News
The Amazing Generation Written by Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane Advisory Board Member
Dr. Charles Desmond, advisory board member of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, LLP, recently wrote an article that was published by the New England Journal of Higher Education. The article titled The Amazing Generation is Dr. Desmond’s gratitude to those working in health care and other essential industries.
Over the last four decades, Dr. Desmond has had a long and distinguished career in higher education, non-profits, and other entities. He presently serves as the CEO of Inversant, the largest parent-centered children’s saving account initiative in the Commonwealth. He served for eight years as the chair of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and was a higher education policy advisor to former Governor Deval Patrick and to Governor Charlie Baker. In many and varied roles, he has been at the forefront of educational access, retention, and college completion issues for low and moderate-income citizens here in the Commonwealth and across the nation. Dr. Desmond is also a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army, a recipient of both Silver and Bronze stars. It is this military service and his years of commitment to serving others that inform his thoughts below.
On behalf of MHTL we share Dr. Desmond’s sentiments and hope they leave you too with the pride and confidence we feel in the “The Amazing Generation” as we move onward and look to brighter times ahead.
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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