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The report for 2017 details another year of solid accomplishments both in our traditional litigation work and in our other activities. The descriptions of our work and initiatives last year highlight NELF’s continued importance as the only nonpartisan, nonprofit, public interest law firm in New England dedicated full-time to advocating a balanced economic approach that recognizes the central values of our free enterprise system. To View Full Report Click Here  "Defendants in Wonderland: Due Process and Other Concerns Affecting 'Conspiracy Theory' Jurisdiction" ABA section of Litigation Commercial and Business Litigation Committee Wednesday July 18, 2018 12:00-1:00 PM Benjamin Robbins, senior staff attorney at NELF, will be a panelist at the ABA Roundtable Conference on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. The roundtable will disscuss whether the conspiracy theory of personal jurisdiction should be struck down as violative of due process. To the extent the theory remains viable, the panel will address the pleading and evidentiary standards that are or should be required of plaintiffs to establish personal jurisdiction based on alleged conspiratorial acts. For more information and to register Click Here
On May 2, the New England Legal Foundation partnered with McDermott Will & Emery LLP to welcome over 50 attorneys to McDermott’s offices for a timely breakfast panel discussion about what, in the #MeToo era, company management, board members, and in-house counsel can and should do to prevent harassment in the workplace, protect employees involved in such incidents, and protect their companies from missteps that can lead to liability. The panel discussion was introduced by NELF’s President, Martin J. Newhouse, and moderated by the Honorable Robert J. Cordy, partner at McDermott and Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (2001-2016). The morning panelists were Melissa Brennan, Legal Counsel, Partners Healthcare, Krista Pratt, Employment Counsel, Biogen, as well as two other leading McDermott partners Maria Rodriguez and Sarah Walters. The increased focus on issues of harassment and abuse is putting corporate America under a microscope. Business executives and board members—regardless of whether the entity they serve is private, public or charitable—must adjust the way they approach the issue of harassment in the workplace and actively respond to allegations of misconduct. Recent examples demonstrate that no industry sector is immune to the problem. This is no longer just a matter for the HR department—it requires focus and corporate action at the General Counsel and Board levels. The tone must be set at the top. The adequacy of compliance programs and the corporate response to allegations of harassment both past and present has become critical in the marketplace as well as in the courts. Indeed, in addition to high profile examples of media reports alone destroying corporate reputations, a recent decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court (Gyulakian v. Lexus of Watertown, Inc. [2016]), has made it clear that a corporate failure to take sufficient remedial action (including a thorough investigation) after having been notified of potentially harassing conduct in the workplace can subject the company to punitive, as well as compensatory, damages. The panel on May 2 addressed these issues in the context of the latest developments in response to the #MeToo movement, with a particular focus on how a combination of experienced employment, white collar and SEC practitioners can save a company time, money, resources, and most importantly its reputation in the marketplace. The panelists provided practical advice and guidance with regard to, first, preventing workplace harassment and abuse and, second, how best to deal with such incidents so as to protect both the employees involved and their employer. The New England Legal Foundation held its fourth annual John G.L. Cabot Award Dinner at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. The evening's guest of honor was Brent L. Henry, Vice President and General Counsel (ret.) of Partners HealthCare System, Inc. Cocktail Reception ($20,000)
Ernst & Young LLP Gold Sponsor ($15,000) Goodwin Procter LLP Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP Waters Corporation Silver Sponsorship ($10,000) Peabody Arnold Bronze Sponsorship ($5,000) Boston Red Sox Choate Hall & Stewart LP Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford LLP Donoghue Barett & Signal PC Eversource Service Co. Faber Daeufer & Itrato PC Foley Hoag LLP Grant Thornton Hamel Marcin Dunn Reardon & Shea, PC Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP Hogan Lovells US LLP Holtz & Reed LLP Jones Day Littler Mendelson, P.C. Manion, Gaynor & Manning Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP Morrison Mahoney LLP Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP Partners HealthCare System, Inc. Prince Lobel Tye LLP Raytheon Company Robins Kaplan LLP Ropes & Gray LLP Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP Sloane and Walsh, LLP Staples, Inc. Verrill Dana LLP Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP Centerpieces ($2,500) Upland Advisory LLC Half Table ($2,500) Fidelity Foundation Goulston & Storrs McDermott Will & Emery LLP Pierce Atwood LLP Other Attendees Biogen Idec, Inc. Bowditch & Dewey LLP Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP Charles River Associates DiCicco, Gulam & Company First Republic Bank Fish & Richardson Foley & Lardner, LLP Hemenway & Barnes LLP Holland & Knight LLP Fisher & Phillips LLP Locke Lord LLP Massachusetts Medical Society Santamarina y Steta, S.C. Serafini, Darling & Correnti, LLP Sherin and Lodgen LLP Sidley Austin LLP Jay Stephens Donations Brown Rudnick LLP NEW ENGLAND LEGAL FOUNDATION and
ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES OF MASSACHUSETTS invite you to attend their Spring Breakfast Program Wednesday, May 3, 2017; 7:30-9:30 A.M. Boston College Club, 100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts THE IMPACT OF THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT’S MARCH 6, 2017, DECISION IN IBEW LOCAL NO. 129 V. TUCCI About the Program In its seminal decision on March 6, 2017, regarding EMC’s merger with Dell, IBEW Local No. 129 v. Tucci, the Supreme Judicial Court clarified the question of directors’ fiduciary duty under Massachusetts corporate law and resolutely distinguished the law of Massachusetts in this area from the law of Delaware. At the heart of the case was the legal question whether directors of a Massachusetts publicly traded corporation, in addition to the duty they owed to the corporation, also owed a separate fiduciary duty directly to the shareholders. In its decision, the Court affirmed that directors of a publicly traded corporation owe a single fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the corporation, and in doing so may consider its various constituents’ interests, but have no separate duty to act solely in the interest of its shareholders. The Court, for the first time, also clearly distinguished the fiduciary duty owed by directors in that context from shareholder-based duties owed in close corporations and in majority shareholder controlled corporations. Our panelists will discuss the decision itself, its impact upon the development of Massachusetts’ distinct body of corporate law, and whether, in light of this decision, companies currently doing business or starting up in Massachusetts should consider incorporating or re-incorporating under Massachusetts law. Moderator and Panelist:
Panelists:
There is no cost to attend this program, but seating is limited, so please reserve your place as soon as possible. To Register: Please RSVP by return email (info@nelfonline.org) or by calling NELF at (617) 695-3660. The New England Legal Foundation held its third annual John G.L. Cabot Award Dinner at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. The evening's guest of honor was James F. Kelleher, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
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