DA announces promotions to key posts in office

Assistant District Attorneys Jillian Parent, Jillian Handy, Veronice Santana, Aidan Lanciani

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Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan announced the promotions to key positions of four assistant district attorneys, effective Feb. 6.

Assistant District  Attorney Jillian Handy, who joined the NWDA in September of 2018 working primarily out of district courts in Greenfield and Northampton, has been promoted to handle cases in the Superior Court working out of the Child Abuse Unit. “During her tenure here, she has established herself as a talented litigator and a fierce defender of victims,” said DA Sullivan.

Assistant District Attorney Veronice Santana assumed the position of Attorney-in-Charge in the Northampton District Court. ADA Santana began her career with the office in Northampton District Court in December 2019, after which she spent three years as a prosecutor in the Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

“We look forward to having her return to lead our team in Northampton,” said DA Sullivan. “She has proven herself a talented and capable trial attorney, possessing the initiative and organizational skills necessary to succeed as attorney in charge of a busy district court. As AIC of Northampton, Veronice can continue to serve the community and pursue her interest in domestic violence cases.”

Greenfield ADA Aidan Lanciani has been assigned a new role as the district court prosecutor assigned to the Anti-Crime Task Force, working with ADA Joseph Webber in prosecuting serious narcotics cases. In that role she will continue to work out of the Greenfield District Court, which hands the highest number of narcotics prosecutions of all the district courts in the Northwestern District. She has been a prosecutor with the office since February, 2021 although, she had worked as an intern in the office while in law school during the academic year of 2019/ 2020.

“Aidan has demonstrated a detail-oriented approach that will serve her well as she tackles complex search and seizure issues in Task Force cases,” said DA Sullivan. “We are excited for her chance to grow as prosecutor in this new role.

ADA Jillian Parent, who joined the office in September, 2021, was promoted to Attorney-in-Charge of the Orange District Court.  She has a background as a police dispatcher, working for six years as a police dispatcher for the Gardner and Athol police departments before law school.

“Her familiarity with the law enforcement community which serves the Orange District Court makes her uniquely qualified to succeed as the liaison between our office and those departments,” said DA Sullivan. “Jillian has demonstrated the maturity and dedication to justice required to be a successful AIC.”

The other attorneys-in-charge for the office are ADA Ryan Scott in Greenfield District Court and ADA Alexa Pascucci in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.