News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Attorney Appointed to Serve as Member of the Real Estate Committee of the Diocese of Fall River
On December 10, 2018, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, who was appointed Bishop by Pope Francis in 2014, sent out a letter of invitation to his parishioners of the Diocese of Fall River. The letter detailed the five new Diocesan planning commissions that would launch in February 2019: the Catholic Social Services Commission, Youth and Young Adult Commission, Diocesan/Chancery Governance Commission (with two subcommittees, Communications and Human Resources), Finance Committee, and the Property and Real Estate Committee. On March 8, 2021, Attorney Peter McNulty from Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP received a letter from Bishop da Cunha, officially appointing him to serve as a member of the Real Estate Committee of the Diocese of Fall River for a term of one year.
Mr. McNulty graduated from Suffolk University Law School. During his time in school, Mr. McNulty worked at the Massachusetts Catholic Conference as a non-profit lobbyist. Mr. McNulty received his B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and graduated from Dedham High School.
Formerly corporate counsel at a large Massachusetts Community Bank, Mr. McNulty’s practice is primarily focused on corporate and financial transactional work. Mr. McNulty handles the full spectrum of corporate and real estate matters and has assisted clients with entity formation, real estate transactions, mergers, acquisitions and investments, as well as commercial and residential acquisitions and dispositions. Additionally, Mr. McNulty represents and advises various financial institutions on a wide range of topics, including corporate governance, compliance, construction and secured lending, work outs and modifications, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and general litigation.
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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