Minnesota Lawyer
Minneapolis family law attorney Lisa Elliott knows divorce cases are difficult.
But Elliott never imagined in 2011 the determination she would need to represent David Rucki in his marriage-dissolution and child-custody proceedings against his wife, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki.
“It was one crisis after another,” Elliott said of the litigation that spanned six years. “Every issue you can imagine came up at some point including parental alienation and custody. It was a like a sinking ship. There is a hole over there and then a hole over here. And you’ve got make sure you plug them all up to get the boat to the other side.”
Ultimately, Elliott’s tenacity prevailed in what is considered the first significant case in Minnesota dealing with parental alienation.
“Lisa successfully worked to reunite five children who had been alienated from their father by their mother,” said Patrick Elliott, Lisa Elliott’s law partner and brother. “Her client was ultimately awarded sole physical and legal custody of all five children. The mother was prosecuted in 2017 and found guilty of deprivation of parental rights by hiding two of the parties’ children on a ranch in northwestern Minnesota for 2½ years.”
Lisa Elliott said, “I like helping people through some pretty tough stages in their lives and see them come out the other side.”
