ABOUT LISA NEWMAN-POLK

Lisa Newman-Polk is an attorney specializing in criminal defense in the Massachusetts state courts.  She has zealously represented several hundred individuals charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes in the district and superior courts, winning multiple trials and motions.  She is reputed as a strong, strategic and relentless criminal defense attorney. 

Lisa began her career as an intern with the Federal Defenders of Montana and then as a clerk for the Honorable William Leaphart of the Montana Supreme Court.  In 2006, her litigation career began as a staff attorney with the Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, an organization dedicated to exceptional criminal defense training and practice.  In her years with the public defender office, she successfully tried numerous cases and motions.

Lisa has a Master's in Social Work and is a licensed certified social worker (LCSW) with clinical experience treating addiction and other mental health disorders as an outpatient therapist and as a mental health professional at the men’s maximum security prison in Massachusetts.

In addition to her work in the courtroom, Lisa is a strong advocate for criminal justice reform as it relates to the “war on drugs” and prisoners’ rights.  Lisa has provided her expertise as a guest speaker on WBUR, and has been a presenter and panelist at numerous forums and conferences, as well as testified at the State House on criminal justice and prison-related issues.  Lisa is on the Board of Directors for Prisoners’ Legal Services, and is an active member of the Middlesex Defense Attorneys and the Massachusetts’s chapter of the National Association of Social Workers’ criminal justice group.  

EDUCATION

Columbia College, Columbia University, BA
University of Montana School of Law, JD
Boston College School of Social Work, MSW