News Releases
April 26, 2013

Boston Bar Selects New Class for Public Interest Leadership Program 2013-2014

Press Release

Fifteen young lawyers and fifteen very different backgrounds, but one important connection. Despite their diverse career paths, the fifteen promising lawyer leaders selected for the Boston Bar Association’s (BBA) Public Interest Leadership Program (PILP) have all demonstrated their dedication and commitment to public service. 

The program, which selects from a uniquely talented and motivated pool of applicants, will allow its new leaders to work with each other and PILP alums to implement public service initiatives, forge meaningful connections within the PILP alumni network, and undergo personal and professional growth.  This upcoming PILP class will begin in May 2013 and entails a time commitment of 150 hours over 14 months.

The Public Interest Leadership Class of 2013-2014 will include:

Andrea Brown – City of Boston’s Law Department
Andrea Brown is an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Boston’s Law Department. She is assigned to the Boston Public School’s Office of Legal Advisor, where she advises and defends the school department in all stages of litigation, such as employment discrimination, tort liability, contracts procurement, and special education matters. Andrea also has experience working as a public school teacher, a prosecutor in Essex County, and in the Personnel Department of the City of Cambridge. Andrea earned both her B.A. and M.Ed. from Boston College.

Jacquelyn Burke – Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
Jacquelyn Burke practices litigation, focusing on insurance coverage disputes, at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP. She has worked on coverage and claims issues in areas including directors and officers liability, professional liability, commercial general liability, and fidelity bonds. She also maintains an active pro bono practice and successfully represented several constituents in their claims for asylum in the U.S. Prior to joining Edwards Wildman Palmer, Jacquelyn was an associate in the litigation department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard N. Palmer on the Supreme Court of Connecticut during the 2007-2008 term. Jacquelyn attended Columbia University for her B.A. and Yeshiva University for her J.D.

Hsindy Chen – Volunteer Lawyers Project
Hsindy Chen has been a staff attorney for the Volunteer Lawyers Project since 2009; she represents low-income clients in consumer rights, bankruptcy, and unemployment matters. She also recruits, trains, and mentors volunteer attorneys. Since 2010, she has been the co-director of the Attorney for the Day project at the Boston Municipal Court. Before joining the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Hsindy was a recipient of the New York State Unified Courts Judicial Fellowship and clerked for family law and criminal law judges in the Bronx. Hsindy graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Suffolk University Law School.

Jeremy B. Eisemann – Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Jeremy Eisemann is currently an in-house corporate attorney at Liberty Mutual Insurance. While here, Jeremy volunteers as a Citizen School Teacher and program coordinator for Discovering Justice’s Legal Apprenticeship Mock Trial Program, and he was the recipient of President Obama’s Volunteer Service Award in 2012. Jeremy also collaborates with the Women’s Bar Association and Greater Boston Legal Services to provide legal representation for victims of domestic violence. He has worked previously as an Assistant District Attorney and an Assistant Attorney General for Martha Coakley. Jeremy graduated from Colgate University in 2001, New England School of Law in 2005, and Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Business in 2011.

Jim Evans – Choate Hall & Stewart
At Choate Hall & Stewart, Jim Evans serves as an associate in the Government Enforcement and Compliance practice group. He represents corporations, organizations, and individuals in complex government investigations, internal investigations, and False Claims Act litigation; specifically, he represents leading corporations in complex commercial litigation, including contract and intellectual property disputes. He is a co-chair of the firm’s participation in the Massachusetts Legal Clinic for the Homeless and has helped to coach a team of middle school students participating in the Citizen Schools and Discovering Justice Mock Trial Program. Jim received his B.A. cum laude from Boston College in 2002 and J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008.

Melissa Garlick – Office of State Senator James Eldridge
Melissa Garlick serves as legislative director and legal counsel in the Office of State Senator James Eldridge, where she works on a wide range of policy and legislative issues including housing and homelessness, community development, municipal government, water infrastructure, and criminal justice. She previously held positions at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, Roddy Klein and Ryan, and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Civil Rights/Consumer Protection Divisions. Melissa also serves as a co-chair of the amicus committee of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts. Melissa is a graduate of Brandeis University and Northeastern University School of Law.

Anuj Khetarpal – Committee for Public Counsel Services
Anuj Khetarpal is a trial attorney in the Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), where he represents the indigent in southern Middlesex County District Courts. Prior to joining CPCS, he clerked for the honorable Cheryl Johnson at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin, Texas. Additionally, Anuj is on the leadership committee of the Boston University School of Law Young Alumni Council and is a volunteer at the Back on My Feet Project, a non-profit organization that uses running to help individuals facing homelessness create self-sufficiency and independence in their lives. Anuj is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the Boston University School of Law.

