Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Doherty, Wallace Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C. is proud to announce the election of Rebecca M. Thibault as a Shareholder in the firm. Attorney Thibault joined Doherty, Wallace in 2013 and concentrates her practice in corporate law, including regulatory and compliance matters, corporate transactions, education law, and environmental and employment matters.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Limited Liability Companies
  The new federal Corporate Transparency Act will go into effect January 1, 2024 and will have far-reaching impacts on nearly all businesses, including corporations, limited liability companies, and nonprofits. For more information on these legal changes, please see here.
• Intellectual Property

Employment Law

• Employment Discrimination
  Anjali S. Kumar is an attorney at Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C. Her practice focuses on a broad range of employment law matters, including wage and hour laws, employment discrimination, non-competition agreements, and leave laws. In addition, Ms. Kumar represents clients in a variety of business and civil litigation matters. Prior to joining Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C., Ms. Kumar worked at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office in the Solicitor General’s Division and at a large law firm in Minneapolis. Ms. Kumar interned at the Minnesota Court of Appeals and clerked at county attorneys’ offices in Minnesota during law school.
• Severance Agreement
  The MCAD found that the employee had a disability as defined by M.G.L c. 151b § 1(17) and could have performed essential functions of the job with accommodations. They reasoned that her physical presence was not an essential position because she interfaced with suppliers and internal departments primarily by phone, computer, or email rather than in person contact. Additionally, responding to emergency or unforeseen situations was not an essential function as during entire time there, her department did not involve products under her responsibility and the company never ran out of stock. Furthermore, the MCAD reasoned that even though teamwork is essential, it could be done over the phone and computer, which she had done when previously working from home. Though salesforce training was an essential function it could also be done online because it was planned in advance and could be accommodated around 3 days in office schedule. Because the employer “failed to explore permitting the employee to work 1 or more days a week” from home, and instead, offer a severance package, he failed to engage in an interactive dialogue. Similarly, the MCAD found HR failed to engage in an interactive dialogue as for over 2 months they could not provide employee with a response to inquire about how a hybrid arrangement would reduce her pain. Absent these kinds of questions, their dialogue was not interactive, and their attempts were not in good faith. Finally, the MCAD found that the alternative suggestions (room to stretch, stand-up desk etc.) were not sufficient because it didn’t address or shorten Ms. Gurnett’s commute.

Property Law

• Land Use and Zoning

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C. is happy to announce the hiring of Diana Day as a litigation attorney. Attorney Day joined Doherty, Wallace in February, 2021. She has an extensive background in state and federal litigation on behalf of individuals, small businesses, Fortune 100 companies, and government agencies. Prior to joining the firm, Diana worked at a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona practicing business, insurance, and medical malpractice litigation. She then served in the public sector as an attorney for both state and local governments, focusing on high-profile litigation involving elections and constitutional claims, public infrastructure projects, employment, personal injury, and wrongful death. She also served in the general counsel role for a public pension system with over $40 billion in assets under management. Diana is a member of the Defense Research Institute.
• Medical Malpractice

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Doherty, Wallace offers a broad practice in the areas of trial, litigation, real estate, business services including banking and transactional matters, estate planning and probate administration, intellectual property including patent prosecution, taxation, employment, educational law and healthcare law.
• Trusts
  Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C.  is proud to announce the hiring of Lisa L. Halbert as an attorney in our Northampton, Massachusetts office.    Attorney Halbert joined Doherty, Wallace in July, 2022, and brings over 30 years of experience in representing clients throughout Western Massachusetts. She has an extensive background in elder law and estate planning; estate and trust administration (including estate tax return preparation); special needs trusts; asset protection planning; residential real estate; and preparation of personal and fiduciary income tax returns.
• Power of Attorney
  Congratulations to DWPM Attorney Angelina P. Stafford, who argued and won a case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on concerning the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code and creation of a trust by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney. Barbetti v. Stempniewicz, 490 Mass. 98 (2022).
• Probate

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  Attorney Rosemary Crowley presented to the Barnstable County Assessors on real estate tax law issues and the Appellate Tax Board. The presentation consisted of an update on the latest cases, jurisdictional issues, and treatment of conservation land for exemption purposes.