Meet Our Attorneys
Emily S. Starr
Emily S. Starr concentrates primarily in assisting families whose members include elders, individuals with disabilities and special needs. Her areas of practice include benefits planning (Medicaid, SSI, Section 8 and VA benefits), estate planning including special needs trusts, guardianship/ conservatorship and estate and trust administration.
Ms. Starr is a graduate of Vassar College and Boston University School of Law. She is a member of the Special Needs Alliance and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), has previously served on the Board of NAELA which awarded her the honor of Fellow. She is certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation[1]. She has chaired both the Boards of Elder Home Care Services of Worcester Area, Inc. and the Massachusetts Chapter of NAELA. She currently serves on the Fallon Health Ethics Committee and chairs the Ethics Committee of Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community. She serves on the Boards of the Boylston Public Library Foundation, Salem Community Corporation (Briarwood) as well as the Advisory Board of Trustees of the Seven Hills Foundation.
Ms. Starr was presented with the annual Award for Community Service by the Theresa Foundation in May of 2007 and, in January of 2009, with the Scholar Mentor Award by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), which is presented to outstanding members of the bench and bar who have demonstrated leadership through long-term service to MCLE, excellence in teaching or writing, and creativity in the suggestion of program and publication ideas. She has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of elder law, Boston’s Best Lawyers, and since 2005 she has been named a Super Lawyer in various categories including elder law, top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts and top 50 women lawyers in New England.
She has written extensively and from the date of its original publication until 2017 served as co-editor of a three volume treatise entitled Estate Planning for the Aged and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). For twenty-five years she co-chaired the leading program on elder and disability law sponsored by MCLE and continues to speak frequently at continuing legal education programs and to other professional and non-professional groups.
[1] An organization approved by the American Bar Association to offer certification in the area of elder law.
Laura Silver Traiger
Laura Silver Traiger concentrates on the legal issues facing older and disabled clients, including estate and Medicaid planning, public benefits protection using special needs trusts, guardianships/conservatorships and estate administration.
She is the author of a chapter on MassHealth options for individuals living in the community in Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts published by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). Ms. Traiger is an active member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, serving as its President in 2017. In 2014, she was named MassNAELA’s Member of the Year and, in 2015, she was awarded the Deborah H. Thomson Advocacy Award relative to her work in drafting and promoting legislation to help keep elders in their homes. She is also involved with the Worcester County Bar Association, previously serving as Co-Chair of the Probate Committee, the Greater Worcester Alzheimer’s Partnership, Dementia Friendly Worcester, and the Massachusetts Bar Association. She also serves on the advisory committee for the money management program of Elder Services of Worcester and mentors for the Elder Law Project of the Women’s Bar Foundation.
Ms. Traiger received her law degree cum laude from Suffolk University Law School and her B.A. cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Cynthia A. Brown
Cynthia A. Brown is an associate at the law firm of Starr Traiger LLP. Ms. Brown concentrates on estate planning and administration, and practices in the firm's Fitchburg office.
Ms. Brown brings to Starr Traiger LLP her thirty years of experience in the Trusts and Estates departments of Sherburne, Powers and Needham (now Holland & Knight) and Peabody and Brown (now Nixon Peabody), both in Boston. She has designed, drafted and implemented sophisticated estate planning techniques to aid middle-class families and high net worth clients, including Revocable Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, and beneficiary designations for retirement assets to maximize tax deferral. She has counseled clients regarding charitable gift planning with charitable trusts, charitable gift funds, and community foundations. Ms. Brown is especially interested in designing plans to fit a family's particular circumstances and wishes, and in planning for the care of pets.
Ms. Brown has supervised and worked on the administration of estates of varying sizes, including preparing the necessary tax returns and reviewing returns prepared by other professionals. She has counselled fiduciaries and beneficiaries in contested probate cases.
Ms. Brown has served as a Trustee for trusts established by her clients, including a Special Needs Trust and a Charitable Remainder Unitrust.
Ms. Brown has represented charitable organizations in various matters, including petitions to alter the terms of a charitable bequest, to organize and obtain tax-exempt status for new organizations, and one to dissolve an alumni organization where the school had merged into another organization. On a pro bono basis, she served as the Treasurer of the Dedham Choral Society for eight years, preparing all tax returns and state filings for this charitable organization.
Now that she has returned to North Central Massachusetts, Ms. Brown continues her life-long music-making as a member of the Merrimack Valley A Cappella, a chapter of Sweet Adelines International which is based in Wilmington. She also remains active in dog showing and training clubs, including the Pioneer Valley Kennel Club and the Poodle Club of Massachusetts. She hopes to return to competitive golf in the not-too-distant future.
Ms. Brown received her law degree from Harvard Law School and her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Charles Vander Linden
Charles E. Vander Linden has been involved in a broad range of civil litigation and a general civil practice during the last 45 years.
His litigation experience has included personal injury litigation, special education, real estate, environmental, employment, business matters and other civil claims. His practice also includes working with business owners on issues such as contract negotiation, insurance coverage, real estate, employment matters and corporate governance. He graduated, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1976. After graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk for the Hon. Reuben Goodman on the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He has served as a Trustee of the Groton Conservation Trust for 35 years. Attorney Vander Linden also serves on the Board of Directors of the Nashua River Watershed Association.