John A. McBrine – Nutter, McClennen & Fish
As an associate in the Trusts and Estates Department at Nutter, McClennen & Fish, John McBrine’s practice includes estate planning for high net worth individuals, charitable planning, and estate and trust administration. He serves on the Board of Directors of local charitable organizations, including Community Legal Services and Counseling Center in Cambridge and the Community Day Center of Waltham. John is a past Vice-Chairperson of the Corpus Christi-St. Bernard Parish Pastoral Council and also a member of the Planned Giving Network of New England. Before joining Nutter, John served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald R. Lagueux of the U.S. District Court. He attended Boston College Law School.

Merritt Dattel McGowan – Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority
Currently an assistant general counsel for the Massachusetts Health Connector, Merritt McGowan provides legal advice by interpreting and analyzing federal and state statutes and regulations related to the Health Connector’s mission of providing affordable insurance to Massachusetts residents and small employers; she manages legal issues in connection with procurements and contracts. Before this, she worked on health care policy issues at the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley and the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing in the Massachusetts Legislature. Merritt is on the Advancement Committee of the Boston Home. She graduated from Colgate University and Suffolk University Law School.

Camal Robinson – National Grid
At National Grid, Camal Robinson serves as an associate counsel, in which role he advises business clients on statewide energy policy initiatives and represents the company in a variety of rate and regulatory proceedings before the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. He is also the co-coordinator of National Grid’s summer legal internship and fall externship programs. Prior to his work at National Grid, Camal was a fellow for the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau. He is a volunteer judge for the Boston Debate League and assists the co-chair of the BBA’s Energy and Telecommunications Subcommittee. Camal is a graduate of Saint Vincent College; Boston University, where he received a Masters degree in Psychology; and Boston College Law School.

Katherine Schulte – Domestic Violence Institute at Northeastern University School of Law
Katherine Schulte is a supervising attorney and fellow in experiential legal education in the DVI at Northeastern University School of Law. She coordinates and teaches the Family Law Litigation Practicum and Youth Justice Practicum. Katherine has worked closely with the DVI through her law school tenure and joined its staff as a Clinical Teaching Fellow upon her graduation in 2009. She interned at Greater Boston Legal Services and Casa Myrna Vazquez, where she represented low-income domestic violence survivors. Katherine also engages in training and policy initiatives in the Greater Boston advocacy community. She co-founded a network of legal advocates for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and serves as Treasurer of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Council.

Alison Silveira – Bingham McCutchen LLP
Alison Silveira currently acts as a litigation attorney at Bingham McCutchen LLP with a focus on labor and employment matters. Alison is also actively engaged in pro bono work, recently representing the Disability Law Center in federal district court against the Massachusetts Department of Correction concerning the treatment of mentally ill prisoners. Alison serves on the Board of Directors at Nazdeek, Inc., an international human rights organization focused on access to food, health, and housing in South Asia. Prior to law school, she served as an HIV/AIDS volunteer with the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa.

Caroline Simons – Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Caroline Simons’s practice as a litigation associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP focuses on complex commercial litigation, and she also has experience in patent litigation, white collar defense, and internal investigations. As a member of her office’s pro bono committee, she has helped provide pro bono representation to the Massachusetts State Legislature and the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, as well as clients in FEMA appeals, c. 209A abuse prevention order proceedings, and asylum and child supports matters. Caroline received her B.A. in Government from Harvard University and J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Paul C. Wagoner – Essex District Attorney’s Office
Paul C. Wagoner is an assistant district attorney in the Appeals Division of the Essex District Attorney’s Office. He has handled cases in the District, Superior, Appeals, and Supreme Judicial courts; has appeared before the Parole Board at “lifer” hearings; and has assisted in a Grand Jury presentment. As a Mass. LGBTQ Bar Director and chair of its Amicus Committee, he led a team reviewing draft briefs filed in same sex marriages cases presently before the U.S. Supreme Court. Previously, Paul interned for the Hon. Margot Botsford of the SJC and the Hon. David Mills of the Appeals Court, clerked for the Justices of the Superior Court, and worked as a summer associate in a large law firm. Paul is a graduate of Boston College Law School.

Alec Zadek – Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC
An associate at Mintz Levin, Alec Zadek practices in all areas of complex litigation, including fiduciary matters, insurance and reinsurance, and corporate governance. Alec also routinely advises clients regarding compliance with state and federal regulations. In 2009 and 2010, he participated in Mintz Levin’s fellowship program, which allowed him to practice as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County. Alec also has an active pro bono practice, focusing primarily on survivors of sex trafficking and domestic violence. He received his B.A. from Brandeis University and JD from the University of Virginia.