Public Interest Leadership Program Class of 2026-2027

Each year, the Boston Bar Association’s Public Interest Leadership Program welcomes a select group of talented and highly-motivated lawyers to participate in a year-long program designed to provide intensive leadership and professional development training. Participants learn from and connect with leaders in Boston’s public and private sectors to gain the critical skills and tools needed to grow as an effective leader and voice in the community. 

Mikell Abernethy, Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice
Mikell is an Immigration Attorney at the Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice, a nonprofit legal services organization. She began working in immigration law in 2019, and her practice has since focused on representing asylum seekers. As a law student, she was recognized for her commitment to public interest work, receiving both the Warren S. Gilford Humanity and Law Award and the CLEA Outstanding Clinic Student Award. She received her JD from Boston University School of Law.

Folake “Stephanie” Atchade
Stephanie is an attorney and legal educator whose career spans corporate practice, teaching, and nonprofit leadership. She most recently served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Law, where she taught contracts, contract drafting, international law, and negotiation. Before entering academia, she spent nearly five years as in-house Legal Counsel at Franfinance in France, negotiating commercial finance, technology, leasing, and other transactions. Stephanie founded Women Educated, a nonprofit that helps girls in her country of origin, Benin, stay in school by covering tuition, supplies, and tutoring, and she traces her commitment to service back to volunteering with Catholic Relief Services in France. She received her LL.M. in American Law from Boston University School of Law, her LL.M. in Litigation from the University of Rouen, and her Master of Science in Business/Corporate Law from ESAM Paris Business School.

Abigail Bird, The Second Step
Abigail is a Staff Attorney at The Second Step, where she provides free, trauma-informed legal representation to survivors of intimate partner violence throughout Massachusetts, including representation in Abuse Prevention Order hearings and Probate and Family Court matters. Before joining The Second Step, she served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, where, as a member of the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Unit, she managed a caseload spanning negotiations, motions, trials, and grand jury proceedings. She has served as a guest lecturer at Boston College Law School on 209A issues. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School.

Nina Bonelli, Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten, LLP
Nina is an Associate at BHPK Law, where she focuses her practice on complex litigation, with an emphasis on personal injury, civil rights, police misconduct, and sexual assault cases. Before joining the firm, she was a trial attorney at a large Boston personal injury firm, representing survivors of sexual violence, gender discrimination, harassment, and human trafficking. Prior to that, Nina served for over five years as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, specializing in felony domestic violence and sexual assault prosecutions and securing hundreds of grand jury indictments. She earned her JD from George Mason University Law School, and her BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Daniel Brutti, Choate Hall & Stewart LLP
Daniel is a Senior Associate at Choate who litigates high-stakes patent infringement and complex commercial cases in federal and state courts across the country for clients in life sciences, technology, and financial services. He previously clerked for Hon. George A. O’Toole, Jr. at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and he was named to Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in 2026. He maintains an active pro bono practice, including extensive work with the EdLaw Project obtaining services for disabled students and with Lawyers Clearinghouse on housing matters, and he counts helping a client seal her CORI record so she could pursue her dream of working with those recovering from alcoholism among the proudest achievements of his career. He received his JD, cum laude, from Boston College Law School, where he served on the editorial board of the Boston College Law Review, and his BA, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Allison Carbonaro, Robinson + Cole
Allison advises and represents domestic and international insurers in complex disputes arising under commercial property and commercial general liability lines. Her litigation experience spans both federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels, including managing discovery, briefing and arguing motions and appeals, and supervising teams on large document review projects. Throughout her career, Allison has maintained an active pro bono practice, including class action work helping Texas Medicaid recipients access curative Hepatitis C treatment and representing incarcerated special education students seeking the educational services to which they’re entitled. She has also worked on a voting rights matter and an immigration matter involving a U-Visa, experience that has deepened her appreciation for how legal advocacy can strengthen access, dignity, and fairness for vulnerable communities. She received her JD, summa cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law, and her BA in International Relations from Wellesley College.

