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Christian G. Kiely

Christian G. Kiely

Associate

Overview

Christian G. Kiely concentrates his practice on business litigation, representing companies and individuals in a wide range of commercial disputes.  He also represents clients in matters involving defamation and First Amendment law, government investigations, and white-collar criminal defense. 

Recent representative accomplishments of Mr. Kiely include:

  • Negotiating a widely-publicized settlement on behalf of prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz, in which a woman who had accused him of sexual abuse agreed to dismiss her claim in exchange for no money and to issue a statement acknowledging that she “may have made a mistake” in identifying Mr. Dershowitz as one of her abusers
  • Persuading the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to revive a regulatory taking claim alleging that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, in order to punish the firm’s client for perceived malfeasance during the casino licensing process, unconstitutionally coerced the firm’s client into accepting a $40 million reduction in the sales price for land that it sold to Wynn Resorts for the development of the Encore Boston Harbor Resort
  • Representing parents charged in the “Varsity Blues” college admissions prosecution 
  • Obtaining a defense verdict following a bench trial defeating a commercial tenant’s claim in Massachusetts Superior Court for more than $7 million based on alleged interference in a build out of a Domino’s Pizza franchise location

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Kiely previously served as a law clerk to United States District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, and Associate Justice Robert J. Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

He graduated first in his class from Suffolk University Law School in 2012 and is a 2009 graduate of Dartmouth College.

Representative Results

  • Negotiated a widely-publicized settlement on behalf of prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz, in which a woman who had accused him of sexual abuse agreed to dismiss her claim in exchange for no money and to issue a statement acknowledging that she “may have made a mistake” in identifying Mr. Dershowitz as one of her abusers
  • Persuaded the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to revive a regulatory taking claim alleging that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, in order to punish the firm’s client for perceived malfeasance during the casino licensing process, unconstitutionally coerced the firm’s client into accepting a $40 million reduction in the sales price for land that it sold to Wynn Resorts for the development of the Encore Boston Harbor Resort
  • Won the dismissal of a $20 million claim for breach of an “earnout” provision in a commercial real estate contract after convincing a Massachusetts Superior Court judge that the language in the contract barred the claim
  • Convinced a Massachusetts Superior Court judge to dismiss a $1 billion claim seeking to effectively undo the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s award of a casino license to Wynn Resorts over a competing bid by the owners of the former Suffolk Downs racetrack, based on allegations that the firm’s client conspired with Wynn to corrupt the licensing process through fraud and other alleged wrongdoing
  • Obtained a defense verdict following a bench trial defeating a commercial tenant’s claim in Massachusetts Superior Court for more than $7 million based on alleged interference in a build out of a Domino’s Pizza franchise location
  • Persuaded a Massachusetts Superior Court judge to deny the request of a salesman for a class action arbitration against his former auto dealership employer
  • Obtained a $775,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case involving a 57-year-old man who died following the delayed diagnosis of a perforated peptic ulcer
  • Earned a rare win in overcoming a summary judgment motion in a federal suit brought on behalf of the former captain of the Yale University men’s basketball team against Yale, claiming that it had discriminated against him and wrongfully expelled him for alleged sexual misconduct, in violation of its own rules and regulations.

Experience

  • Todd & Weld LLP, 2016-present
  • Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, 2014-2016
  • Law Clerk, U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, 2013-2014
  • Law Clerk, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Robert J. Cordy, 2012-2013

Credentials

Education

  • Suffolk University Law School (J.D., summa cum laude) Daniel J. Fern Award, graduating first in class; Note Editor, Suffolk University Law Review (2012)
  • Dartmouth College (B.A.)

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts (2012)
  • U.S. District Court, Massachusetts

Professional Activities

  • Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Boston Bar Association

Honors and Awards

  • Named to Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2022-2025
  • Named by Super Lawyers to Massachusetts Rising Stars for Business Litigation, 2021-2022