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Issue November 2011

Campbell, Xifaras 
named to UMass 
Board of Trustees

Gov. Deval Patrick recently made seven appointments to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, including Massachusetts Bar Association President Richard P. Campbell and Margaret D. Xifaras, the chair of Southern New England School of Law's Board of Trustees.

The board, which comprises 19 voting members and three nonvoting members, establishes the university's general policies. The trustees, who serve five-year terms, are given broad responsibility to assure that university funds are spent properly.

"These board members all care deeply about the University of Massachusetts and will work to strengthen our already robust system of state colleges and universities," Patrick said. "I know they will focus on providing affordable and accessible world-class educational opportunities to all residents of the commonwealth."

Campbell is the founder of the national trial law firm Campbell, Campbell, Edwards & Conroy, the founding chair of the Board of Overseers for Boston College Law School and a graduate of Boston College Law School and the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Xifaras, a partner in Lang, Xifaras & Bullard, is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Southeastern Massachusetts University, now known as the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Members receive "Top Women of Law" Award

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly honored three dozen "Top Women of Law" on Sept. 23 at an event at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, including 16 MBA members. The award "celebrates legal educators, trailblazers and role models who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in social justice, advocacy and business."

MBA Vice President Marsha V. Kazarosian, of Kazarosian Law Offices, was among those recognized. The other MBA members honored were:

  • Marisa DeFranco, 
DeFranco Law Group
  • Raya S. Dreben, 
Massachusetts Appeals Court
  • Judith M. Flynn, 
Elder Law Office of Judith M. Flynn
  • Janis K. Fraser , Fish & Richardson
  • Ellen W. Freyman , Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin PC
  • Karen Green , WilmerHale
  • Kathleen M. Guilfoyle, 
Campbell, Campbell, 
Edwards & Conroy PC
  • Lori M. Henderson, 
Albany Molecular Research Inc.
  • Patricia L. Kelly, 
Esdaile, Barrett,
Jacobs & Mone
  • Stacy Malone, 
Victim Rights Law Center
  • Patricia Saint James, 
Looney & Grossman
  • Mary T. Sullivan , Segal Roitman, LLP
  • Melissa Bayer Tearney , Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP
  • Mary Ann Walsh , Governmental Strategies Inc.
  • Michele A. Whitham, 
Foley Hoag, LLP

Frederick L. Sullivan named to Irish Legal 100

Frederick L. Sullivan, founding partner at Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn, has been named to the 2011 Irish Legal 100, which honors distinguished men and women of Irish descent in the legal profession. The award is sponsored by Irish America Magazine and the Irish Voice newspaper and was presented on Oct. 13 at the home of Irish Ambassador Michael Collins in Washington, D.C.

"It's truly an honor to be one of 100 people selected from the legal profession," Sullivan said. "I really didn't know that a national organization was tracking my career. After four decades of practicing law, to be included in the same class as Chief Justice John Roberts is extremely satisfying and personally rewarding. He exemplifies what it means to be a lawyer."

Sullivan founded Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn, which specializes in employment and labor law and has offices in Springfield and New York, 35 years ago.

Patricia E. Comfort named executive director of WBA, WBF

Patricia E. Comfort was named executive director of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts and the Women's Bar Foundation, effective Sept. 27. 
The WBA is an affiliated bar of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

"I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to move these organizations to the next level: growing membership, providing stellar legal services to low-income clients, and strengthening the voice of women attorneys in law firms, government and the judicial system," 
Comfort said.

For the past nine years, she was director of the Equal Justice Coalition, where she built support for access to justice through legal aid funding. Her achievements included mobilizing the private bar across Massachusetts to advocate for legal aid and growing the annual "Walk to the Hill."

Comfort was also assistant counsel at Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, director of community organizing for Coalition for a Better Acre in Lowell, a community organizer for Tenants United for Public Housing Progress and the assistant director of the Cruise and Pershing Project in Washington, D.C. She is a longtime member of the WBA and other local bar associations, and a graduate of Boston College and Northeastern University School of Law.

"Her dedication to our mission, extensive experience in the legal community and strong commitment to excellence will all be valuable assets to our organizations as we work to help women advance in the profession and to promote a 
just society," said WBA President Nancy Cremins.

WBF President Mary Jo Johnson said, "The WBF is confident that, under Pattye's leadership, we will continue to grow our pro bono offerings and enhance the impact of our work on legal services for underserved members of the 
population."