Craig Cataldo, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
Craig is an associate at Nutter, where he began his career in trusts and estates before moving into litigation after advising on a series of contentious estate disputes. He values the deep understanding of trusts and estates that his earlier practice gave him, believing it makes him a more effective litigator on matters involving those subjects. Craig has also prepared wills, health care proxies, and durable powers of attorney for pro bono clients of modest means, and he hopes to extend that commitment into pro bono litigation, particularly in guardianships and conservatorships where legal counsel can be critical to a fair outcome. He was recently named to Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for 2026. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School and his BS, cum laude, from Salem State University.

Finn Collom, Committee for Public Counsel Services
Finn is a staff attorney at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, where he has represented community members facing criminal charges and involuntary substance use and mental health commitments in the Central and South Boston Divisions of the Boston Municipal Court. He received his JD from Northeastern University School of Law and his BA from Wesleyan University’s College of Social Studies.

Christopher Corcoran, Skadden
Christopher is an Associate in Skadden’s Litigation practice in Boston, where he works on complex, high-stakes matters spanning commercial litigation, government investigations, and internal corporate inquiries, including leading a twenty-five-attorney review team responding to an expedited subpoena in a Fortune 500 government inquiry. Before law school, he spent four years in municipal administration, first as Deputy Director of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office of Data Analytics in New York City, where he helped build a risk-scoring system that cut the city’s time-to-inspection for hazardous buildings by 95 percent, and later as a senior advisor to the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, where he helped structure a public-private ownership framework for a $70 million fiber optic network. Christopher maintains an active pro bono docket, including serving on the team that secured the release of Edward G. Wright after more than forty years of wrongful incarceration for a murder he did not commit. He received his JD, cum laude, MBA, and his BA from Harvard.

Suzanne Davies, JRI Health Law Institute
Suzanne is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Justice Resource Institute’s Health Law Institute (HLI), a medical-legal partnership providing free civil legal services to low-income Massachusetts residents living with HIV. Her interest in health law is rooted in her own experience as a childhood cancer survivor whose family navigated difficult insurance systems, a background that continues to drive her commitment to expanding access to quality health care. Before joining HLI, she spent three years as a litigation fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, where she argued a federal motion on behalf of incarcerated individuals in Vermont denied treatment for Hepatitis C and helped develop the complaint in Soe v. Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners, a constitutional challenge to Louisiana’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. She received her JD from Boston University School of Law and her BA in Music from Columbia University.

Maria de la Motte, Holland & Knight
Maria is a real estate attorney in Holland & Knight’s Boston office, focusing her practice on real estate finance transactions, primarily credit tenant lease (CTL) financings that fund shelters, permanent supportive housing, veterans’ clinics, and other essential community facilities. She represents insurance companies, banks, and other commercial real estate investors in mortgage loan originations, as well as lenders and corporate trustees in asset management transactions such as loan assumptions and defeasances. During law school, she worked at the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and completed a judicial internship with Hon. Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. At Holland & Knight, Maria has built an active pro bono practice, including work for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Election Protection Program, Strategies for Youth, and Veterans Legal Services, earning recognition as a Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star in 2020 and 2021. She has also taken on internal leadership roles as co-coordinator of the Boston office’s Women’s Engagement Network and coordinator of its parents’ resource group, alongside serving as an Associate Mentor to junior attorneys. She received her JD from Northeastern University School of Law, her MA from New York University, and her BA, summa cum laude, from the College of the Holy Cross.

Sarah Eberspacher, Goulston & Storrs
Sarah’s practice involves resolving complex business disputes for corporate and individual clients, with experience guiding employers and executives through allegations of workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, as well as wage-and-hour claims. Her practice spans state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and alternative dispute resolution proceedings, including mediation and agency conciliations. Before becoming a lawyer, Sarah spent years as a reporter and editor for international media outlets’ U.S. editions, including TheWeek.com and Guardian US. She maintains a robust pro bono practice focused on reproductive rights and gender equity, and she has been named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list from 2024-2026 and the Massachusetts Pro Bono High Honor Roll in 2021 and 2024. She received her JD, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and her BA in Journalism from Northwestern University.

Kathleen Elliott, Law Offices of Kathleen Elliott
Kathleen is the founder of her own legal practice, which she opened in 2023, and serves as a member of the private panel in the Children and Family Law division (CAFL) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), representing families across Suffolk County in care and protection matters. Before opening her own practice, she spent nearly three years in the housing division of Greater Boston Legal Services, defending families against eviction, working with grassroots tenants’ rights organizations, and assisting with briefs related to Massachusetts’ eviction moratoria. She received her JD from New England Law | Boston and her BA in Political Science, summa cum laude, from UMass Boston.

