About Attorney Deborah Miller Tate
Partner
Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and raised in Blackstone, Massachusetts,
Deb always knew she wanted to be an attorney. Both of her parents worked
in textile mills and wanted to ensure that their daughter had every opportunity
to go to college and pursue a degree in law. She was able to attend Classical
High School in Providence, commuting daily from Blackstone, Massachusetts.
Legal Practice
One of the highlights of her legal career was to serve as President of
the Rhode Island Bar Association from 1999 - 2000. At that time, the organization
had in excess of 5000 lawyers as members.
In 2004, she became the only divorce attorney from Rhode Island to be elected
and designated a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers,
of which there are approximately 100 members nationwide. Prior to that,
in 1991, Deb became the first female from Rhode Island and only one of
six attorneys to be elected and designated a Fellow of the American Academy
of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Award-Winning Representation
In 1997, she was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the American
Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She has been on the Board of Governors
of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 2012.
In 2013, Deb was appointed by Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Judge, Paul
Suttell, to the State of Rhode Island Board of Bar Examiners where she
continues to serve.
Deb has been chosen by her peers, since inception in 2007 as a Rhode Island
Super Lawyer as well as the Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in New England.
This honor is limited to no more than five percent of the attorneys in
the State of Rhode Island. For 2019, she has been selected as one of Top
10 Attorneys in Rhode Island.
In April 2019, she was one of five attorneys in Rhode Island who was inducted
into the RI Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame for Excellence in the Law. Since
2009 and continuing, Deb is the Co-Editor of
A Practical Guide to Divorce in Rhode Island which was published in 2009 and is a go-to guide for attorneys, judges,
accountants, and mediators.
She participates in various 5K's and half-marathons as a walker, raising
money for various charities. In 2009, she walked the Boston Marathon for
the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund walk.
Year joined firm: