MBA President-elect Denise I. Murphy
The Supreme Judicial Court has named Massachusetts Bar Association President-elect Denise I. Murphy co-chair of the SJC’s newly formed Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being. The new committee, which was announced on Jan. 9, is charged with planning and overseeing efforts to enhance the well-being of lawyers, judges and law students in the commonwealth. Retired SJC Justice Margot Botsford will also serve as co-chair of the Standing Committee.
The Standing Committee will coordinate efforts to carry out the recommendations of the SJC Steering Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, which was created in 2018 to explore and report on the state of well-being among Massachusetts lawyers. The Steering Committee’s report on its findings and recommendations was presented to the SJC in July 2019. The comprehensive report offers many recommendations to improve the working life of lawyers in whatever setting or area of law they practice and to address the aspects of the legal profession that contribute to unhealthy levels of anxiety and stress, isolation, mental health challenges, and alcohol or other substance use disorders. Murphy previously served as the MBA representative on the SJC’s Steering Committee on Lawyer Well-Being.
In addition to Murphy and Botsford, other members of the Standing Committee include:
- Gavin F. Alexander, Esq., Ropes & Gray LLP
- Hon. Jennifer L. Ginsburg, Worcester District Court
- Katherine Grubbs, Esq., supervising staff attorney, Committee for Public Counsel Services
- Marc A. Moccia, Esq., Kazarosian Costello LLP
- Beth R. Myers, Esq., Powers, Jodoin, Margolis & Mantell LLP
- Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Boston University Law School
- Richard M. Page, Esq., executive director, Boston Bar Association
- Mala M. Rafik, Esq., Rosenfeld & Rafik
- District Attorney Marian Ryan, Middlesex County
- Dr. Leslie Schwab, MD, former chief medical officer, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
- Ruth Silman, Esq., Nixon Peabody
- Mary Strother, Esq., first assistant attorney general, Office of the Attorney General
- Christina M. Turgeon, Esq., Law Office of Christina M. Turgeon
The SJC also named the following lawyers as advisors to the Standing Committee:
- Joseph Berman, Esq., general counsel, Board of Bar Overseers
- Rodney Dowell, Esq., bar counsel
- Anna Levine, Esq., executive director, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers
- Marilyn J. Wellington, Esq., executive director, Board of Bar Examiners