Elizabeth Farrenkopf, Hinckley Allen
Elizabeth is a Senior Associate at Hinckley Allen, where her litigation practice spans employment law, white collar criminal defense, and government investigations. She regularly advises colleges, universities, and academic medical centers on sensitive employment matters, including Title IX and discrimination investigations, drawing on firsthand experience from a secondment in an Ivy League university’s general counsel’s office and an earlier Attorney Fellowship at Northeastern University’s Office of the General Counsel. She also represents individuals and businesses facing state and federal government scrutiny, including allegations of fraud, scientific misconduct, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Elizabeth is known for a collaborative, detail-oriented approach, working closely with clients to address both their immediate legal issues and broader reputational risk, and she was named a Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch honoree for 2025-2026 in both White-Collar Criminal Defense and Labor and Employment Litigation. She received her JD from Northeastern University School of Law and her BA from Boston College.

Christine Fimognari, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General
Christine is a Managing Attorney for the Constitutional and Administrative Law Division at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Her litigation experience spans both state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels. Her work involves defending state statutes, regulations, and state agency policies and adjudicatory decisions. In addition to her own casework spanning public health, public safety, consumer protection, environmental protection, and public education, she supervises and supports other Assistant Attorneys General. Christine began her legal career as a law clerk for the Middle District of North Carolina before joining Ropes & Gray as an associate. She received her JD from Notre Dame Law School and her BA from the College of the Holy Cross.

Tanya Francois, Brockton Court Service Center
Tanya is a Staff Attorney with the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Court Service Center, where she assists self-represented litigants with a wide range of Probate and Family, Housing, and District Court matters. Tanya previously served as the inaugural Staff Attorney for the Taunton Court Service Center, where she helped establish and launch a new resource for court users throughout Bristol and Barnstable Counties. She also provided survivor-centered pro bono legal services through the Victim Rights Law Center, representing survivors of sexual assault in matters involving housing, employment, education, and personal safety. Tanya’s backgrounds as a Haitian American, bilingual, first-generation attorney makes her passionate about serving marginalized communities and reducing barriers to justice, particularly those created by language, limited access to legal information, and lack of legal representation. She earned her Juris Doctor from New England Law | Boston and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Legal Studies, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Nicole Gemba, City of Boston Law Department
Nicole is an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston, where she defends the City and its employees in a wide range of civil cases involving constitutional claims such as police misconduct and first amendment violations, as well as personal injury, property damage, and employment discrimination matters. Before joining the City, Nicole spent time as an Assistant District Attorney with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where she tried cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies and supervised a team of prosecutors and legal interns in the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School and her BA in Political Science from Sacred Heart University.

Myriam Georges, De Novo Center for Justice and Healing
Myriam is a Staff Attorney in the Housing and Disability units at De Novo Center for Justice and Healing, where she has served low-income clients since 2019, representing tenants facing eviction and claimants challenging denials of SSI and SSDI. Myriam has built strong community partnerships throughout her career, serving for several years as De Novo’s liaison to the City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, and representing the organization at Cambridge Agency meetings to share housing trends and connect clients with resources. Before becoming an attorney, she spent years serving the Haitian and broader immigrant community as a coordinator and instructor at Youth and Family Enrichment Services and as an AmeriCorps HealthCorps member in East Boston. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School and her BA in History from Northeastern University.

Madeline Gerrard, Greater Boston Legal Services
Madeline is a staff attorney in the Family Law Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), where she represents and supports survivors of domestic violence in family court, including complex matters involving custody, guardianship, and 209A restraining orders. As the primary attorney on GBLS’s LGBTQ+ Family Law Project, she helped expand the organization’s work representing LGBTQ+ clients on name change and gender marker cases, and she organized a name change clinic in partnership with the Justice Resource Institute and the Court Service Center. She received her JD from Northeastern University School of Law and her BA in International Studies from Macalester College.

