New BBA President Matthew V.P. McTygue Seeks to Energize, Engage BBA Members

Matthew V.P. McTygue, Partner at Hogan Lovells, believes that leadership starts with two essential actions: showing up and staying engaged.

This straightforward approach has been the foundation of McTygue’s career and his involvement with the Boston Bar Association (BBA). As he embarks on his term as President of the BBA, McTygue plans to apply this philosophy to ensure that the organization continues to serve its members in the best, most effective way possible.

“Beyond any other intrinsic abilities or qualities, I show up,” McTygue said. “I care. I’m engaged. And I think those are the things that have allowed me to take on leadership positions, and it’s ultimately that attitude from other BBA members that makes this organization so special.”

This dedication to being present and involved has served as a throughline for McTygue throughout his personal and professional life.

After earning his BA from Denison University in Ohio and his JD from Cornell Law School, McTygue tapped into his love of hiking and the outdoors by taking a job at the Environmental Law Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based thinktank that publishes scholarly works about environmental issues. Realizing he’d benefit from on-the-job legal training at a traditional firm, he joined New Hampshire-based Rath, Young and Pignatelli, where he focused on transactional work in the field of alternative and renewable energy.

McTygue, who was born in Westborough, Massachusetts, then moved back to the Greater Boston area to join the firm Palmer and Dodge, now known as Locke Lord. There, his practice evolved to focus more on corporate finance work. After 25 years at Locke Lord, McTygue transitioned to Hogan Lovells in February of 2023, where he is a private equity partner in the firm’s Corporate & Finance practice.

“Matt is a tremendous colleague, and an even better friend,” said Gregory Noonan, Boston Office Administrative Partner at Hogan Lovells. “Not only is he an incredibly skilled attorney, he is also a team-builder and morale booster who helps everyone around him bring their best selves to the workplace.”

McTygue’s introduction to the BBA came early in his career, when he began attending events with more senior colleagues.

“I went to some events, and the BBA staff and the members were all so welcoming and committed, so I started going on a more regular basis,” he said. “I eventually got to know some of the members and staff more closely, would have conversations with the folks I’d see at all these events, and that led to involvement in some of the sections, and eventually to a role as Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Section, then as Secretary, and I never really looked back.”

Since those early days attending brown bag lunches and after-work programs, McTygue’s BBA resume has grown to include numerous roles within the organization, including serving as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, President-Elect, and now President. He is also a member of the Boston Bar Foundation Society of Fellows, supporting initiatives that benefit thousands of individuals and families in Greater Boston. In addition to Co-Chairing the DEI section, he’s also worked on the Law Firm Leadership Forum and the BBA’s Nominating Committee. His contributions also extend beyond the BBA, with service on the Boards of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Brainery, and Pride in Our Workplace.

However, McTygue acknowledges that post-pandemic engagement requires new strategies. Gone are the days when attorneys throughout the city found themselves in their office five days a week, a short walk from 16 Beacon Street.

I think the ways that people have historically been connected, or would get connected, to the BBA have been disrupted,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have senior associates and junior associates in the office on the same day to accompany each other to a program. And I think that’s been a real loss for the Boston legal community.

As the BBA moves forward, McTygue is focused on finding innovative ways to energize members and demonstrate the value of being part of both the profession and this community.

As BBA President, McTygue sees himself and other BBA leaders as ambassadors for the Association. He views the responsibilities that come with this role not as obligations, but as opportunities—opportunities to give back to the community, support younger attorneys and law students, and address the challenges facing the legal profession. Even before becoming President, McTygue was a frequent participant in the BBA’s mentoring programs, helping younger members find a role within the BBA and the larger legal community in Greater Boston, as well as through the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association.

“I had great mentors earlier in my career and while I was first getting involved in leadership roles within the BBA,” McTygue said. He cites former BBA President Deb Manus as one of those mentors and looks back fondly at their regular after-work chats over drinks to discuss their careers, the BBA, or simply whatever was on their minds.

