News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane Partners Recognized as New England’s 2019 Super Lawyers
Murphy Hesse, Toomey & Lehane LLP., would like to congratulate Katherine Hesse and Regina Williams Tate for being recognized as New England’s 2019 Super Lawyers. Katherine Hesse is a partner at the firm and was acknowledged for her proficiency in Employment and Labor law. Regina Williams Tate is also a partner at the firm and was recognized for her expertise in Schools and Education law. It is no surprise to the firm that these talented lawyers received recognition in their respected area of practice.
Katherine Hesse is one of the founding partners of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane LLP., known throughout The United States and Canada. Ms. Hesse concentrates her practice primarily in labor, employment and employee benefits law serving as counsel to individuals, business, government, and tax exempt organizations including hospitals, colleges, churches, and major private and public retirement and health plans. She has litigated numerous employment and benefits cases before the state and federal trial and appellate courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. She is also an active practitioner in all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, conciliation, fact finding and various forms of arbitration.
Gini Tate is a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane LLP., practicing primarily in the areas of labor and education law. Ms. Tate participates in the collective bargaining process on behalf of her education clients. She has served as counsel to over 60 school committees and private schools, providing advice on a daily basis as well as advocacy in litigation and in hearings before administrative agencies. Ms. Tate frequently litigates issues before the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, the office for Civil Rights, the Labor Relations Commission, and arbitrators on behalf of school systems. Ms. Tate has represented school committees and superintendents at all levels of the court system, including the Supreme Judicial Court.
We applaud Ms. Hesse and Ms. Tate for their hard work and look forward to future success and recognition for these dedicated attorneys.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Prevails in U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Attorney Felicia Vasudevan, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, received a favorable decision on behalf of her client, Marshfield Public Schools. The Plaintiff appealed the district court’s judgement that upheld a decision of the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (“BSEA”). However, as the notice was filed more than 30 days after entry, the First Circuit ultimately dismissed the appeal for being untimely. The Plaintiff also appealed the district court’s order, denying her motion to vacate. Read More
New Features of Public Participation at School Committee Meetings
Following our Alert from March 16, 2023, Civility is Dead – The Supreme Court Rules Municipal Control of Public Speak Limited to Reasonable Time/Place/Manner Restrictions, which discussed the holding to the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Barron v. Kolenda and the Town of Southborough (SJC-13284), we promised to bring you more detailed guidance on developing a Public Speak policy for your public body or municipality. The Barron case involved a constitutional challenge to the Town of Southborough’s public comment policy, which attempted to impose a code of civility on members of the public who participated in public comment before public bodies. In Barron, the court interpreted the state constitution to mean that public bodies may request, but not require, that public commentators be respectful and courteous. Instead, a public body may set restrictions on reasonable time, place, and manner comments to ensure that the meeting retains an orderly and peaceable manner.
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