Lisa S. Vara is the Director of the Matrimonial and Economic Justice Project and Cynthia B. Rubin Matrimonial Fellow for Sanctuary for Families, New York's leading service provider and advocate for survivors of domestic violence and other forms of gender violence. Lisa has been practicing in the field of family and matrimonial law since 2007 when she joined Sanctuary for Families as a Staff Attorney based in the Bronx. Lisa represents victims of domestic violence in Supreme, Family, and Integrated Domestic Violence Courts across New York City, and oversees a team of attorneys and support staff representing survivors of gender violence in matrimonial, family court, housing, and public benefits proceedings. In addition, she consults on international custody cases. In her current role, Lisa trains, supervises, and mentors lawyers, support staff, and law students in representing survivors of domestic violence in complex litigation, including support-enforcement cases in partnership with Retired Justice Rosalyn Richter through an externship program at Columbia Law School. Lisa received a Rising Star Award in 2017 from the New York Law Journal, in which she was recognized as a promising lawyer under 40. Lisa earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 2006, and her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a Minor in French from the Johns Hopkins University in 2003.
Director of the Matrimonial and Economic Justice Project and Cynthia B. Rubin Matrimonial Fellow for Sanctuary for Families