in the world, I spent a decade as a litigation attorney at Mobil Oil Corporation, before joining the Worcester law firm of Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee where I concentrated on civil litigation and appellate practice.
Since 2003, I have been a solo practitioner on Cape Cod, providing a wide range of legal services to individuals and small businesses.
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, queer, and questioning clients to my practice.
Brewster, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Law Office of Lindsey M. Straus
For the past twenty-one years I have been a solo practitioner in the Barnstable County, Massachusetts town of Brewster on Cape Cod. I have obtained hundreds of trademark registrations from the United States Patent & Trademark Office, successfully represented clients in courts throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including Superior Court, District Court and Small Claims and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, represented Personal Representatives in probating estates in the Barnstable County Probate and Family Court, helped clients obtain divorces in Probate and Family Court, helped clients set up businesses, and buy and sell businesses through asset purchase agreements, and advised clients on a wide range of legal issues.
For twelve years prior to opening my own law practice, I was Of Counsel to Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee (MODL), a large full-service firm in Worcester, Massachusetts. As a member of the Appellate Practice Group and Litigation Department, I handled a wide variety of civil cases in both state and federal trial and appellate courts, developing a well-deserved reputation for researching and drafting high quality memoranda of law (pre-trial, trial, post-trial and appellate) in legally and/or factually complex antitrust, breach of contract, business tort (Chapter 93A, trademark infringement), insurance coverage, ERISA, medical malpractice, plaintiffs class action, employment discrimination and civil rights litigations.
Prior to MODL, I was a litigation attorney with Mobil Oil Corporation specializing in antitrust, product liability and dealer franchise litigations, and began my legal career as a litigation associate with Piper & Marbury (now DLA Piper) in Baltimore, Maryland specializing in product liability and antitrust litigation.
I received my J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where I was Assistant Editor of the Maryland Law Review and received numerous academic awards, including The Order of the Coif (the legal equivalent of Phi Beta Kapa), and was a student clerk for a federal district court judge. I received my bachelor's degree cum laude from Harvard College in 1973, where I was an editor of The Harvard Crimson.
I am admitted to practice in Massachusetts, before the First and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals, and in the District of Massachusetts and Maryland. From 2004 to 2008 I was Clerk to and Member of the Board of Trustees of First Parish (Unitarian Universalist) Brewster. For many years, I also served as the moderator elected by the congregation at the church's Annual Meeting, and currently serve as a lay minister, a member of the Policy Committee, sing in the choir and perform as a member of our church band, and sing with the Outer Cape Chorale.
Areas of Practice:
- Trademark & Copyright
- Estates & Trusts
- Civil Litigation
- Divorce
- Contracts
- Asset Purchase Agreements
- Non-Profit & Tax-Exempt Organizations
- Litigation and Appeals
- Probate & Estate Administration
- Trusts
- Living Wills
- Powers of Attorney and Appointment
- Wills
Bar Admissions:
- Maryland, 1977
- New York, 1980
- Massachusetts, 1989
- U.S. District Court District of Maryland, 1978
- U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts, 1989
- U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit, 1989
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1998
Education
- University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, Baltimore, Maryland, J.D. with Honors
- Honors: Numerous Academic Awards
- The Order of the Coif
- Maryland Law Review, Assistant Editor
- Harvard University, Cum Laude
- Editor, Harvard Crimson
- The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Past Employment Positions:
- Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, Of Counsel, 1990-2002
- Fordham & Starrett, Of Counsel, 1988 - 1990
- Mobil Oil Corporation, Litigation Attorney, 1979 – 1988
- DLA Piper, Litigation Associate, 1977-1979
