Eight Todd & Weld attorneys named to 2017 Best Lawyers in America
Eight Todd & Weld attorneys named to 2017 Best Lawyers in America
Eight Todd & Weld attorneys are listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2017, including one for the first time.
Founding Partner Howard M. Cooper was named 2017 Boston Civil Rights Law "Lawyer of the Year." Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is honored as a Lawyer of the Year.
The 2017 honorees are:
- Jeffrey N. Catalano (Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs)
- Howard M. Cooper (Civil Rights Law and 2017 Boston Civil Rights Law "Lawyer of the Year"; Commercial Litigation; First Amendment Law)
- Elaine M. Epstein (Family Law)
- David Meier (Criminal Defense: General Practice; Criminal Defense: White Collar)
- Christopher R. O'Hara (first-time honoree; Qui Tam Law)
- Max D. Stern (Bet-the-Company Litigation; Civil Rights Law; Criminal Defense: General Practice; Criminal Defense: White Collar)
- Gary Owen Todd (Family Law; Litigation – Trusts & Estates)
- J. Owen Todd (Commercial Litigation; Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs)
First published in 1983, Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Over 83,000 leading attorneys globally are eligible to vote.
For the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, 7.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 55,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."
Mr. Catalano, selected to Best Lawyers in America for the third year in a row, represents victims of catastrophic injuries in medical negligence, product liability, auto accident, class action, and other personal injury cases. A partner at the firm, Mr. Catalano has obtained on behalf of clients numerous multi-million dollar results in cases in Massachusetts and nationally. He is President of the Massachusetts Bar Association (as of Sept. 1, 2016).
Mr. Cooper, first selected in 2006, is a founding partner of Todd & Weld. He routinely represents clients in corporate, closely-held business, real estate, partnership and franchise litigation. Mr. Cooper also regularly handles significant civil rights and First Amendment matters that are often of public significance. In criminal matters, Mr. Cooper handles white collar criminal cases, including the defense of organizations and individuals targeted for prosecution in federal and state court in false claim, environmental, tax or public corruption investigations.
Ms. Epstein, first selected in 2003, has over 35 years of experience as a family law practitioner. She is a founder and first president of the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association. She has tried dozens of cases in the Probate & Family Courts and resolved hundreds more short of trial, ranging from substantial asset divisions to contested parental rights and novel issues involving the property rights of non-married cohabitants and the rights of non-biological parents. Ms. Epstein, a partner at the firm, has litigated complex jurisdictional issues and actions involving numerous cutting edge issues in the Probate & Family, Superior, federal and appellate courts.
Mr. Meier, selected to Best Lawyers for the second year in a row, specializes in criminal defense and government investigations. A partner at the firm, Mr. Meier represents a full range of clients, including executives and companies faced with internal corporate fraud or other white collar investigations; public officials and other professionals under investigation for alleged corruption or ethical violations; private individuals alleged to have committed serious felonies, sexual assaults, or death-related crimes; and students facing disciplinary proceedings at academic institutions.
Mr. O'Hara, a first-time honoree, focuses primarily on complex business litigation and employment law disputes in state and federal courts, and in commercial arbitration. A partner at the firm, Mr. O'Hara has represented plaintiffs and defendants in whistleblower and qui tam cases, and has achieved significant recoveries on behalf of individuals. His employment law practice is wide ranging, and includes advising companies and individuals on hiring, termination, investigations, wage and hour issues, company handbook/policies, state and federal employment laws, and non-competition and non-solicitation agreements.
Mr. Stern, first selected to Best Lawyers in America in 1987, has more than 40 years of experience litigating groundbreaking criminal matters and complex civil cases. A partner at the firm, Mr. Stern has appeared and argued at every trial and appellate level, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He has received numerous awards for his legal work, including the American College Award for Courageous Advocacy, and the Joseph Balliro Award of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers "in recognition of a lifelong commitment and dedication to the zealous defense of the accused."
Gary Owen Todd, first selected in 2012, is recognized locally and nationally as a preeminent family law practitioner specializing in domestic relations and probate litigation. A founding partner of Todd & Weld, Mr. Todd has successfully negotiated, mediated and tried family law issues ranging from divorce, custody and parental rights to complex support, property division, removal, modification, and contempt actions. In addition to his litigation work, Mr. Todd is a court appointed Special Master, Discovery Master, Guardian, Conservator, and Attorney for Children.
J. Owen Todd throughout his distinguished career that began in 1960 has handled virtually every kind of case from murder to mass tort litigation, and from bankruptcy litigation to “bet-the-company” commercial cases in every type of court throughout 36 states. Mr. Todd, first selected to Best Lawyers in America in 1983, is a former Massachusetts Superior Court judge, having served from 1988 to 1992. He left the bench to become one of the founding partners of Todd & Weld. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Todd maintains an active arbitration and mediation practice.