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Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane Partner Completes Term as Chair of Neponset River Regional Chamber
Alisia St. Florian, partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, was recognized for her leadership as she completed her term as chair of the Neponset River Regional Chamber during the Chamber’s Annual Meeting. Attorney St. Florian was the chair of the board during the Chamber’s 125th Anniversary year celebration, on September 19, 2019 at the Paul Revere Heritage Site in Canton with 125 people in attendance.
Alisia said the following about her term as chair, “Being a member of the NRCC and having the honor of Chairing the Board during its 125th anniversary has been professionally and personally rewarding in ways I had not anticipated. From a business standpoint, my involvement with the Board has given me access to professionals in our community and has enabled me and our firm to expanding our network. The added benefit is the friendships I have made through my work with the Chamber, most significantly through the founding of the Women’s Leadership Alliance.”
Since 1894, the Neponset River Regional Chamber has served businesses in the Neponset River Region. The name has changed from its original name of Norwood Business Association, to various other names in between to the present name of, Neponset River Regional Chamber since 2019. Though the name has changed over the years, the focus has remained the same, serving members large and small with regional economic development and public policy work as well as networking and lead groups allowing members to work on projects of mutual interest and benefits.
Ms. St. Florian is a member of the firm’s Special Education Law Group. Ms. St. Florian represents school districts in all aspects of special education litigation, from administrative hearings at the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) through to all levels of judicial appeal. Ms. St. Florian was a founding co-chair of the Education Law at the Massachusetts Bar Association.” Currently Alisia is the Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Wheeler School in Providence, RI.
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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