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Hear exoneree and innocence advocate Sean K. Ellis at MBA Annual Dinner, May 2

Thursday, March 14, 2024
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Sean K. Ellis

Don't miss the Massachusetts Bar Association Annual Dinner at the Weston Boston Seaport District on May 2, which will feature a keynote address from Sean K. Ellis, director of the Exoneree Network of the New England Innocence Project.

Ellis is an exoneree, motivational speaker and fierce advocate for reforms to the criminal legal system. At the age of 19, Ellis was arrested for the murder of a police officer and was wrongfully convicted at his third trial, only after two juries could not reach a unanimous verdict. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Significant police corruption and misconduct, including witness coercion, evidence tampering and misleading forensic evidence, led to Ellis’ wrongful conviction.

He was fully exonerated in 2021 after spending nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and his story is now the subject of the Netflix docuseries Trial 4. In 2020, he co-founded the Exoneree Network, a peer-led program funded by the New England Innocence Project, to support the practical, emotional and spiritual reentry needs of exonerees as they process the trauma of long-term incarceration and work to rebuild their lives in freedom.

Ellis is frequently invited to speak to help spread awareness about wrongful convictions throughout New England. He spoke at NEIP’s 2020 Voices of the Innocent: Power in Community virtual event and was an exoneree storyteller at the inaugural Voices of the Innocent: Still We Rise in 2019. 

The MBA Annual Dinner will also include the presentation of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Scholarship, with more awards to be announced soon.

Purchase individual tickets

Purchase a table


Register as a sponsor

To join our list of sponsors, select one of the options below using the Annual Dinner sponsorship form.

Champions Of Justice — $10,000

  • Up to two tables for 10
  • Full-page ad in dinner program
  • Firm name/logo projected at the dinner
  • Sponsorship-level recognition in Lawyers eJournal and displayed on MBA website
  • Additional prominent recognition at the dinner

Gold Sponsor — $5,000

  • Table for 10
  • Full-page advertisement in program
  • Logo/firm name projected at event and featured on MBA website
  • Additional prominent recognition at the event

Silver Sponsor — $2,5000

    • Table for 8
    • Half-page advertisement in program
    • Logo/firm name projected at event and featured on MBA website

    Bronze Sponsor — $1,750

    • Table for 8
    • Logo/firm name projected at event
    • Firm name included in program

    Thank you to our current sponsors:

    Champions of Justice:

    MBA Insurance Agency

    Gold:

    CNA Insurance
    Kenney & Sams PC
    Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow PC
    Nifty Marketing
    Peabody & Arnold LLP
    Rubin & Rudman LLP
    Turco Legal

    Silver:

    Arrowood LLP
    Breakstone, White, & Gluck PC
    Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford LLP
    Diller Law
    Eden Rafferty
    FAZ Forensics
    Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP
    Kazarosian Costello LLP
    Keches Law Group PC
    Milne Law PC
    Robins Kaplan LLP
    Todd & Weld

    Bronze:

    Board of Overseers
    Brick, Jones, McBrien & Hickey LLP
    Cetrulo LLP
    Denise Squillante PC

    Registration for this event is due by Friday, April 26, at noon.

    Questions regarding this event can be directed to MBA Membership and Marketing Manager Heather Robertson by email at Hrobertson@massbar.org. To register over the phone, please call (617) 338-0561.