Counsel / Litigation

• Prosecution & Defense in Law / Equity

• Complex Case Management

• Pre-Trial Motions / Discovery

• Information Architecture & Analytics

• Trial Preparation & Digital Media Presentation

• Trial Advocacy & Practice

• Appeals, Briefing & Appellate Advocacy

• Policy RND / Legislative Research & History

Divorce (Special Practice)

• Prenuptial Agreements / Marital Agreements

• Divorce / Separate Support / Alimony

• Temporary Order / QDROs

• Child Support / Child Custody / DCF

• Paternity / Co-Parenting

• Asset Recovery and Division / Inventory Control

• Separation Agreements / Modification

• Delinquency / Contempt / Enforcement

Development, research and drafting of arguments for principal brief before the U.S. Supreme Court treating constitutional sovereign immunity as applicable to arms of state in admiralty actions

Research, development and drafting of arguments for federal appellate case treating ownership of artifacts recovered from shipwreck Titanic

Drafting of technical production contract for art exhibition in major New York City museum, including extensive protections for highly controversial content

Complex international divorce with substantial offshore assets and conglomerate business interests

Counsel fine artist with piece permanently acquired for lobby of 7 World Trade Center (New York City) on creative independent contractor agreements

Equitable reformation of domestic separation agreement based on mutual mistake and judicial estoppel

Successful regulatory contestation on behalf of charter school blocked from proceeding before the MA Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Establishment of nonprofit entity managing the theatrical rights of an Academy Award winning film

Successful defense of national and international law firms against claims for malpractice and breaches of fiduciary duties, including research, development and drafting of novel precedent-setting theories won before the Louisiana Supreme Court

Appellate review of substantial tort liabilities for abuse of process and invasion of privacy on multiple grounds

Negotiation and drafting of 20,000 sf commercial lease in Brooklyn NY

Development and drafting of arguments for disposition of $250M in property casualty proceeds due on losses caused by Hurricane Katrina

Injunctive relief for employer under non-disclosure agreement with former employee asserting counterclaims for discrimination and wrongful termination

Six-figure settlement of medical negligence action against largest healthcare provider in a New England jurisdiction

Drafting of profit-sharing compensation agreement for company executives, including designing formulaic computations drawing on the IRC

Research, development and drafting of arguments for constitutional litigation treating public teachers’ union contract renewal during fiscal crisis

Representation of municipality in construction litigation, including discovery, depositions, and pre-trial motions leading to favorable settlement

Drafting of public employment legislation for state senate finance committee

Drafting of federal appellate brief on constitutional issues attendant to Department of Labor rulings and conflicting workers’ comp precedents

Research and draft successful motion to dismiss retrocessionaire in Department of Labor workers’ comp suit involving insolvent reinsurer and state guaranty entity

Preparation of memorandum on liabilities for effects of fracking in PA under federal and state law for national public interest group, including significant on-site document review, retention and analysis

Drafting of non-profit executive compensation protocols and policies that comply with IRS regulatory requirements

Establishment, governance and dissolution of MA, RI, NY, and DE LLCs and corporations, including operating agreements, bylaws, meetings, resolutions, elections/appointments, fiduciary counsel, foreign authorizations, publication requirements, annual reporting, franchise taxation, registered agency, investment/capitalization, distributions, stock transfers, maintenance of corporate veil, dissolution, etc.

Obtaining of permission from the MA Division of Banks to use of the prohibited word “trust” in a newly established corporate entity

Sexual harassment investigations and company-wide interviews in hostile work environment case that was favorably settled

Successful interpleader on behalf of insurer divesting itself of proceeds disputed among three parties and an attorney

Negotiation and drafting of licensing agreement with a major media production company and Fortune 10 subsidiary

Defense of specific performance action concerning conveyance and financing of commercial real estate, including prosecution of counterclaims for fraud, stringing, slander of title, and abuse of process

Monitoring of water testing on behalf of client sued for toxic leaching across commercial property lines, and successful motion in limine for suppression of improperly obtained evidence

Corporate nonprofit start-up qualification, documentation and drafting, including IRS 1023, document retention, conflict of interest, and whistleblower policies

Settlement negotiation and drafting of agreements for bad educational and revolving credit debts for individual vis-à-vis university and collection agency

Construction litigation discovery and defense related to failure of hotel fixtures

Counseling to public school on applicability of constitutional search and seizure law for the institution of a breathalyzer test at school functions

Opinion letter drafting for industry-pooled self-insurance organization on regulatory status vis-à-vis state insurance department

