Nicole A. Black

Nicole A. Black is an associate attorney at Vafiades, Brountas & Kominsky in Bangor, Maine. She focuses on family law and general civil litigation, including divorce, child custody, parental rights, adoption, and protection order proceedings. She works with people facing complicated family situations and aims to ensure their positions are presented clearly to the court. She joined the firm’s practice in 2017 after earlier work in domestic violence advocacy.

Nicole earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and English, summa cum laude, from Colby College in 2002 and a Master of Arts in Byzantine Art History from the University of Notre Dame in 2004. She received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine Law School in 2010. Her humanities education and legal training inform her approach to close analysis, written advocacy, and sensitive client communication.

Before joining the firm, she practiced family law at Partners for Peace in Bangor, assisting survivors of domestic violence with divorce, parental rights, and protection orders. Her experience includes more than one thousand protection order cases. She represents both plaintiffs and defendants in protection order matters and has worked as a Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service mediator for small claims cases. These roles provide experience with contested hearings and conflict resolution.

Nicole A. Black was reappointed to a second term on Maine’s Victims’ Compensation Board in December 2025. In that role, she contributes legal perspectives to a body responsible for reviewing compensation claims by victims of violent crime. She has also spoken publicly about domestic violence and is affiliated with the Penobscot County Bar Association and the John Waldo Ballou Inn of Court. Her practice combines family advocacy, protective order experience, and dispute resolution.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Vafiades, Brountas & Kominsky, LLP
• Member, Maine State Bar Association
• Member, Penobscot Nation Tribal Court
• Member, John Waldo Ballou Inn of Court
• Member, Penobscot County Bar Association
• Member, Phi Beta Kappa Society
• Attorney Member, Victim Witness Board (2023-Present)

Licensed State

• Maine

Education

• University of Maine Law School
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• University of Notre Dame
  Master of Arts (MA) in Byzantine Art History
• Colby College
  Summa cum laude, Bachelor of Arts in Art History and English

Awards & Badges