Ten Todd & Weld attorneys named to 2018 Best Lawyers in America
Ten Todd & Weld attorneys are recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2018, including two for the first time.
Founding Partner Howard M. Cooper was named 2018 First Amendment Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Boston. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is honored as a Lawyer of the Year.
The 2018 honorees are:
- Nicholas B. Carter (first-time honoree; Commercial Litigation)
- Jeffrey N. Catalano (Medical Malpractice: Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation: Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation: Plaintiffs)
- Howard M. Cooper (Civil Rights Law; Commercial Litigation; First Amendment Law and 2018 Boston First Amendment Law "Lawyer of the Year")
- Elaine M. Epstein (Family Law)
- David Meier (Criminal Defense: General Practice; Criminal Defense: White Collar)
- Christopher R. O'Hara (Employment Law: Management; 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)
- Christopher Weld Jr. (first-time honoree; Commercial Litigation; Construction Law; Litigation: Construction)
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 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, 7.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 58,000 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. Carter, a first-time honoree, has over two decades of trial experience in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies and in arbitration. A partner at the firm, Mr. Carter has a broad commercial litigation practice. He represents clients and individuals in such matters as shareholder freeze-out, employment law, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, unfair and deceptive business practices, franchise disputes, misappropriation of business information and assets, and defamation. He has also successfully represented clients in class action lawsuits, personal injury matters, and products liability claims,
Mr. Catalano, selected to Best Lawyers in America for the fourth year in a row, representsvictims 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 immediate past president of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Mr. Cooper, first selected in 2006, is a founding partner of Todd & Weld. He routinely represents clients in litigation involving corporate, closely-held business, real estate, partnership and franchise matters. 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 third 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, first selected to Best Lawyers for the 2017 Directory, 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 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.
Mr. Weld is a Founding Partner of Todd & Weld LLP and has over 30 years of experience in business litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution. A first-time Best Lawyers honoree, he has achieved favorable results for clients through trials, arbitrations, mediations and negotiated resolutions. Mr. Weld's cases have been widely varied, but generally have the common thread of presenting a business dispute with vigorously contested issues of substantial value. Mr. Weld is managing partner of the firm.