Isabel Hernandez, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
Isabel is an Assistant Attorney General in the Fair Labor Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, enforcing the state’s wage and hour, prevailing wage, and child labor laws. Before joining the AG’s Office, Isabel worked as an immigration attorney at the Children’s Law Center in Lynn, representing unaccompanied immigrant children, and volunteered as a bilingual Know Your Rights presenter for high school students. She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. A Mexican immigrant raised in New York City, Isabel has drawn on her own background throughout her career, particularly in connecting with Spanish-speaking clients and communities. She received her JD from New York Law School and her BA in Criminal Justice and Political Science from Pace University-New York.

Kaleigh Hogan, Massachusetts Probate and Family Court
Kaleigh is Deputy Legal Counsel for the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, where she serves as a trusted resource for the judiciary on procedural and substantive matters and statewide judicial initiatives. She brings a decade of public interest experience to the role, having spent six years as a federal civil rights attorney leading discrimination investigations in education settings, and having built her trial practice foundation as an Assistant District Attorney in the Boston Municipal Court’s Central Division, conducting numerous bench and jury trials. She also served as a judicial law clerk for the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Kaleigh is committed to mentorship and community-building, having founded the Diversity Committee in the Boston Office for Civil Rights and served as a guest lecturer in disability law at Northeastern University. She received her JD, with honors, from Suffolk University Law School and her combined master’s degree in social justice, along with her BA, from Tufts University.

Rauvin Johl, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General
Rauvin joined the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office last year after beginning her career at WilmerHale, focused on patent and trademark litigation. While in private practice, Rauvin maintained an active pro bono and community service practice, including teaching middle schoolers through Discovering Justice, representing a disabled veteran before the Naval Discharge Review Board, and serving as an inaugural member of the Somerville Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee. She received her JD from Harvard Law School and her BA in International Relations and Affairs from George Washington University.

Martell Johnson, Anderson & Kreiger
Martell is an associate representing public and private clients in litigation, transactional, advisory, and internal investigation matters. His practice spans commercial and residential real estate disputes, zoning and land use litigation, and public law work advising municipal clients on issues ranging from constitutional interpretation to code enforcement and legislative drafting. He regularly conducts internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies, universities, and other institutional clients facing allegations of discrimination or misconduct. Martell maintains an active pro bono practice, notably representing a class of mobile home tenants in Auburn, MA against illegal rent increases and a group of Somali immigrant tenants facing eviction from a Roxbury warehouse, work for which Lawyers for Civil Rights honored him with its Pro Bono in Leadership Award and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court named him to its High Honor Roll for four consecutive years. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, he has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch and previously clerked for Chief Judge Denise Clayton of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He received his JD from the University of Kentucky Law School, his MS from the University of Kentucky, and his BS from the University of Kentucky.

Rochelle Jones, Veterans Legal Services
Rochelle is a Senior Staff Attorney with Veterans Legal Services, where she represents veterans in housing and family law matters, oversees several of VLS’s legal clinics, and mentors law student advocates, paralegals, and AmeriCorps Legal Advocates. Before joining VLS, she served as the Supervising Attorney for the Housing and Appeals Unit at the Volunteer Lawyers Project, representing low-income individuals in eviction and subsidy termination cases while supervising staff attorneys and mentoring pro bono attorneys on housing law. Since 2024, Rochelle has served on the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services’ Law Student and New Lawyers Subcommittee. She received her JD from New England Law | Boston, her MS in Crime & Justice from Suffolk University, and her BA from Temple University.

Colin Kennedy, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Colin is an associate in Greenberg Traurig’s Litigation Practice in Boston, representing clients in labor and employment matters, commercial litigation, white collar defense investigations, and unfair or deceptive business practice claims across all phases of litigation. Before entering legal practice, he served eight years as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, leading soldiers on multiple deployments, mentoring cadets, and working alongside Tanzanian military leaders during a humanitarian mission in Dar es Salaam before being honorably discharged at the rank of Captain. At Greenberg Traurig, he serves as pro bono legal counsel to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and regularly assists on federal Criminal Justice Act Panel matters representing indigent defendants, work that earned him a place on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Pro Bono High Honor Roll in 2024. He is a member of the Boston Bar Association and previously served as a student attorney at Northeastern’s Domestic Violence Clinic, representing survivors seeking restraining orders. He received his JD from Northeastern University School of Law and his BS, summa cum laude, from the University of Cincinnati.

