Attorney James Paikos has joined the firm of Gallagher & Cavanaugh LLP in Lowell, where he will focus on tort and criminal litigation in addition to real estate, landlord-tenant and bankruptcy matters.
Before joining Gallagher & Cavanaugh, Paikos worked at Regan Associates in Boston. Prior to that, he was an assistant district attorney with the Middlesex County District Attorney's office, where he oversaw the Framingham jury session in addition to his trial work. He also prosecuted unemployment and insurance fraud for the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. Paikos graduated from Boston University Law School in 1996.
Ralph Martin II, a partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP and a managing principal of Bingham Consulting Group, has been chosen to serve as the new chairman of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
His two-year term will begin on May 4, when he is inaugurated at the Chamber's 97th Annual Meeting & Dinner. Martin was the unanimous choice of the Chamber's Executive and Nominating Committees. He is the former Suffolk County District Attorney, having served as the chief elected law enforcement official for Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop from 1992-2002.
In accepting his new responsibilities, Martin stated: "The Chamber's commitment to work for legislative changes that encourage a strong, growing economy is a commitment I have shared throughout my career. I look forward to serving as chairman of the Chamber, and advancing its work to create an environment that fosters job creation throughout the region's leading industries while providing meaningful and broad job opportunities for Greater Boston."
"Ralph Martin has demonstrated remarkable leadership in the Greater Boston region, in both the business and government sectors," said current Chamber Chairman Jim Mongan, MD, who is CEO of Partners Health Care. "His vision, experience and dedication to this region will be invaluable in advancing Greater Boston's pre-eminence as one of the world's great metropolitan regions."
Martin has more than 20 years experience as a trial lawyer and as a state and federal prosecutor. At Bingham McCutchen — a global law firm based in Boston with more than 950 attorneys in 11 offices — Martin practices in the areas of corporate governance and investigations, white-collar defense and general civil litigation. At Bingham Consulting, Martin helps clients execute multi-state political strategies to complement their business mission.
Martin is a recognized leader in the community and in the legal profession, having served as chairman of the Judicial Nominating Committee; director of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; presidential appointee for the Special Committee on the Future of ALI-ABA; former chair of The Partnership; and life member of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers' Association. He received his JD from Northeastern University School of Law and his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University.
Attorney Jonathan L. Mannina was appointed as the new Executive Director of Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (LACCM), effective April 3, 2006. A graduate of Georgetown University and the Georgetown University Law Center, Mannina has worked at LACCM for the past eight years in various management capacities. In his previous position as litigation director, Mannina supervised the systemic litigation undertaken by LACCM and was part of a management team that oversees the daily operations of the office.
LACCM provides free civil legal assistance to the low-income and elderly residents of Worcester County.
Prior to joining LACCM, Mannina worked at Silver, Golub & Teitell, a leading plaintiff-side firm in Connecticut, where he litigated employment discrimination, medical malpractice and complex personal injury cases at the trial and appellate level. Mannina has been a member of the board of directors of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance for seven years and he currently serves on Worcester's Community Development Advisory Committee.
Michael Badger, LACCM's board president, said that the search for a new executive director was "a serious undertaking that took the combined efforts of our staff, Acting Executive Director Faye Rachlin and our board of directors. Finding the right mix of dedication to protecting LACCM's poor and elderly clients and commitment to energizing this organization's wonderful staff to new levels of excellence was a real challenge. We could not be more pleased to have Jonathan taking over the reins at LACCM."