“I’m really grateful to her for reaching out to me at that point where I was just getting my feet under me in my role on Council, and I try to be that person to the next generation coming up and emerging as leaders within the BBA,” he said.

He also knows, after working closely with prior BBA Presidents in recent years, that he has excellent examples to lean on.

Hannah Kilson [BBA President 2023-24] and Chinh Pham [BBA President 2022-23] were amazing as BBA leaders, in no small part because they were fully engaged,” McTygue said. “They were present for so many things that the BBA does, particularly events focused on younger lawyers and lawyers of color, such as the Career Fair, which I’m so excited to help grow this coming year. They are great listeners and are masters at hearing different points of view and figuring out how those perspectives can benefit the BBA and, most importantly, how we can translate that into action.

“Working with Matt over the past year has been a wonderful collaborative process,” said Kilson. “He knows the importance of connection and engagement to ensuring that the BBA continues to be able to provide relevant programming to our membership and to mobilize that membership to assist in addressing public policy issues concerning access to and the administration of justice, the promotion of a diverse and inclusive legal profession, and partnering with the broader Boston community. Matt will creatively move the BBA forward in its work to continue to be a vibrant and relevant part of the Boston legal community.”

“For almost 10 years, I’ve enjoyed working alongside and learning from Matt in a variety of BBA activities,” said Colin G. Van Dyke, who has worked with McTygue on BBA Committees as well as in his current role on the BBA Council. “Matt has long demonstrated a deep commitment to the BBA, and especially to the programs that create opportunity for students and newer lawyers.”

McTygue, like Presidents Pham and Kilson before him, knows the importance of hearing different perspectives. From his days as Managing Partner of Locke Lord’s Boston office, he grew to understand the importance of gathering different perspectives, creating an open dialogue, and discovering what is important to every member of the team. Learning what various members are passionate about and encouraging them to use that passion to find a role and a voice within the organization will be a key tenet of McTygue’s term as President. He knows that every member will have a different background, skillset, and area of expertise, and that a diverse set of skills and abilities is crucial to the success of the organization—a lesson, he says, he learned during his own climb through the BBA leadership ranks, which coincided with the earliest days of the pandemic.

“As I found myself getting more involved in BBA leadership during that time, I was really focused on things like Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, because a lot of my clients needed that expertise,” he said. “When non-profits became eligible for PPP loans, I knew I could play an important role in helping the BBA navigate the process of securing those loans, to ensure we could continue doing the important work in the community that we’re known for. It was a time where I felt like, as a corporate attorney, I could really contribute to the continued success of our organization in a unique way. And it helped show me that every member of this Association brings something unique to the table—the key is to find what it is, and make sure every member is given every opportunity to contribute.”

Now, the same principles that have always motivated McTygue will inform the ways in which he strives to further the BBA’s overall mission to advance the highest standards of excellence for the legal profession, facilitate access to justice, foster a diverse and inclusive professional community, and serve the community at large.

A consummate consensus-builder, Matt has a marked talent for seeing and meeting the needs both of a team and the individuals within it,” said Noonan. “As President, Matt will ensure that all voices are heard and will work tirelessly to further the BBA’s commitments to justice, community, and inclusion. I’ve seen it at Hogan Lovells, he’s shown it by his work with Pride in Our Workplace and Leadership Brainery, and the BBA will benefit from it during his term.

As the 2024-25 program year begins, McTygue knows the BBA will be called upon to meet these goals. But at the heart of that mission, he also knows the key is to make sure the BBA’s 15,000 members are engaged—not only as members of the BBA, but of the larger community.

“If we aren’t collaborating,” McTygue said, “if we aren’t making that concerted effort to show up and share ideas and work together to address the needs of our members and our community, if we don’t get to know each other and feel not just comfortable but excited by the prospect of sharing ideas and expertise and advice, we become less effective, and certainly less engaged.”