Annie Lee, Massachusetts POST Commission
Annie is Counsel at the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, where her work centers on policy development and regulations on significant law enforcement issues such as use of force and agency certification. She recently began serving as POST’s designee on the Model School Resource Officer Memorandum of Understanding Review Commission and supervises fellows, paralegals, and interns in her policy work. Before joining POST, Annie was an associate at Anderson & Kreiger, where she represented state and local government entities in employment, land-use, and commercial litigation, counseled agencies on regulatory matters, investigated discrimination and misconduct complaints, and maintained an active pro bono practice representing students with special needs and public housing tenants. She received her JD, magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School and her BA in Public Policy Studies and Political Science, with Honors, from the University of Chicago.

Stephanie McComber, HarborCOV
Stephanie is an Immigration and Family Law Attorney at HarborCOV, where she has practiced across business-side, family, court, and humanitarian immigration matters and has more recently expanded into family law. In 2017, during the first travel ban, she worked at CAIR Florida, where she helped mobilize lawyers to assist community members whose loved ones were detained at airports nationwide. In 2025, she participated in a consultation clinic in East Boston, providing free immigration consultations to community members worried about their status. She received her JD from New England Law|Boston and her BA in International/Global Studies from the University of Florida.

Christine McElhinney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Christine supervises the Chelsea District Court for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, overseeing six prosecutors, three victim-witness advocates, two administrators, and an investigator. Before law school, she completed Navy ROTC at George Washington University and was commissioned as an Ensign, serving five years aboard the USS Curtis Wilbur and USS Lake Erie. She received her JD from The George Washington University Law School and her BA in International Affairs, with a focus on National Security Policy Studies, from The George Washington University.

Elle Mihnovich, Northeast Legal Aid
Elle is a Staff Attorney in the Family Law Unit at Northeast Legal Aid, a role she has held since September 2021, representing survivors of domestic violence in probate court and in district court restraining order hearings. She collaborates closely with outside organizations, including domestic violence shelters, court support programs, and interpretation services, to provide holistic support to her clients. She received her JD from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

Cassidy Mills, Krokidas & Bluestein
Cassidy is an associate in Krokidas & Bluestein’s Litigation and Employment Practices, where she represents nonprofit and for-profit entities, as well as individuals, in disputes spanning contracts, unfair trade practices, land use, commercial property, and healthcare, while also advising employers on wage and hour issues, discrimination claims, and wrongful termination matters. Before joining the firm in 2024, she worked as a litigation associate at a mid-size New England firm and served as a judicial law clerk in the Juvenile Division of the Massachusetts Trial Court. She received her JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law, and her BA, magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina.

Alexander Mintz, Committee for Public Counsel Services
Alexander is a trial attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS). He received his JD from New England Law | Boston and his BA in Computer Science from Skidmore College.

Maddison Murnane, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Children and Family Law Division
Maddison is a Staff Attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services’ Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) in Boston, where she has represented children and parents in the child welfare system for the past four years. She received her JD from New England Law | Boston and her BA in Journalism from Ithaca College.

Obioma Okonkwo, Greater Boston Legal Services
Obioma leads the Criminalized Survivors Justice Project at Greater Boston Legal Services through the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation’s Racial Justice Fellowship, representing survivors in family law, abuse prevention, and criminal record relief matters. She came to public interest law somewhat by accident, joining GBLS to satisfy a pro bono requirement for her New York bar admission, only to discover how legal representation could stabilize families, protect survivors, and strengthen communities, an experience that reshaped the kind of lawyer she wanted to become. Before her legal career in the United States, Obioma practiced law in Nigeria. She serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, where she co-chairs both the Community Service and Social Action Committee and the Membership Development Committee. She received her LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law from Northeastern University School of Law, an LL.M. from the University of Benin, and her Bachelor’s degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

Dhiral Patel, Tumposky & Associates, P.C.
Dhiral is an associate at Tumposky & Associates, P.C., a member of Suffolk Lawyers for Justice, and a bar advocate in the Boston Municipal Court, Roxbury Division, where she represents clients in a wide range of criminal matters. Before entering private practice, she served as Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex and Suffolk Counties. Dhiral also worked as a family law attorney in legal services, assisting survivors of domestic abuse with abuse prevention orders, divorce, custody, and housing matters. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School, where she was a member of the Suffolk Law Review and was recognized for excellence in written and oral advocacy.