Trust reformation to segregate benefits owed to disabled sibling from benefits owed to other siblings, including qualification for state benefits

Drafting of Fifth Amendment right to remain silent analysis in police officer misconduct investigation

Research and development of memorandum of understanding for federally protected information sharing between municipal agencies

Workers’ compensation representation for reinsurer, including imposition of discovery by physical examination

Consolidation of federal discrimination actions on behalf of private corporation operating nationally

Civil suit prosecution and settlement on claim for redhibition (civil law implied warranty) concerning fraud in a real estate transaction

Drafting of opinion letter treating implied accord and satisfaction under CA law for corporate client seeking large recovery from insurer

Drafting of pre-eviction notices and eviction process management and trials public (federally financed) real estate clients

Representation of city in union ERISA withdrawal litigation, including drafting of complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief

Defense of state legal agency in employment discrimination matter concerning age and association, with extensive e-discovery utilizing custom coded metadata queries

Pre-trial litigation concerning six consolidated cases on municipal land licensing, including dismissal of pending appeals and coordinated catalog of motions in limine, and drafting of settlement agreement for the resolution of all interconnected matters

Successful prosecution of G.L. c. 93A contract dispute under theories of agency and quantum meruit, and a newly devised theory of stringing

Successful prosecution of loss recovery litigation on behalf of online equipment rental company, including design of master loss recovery file for integration with backend web platform to enable efficient extraction of determinative data

Successful defense of creative studio in personal injury suit through liquidation of claim and shift of coverage pursuit to plaintiff via arbitration, and coordinate stipulation of dismissal with prejudice

Develop G.L. c. 61A roadmap on conversion of agricultural land for development in conjunction with strategic procedural approach derived from financial counsel

Prosecution of G.L. c. 40B appeal of comprehensive permit, including leading and defending depositions of developers and public officials, drafting and coordinating discovery program, procuring expert materials, pre-trial motion practice, drafting project settlement agreement, and analysis of agency discretion and interlocking state/local regulatory standards and processes

State of the art in the art of the state — I entered law school following 9/11/01, clerked for now Justice Gilbert V. Indeglia of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, earned a JD from Emory University, and, until returning to academia at Harvard University, practiced with firms handling cases of public import. I am licensed in MA, RI, CT, NY, and LA.

I began my practice briefing the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals. I worked up appeals with scholar and advocate David J. Bederman, renowned specialist in matters constitutional and international. I have since been leading complex cases in multiple jurisdictions and across subjects — including domestic relations, trust/estate/probate, real estate, professional liability, municipal/legislative, constitutional, international, intellectual property, construction, regulatory/administrative, corporate and commercial, labor/employment, environmental, maritime, insurance, education, nonprofit, and tax.

I took the first opportunity I had out of law school to get involved in public affairs: I moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to litigate the flood and levee cases. There, I superintended an array of matters proceeding through governmental systems disrupted to their cores, including representation of the Louisiana Recovery School District in its bid to take over Orleans Parish schools. There was no shortage of civic issues to shepherd, some of which bore directly on civil rights.

I returned to New England to attend Harvard University, where I earned an additional degree in Policy and Management, was a fellow at the Center for State and Local Government and the Program on Education Policy and Governance, as well as a Zuckerman Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership, and where I published a scholarly account of democratic malfunction.

I also joined a Harvard Law School clinic as a teaching/practicing attorney, continued publishing on public policy, and finally took a residential position at Harvard College (Cabot House) before exiting the university and signing on as the director of legal studies at Cape Cod Community College in 2013 to make a difference in the lives of those facing inordinate challenges to their professional progress.

After moving my residence to Duxbury on the South Shore of Massachusetts, I also relocated my practice there to incorporate regional family cases into my portfolio. After practicing in a variety of environments and disciplines, I found the pivotal and highly interpersonal nature of domestic relations to be a vocational addition to my litigation practice. I am a qualified neutral mediator and conciliator in conformance with G.L. c. 233, §23C, and a member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation. In the course of developing this area of practice, I researched and wrote an historical novel about a young man caught between political and familial priorities in 1960s South Africa, including detailed treatment of the customary laws of domestic relations of the isiXhosa people. My work with families also draws on my experience in education, which is centered on student growth and development.

While I most often tackle matters in accordance with existing law, I appreciate stewarding issues the law does not yet reach, either because they are rapidly developing or inadequately addressed by demonstrably preferential policy, or because there is demand for a predictive application of law to emerging technology.

I am an active member of the Plymouth and Barnstable County Bar Associations, as well as the American, Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations, and other professional organizations, such as the National Council on Family Relations.