Hon. Patrick Fox

Hon. Patrick FoxJudge Patrick Fox was appointed a Justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court, District Court Department in 1990 and served as First Justice of the Gardner and Winchendon District Courts from 1997-2010 before retiring from the bench. Prior to his appointment, Judge Fox worked as a staff attorney with the Worcester office of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (formerly the Massachusetts Defenders Committee) and as an associate, then partner, with Lian, Zarrow, Eynon and Shea in Worcester. Judge Fox currently serves as president of the Board of Directors of Our Father’s House, Inc., a nonprofit organization managing shelters for the homeless and addiction recovery programs in northern Worcester County. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Worcester County Food Bank. Judge Fox has previously been a member and chair of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Worcester County. In the town of Sterling, he has served as town moderator and member and chair of both the school committee and the housing authority.

As an Access to Justice Fellow, Judge Fox will focus his efforts on three projects. Together with the director of the Massachusetts Justice Project and members of the Worcester County Bar Association’s Committee on Services to the Poor and Homeless, he will work to establish a “lawyer for the day” program in the Worcester District Court. The pilot program will provide pro bono legal assistance to indigent litigants in debt collection matters. If successful, the program may be expanded to other District Courts in Worcester County. Judge Fox is also assisting Dismas House, a Worcester-based nonprofit organization that helps ex-offenders avoid recidivism and become contributing members of society. Through the “Worcester Initiative for Supported Reentry,” a Dismas House pilot project furnishing comprehensive and integrated support services to a group of recently-released inmates, Judge Fox will work to find employment opportunities for these individuals. Finally, in partnership with Lutheran Social Services of New England, Judge Fox is handling an immigration matter involving an unaccompanied minor refugee from Honduras who is seeking lawful permanent residence in the United States through Special Immigrant Juvenile status.