Sydney Powers, Conn Kavanaugh
Sydney is a member of Conn Kavanaugh’s Corporate/Transactional group, where her practice is concentrated on business law for closely held and family-owned companies, handling entity formation, corporate governance, restructurings, and mergers and acquisitions. She works with, and acts as outside general counsel for, businesses across a wide range of industries, from printing and insurance companies to restaurants, retail stores, and real estate developers, helping entrepreneurs achieve goals ranging from forming a first-time LLC to negotiating multi-million dollar business sales. Before joining the firm, Sydney worked in the corporate department of a business law firm on the North Shore, and while in law school she took part in the Honors Judicial Internship Program at the Massachusetts Appeals Court and worked for the Middlesex County Superior Court Clerk’s Office. She has been named to the Massachusetts “Rising Stars” list in Business/Corporate by Super Lawyers and designated a Boston magazine “Top Lawyer” in Corporate Law. She received her JD, magna cum laude, from New England Law | Boston and her BS in Criminal Justice, magna cum laude, from Endicott College.

Clare Prober, Mintz
Clare is a litigator in Mintz’s Boston office. In their commercial litigation practice, Clare handles a wide range of business and contract disputes for clients across the life sciences, health care, real estate, construction, and financial services industries, representing them through trial and on appeal. They also defend clients facing government investigations and whistleblower complaints involving the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, and similar state laws. Clare maintains a robust pro bono practice assisting clients seeking asylum in the United States. Clare received their JD from Suffolk University Law School and their BA from Wheaton College (MA).

Brooke Simone, Lawyers for Civil Rights
Brooke is a Staff Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), where she represents clients in high-impact civil rights litigation spanning immigration, voting, and education matters. She is lead co-counsel in LCR’s groundbreaking suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE challenging a federal policy authorizing warrantless home invasions and arrests, and she brought Federal Tort Claims Act claims on behalf of Allston Car Wash workers following a highly publicized ICE raid involving racial profiling. Brooke also filed and settled a case against the Secretary of the Commonwealth to expand jail-based voting. Before joining LCR, she spent three years clerking at the federal district and circuit court levels, including the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and prior to law school she worked alongside death row exonerees and formerly incarcerated people in the fight for death penalty abolition. She now co-leads LCR’s intern program, having revamped its training curriculum, and is active in the broader legal community, testifying in support of legislation such as the PROTECT Act and same-day voter registration, and leading Know-Your-Rights sessions across the Commonwealth. She received her JD, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, and her BS, cum laude, from Georgetown University.

Naiara Souto, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
Naiara is an attorney with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, where she has worked since 2023. She began her career as a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, representing families and working closely with social workers and community groups to connect clients with housing, food security, and other resources. Naiara then served as Assistant Attorney General in the Insurance & Unemployment Fraud Division at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School and her BA in International Relations from Tufts University.

Danielle Taylor, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Danielle is an Assistant District Attorney in the General Felony Unit at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where she carries a full Superior Court caseload. She spent her first two years at the office assigned to the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court, handling juvenile and adult cases and litigating numerous jury trials and motions. Before joining the Suffolk DA’s office, she worked as a law clerk and associate at Allstate in Virginia. She received her JD from the University of Richmond School of Law, and her BA in Sociology from Bucknell University.

William Twomey, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
William is an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. He has spent his entire career in public service, beginning as a Charles F.C. Ruff Fellow in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where he served as an AAG in the Public Advocacy Division investigating and prosecuting consumer protection violations. In July 2024, he completed a six-month detail at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section. He received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his BA, magna cum laude, from Boston College.

Kristofer Wilson, Venn Foundation
Kris serves as General Counsel at Venn Foundation. Before joining Venn, he served as foundation counsel for the largest private operating foundation in Massachusetts, overseeing governance and compliance across affiliated entities in health sciences, education, and senior living, and serving on the foundation’s $4 billion finance committee, where he led the launch of its first PRI initiative. Earlier in his career, Kris was legal counsel to an entrepreneurial, privately held company during a period of national expansion and held legal roles with local and federal government agencies during times of crisis and organizational transition. He also serves as a Coast Guard Reserve Judge Advocate, and he sits on the boards of Jewish Vocational Service, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, and the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. He received his JD from Saint Louis University School of Law.