Please join us in congratulating Crystal Huff and her recent promotion to partner!

Over the past several years, Crystal has been an incredible asset to the firm, working closely with both our school and municipal clients to understand their needs and provide tailored advice and direction. Her exceptional client management and deep knowledge of the law has significantly grown these practice areas and we look forward to her continued success in the years to come.

Congratulations to Crystal on this well-deserved recognition!

BHPK is pleased to announce that Michael Glennon has been named the firm’s Managing Partner. As Managing Partner, Mike will help oversee the day-to-day operations of the firm, and we are confident that Mike’s leadership, experience, and vision make him well-suited to guide the firm forward and support our continued growth and success.

Prior to BHPK, Mike was a trial attorney for a Boston area personal injury law firm. Before that, he spent over a decade working for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, as both an Assistant District Attorney and finally, as Chief of the Juvenile Unit for seven years. Over the past few years at BHPK, Mike has quickly established himself as an invaluable leader within the firm, a trusted mentor, and a dedicated attorney with a long history of success.

In addition to Mike’s expanded leadership role, he will continue to provide the same level of expertise, dedication, and guidance to his clients that they have come to know and appreciate over the course of his career.

Please join us in congratulating Mike on this well-deserved recognition!

Michelle Reid and Michael Glennon recently obtained a dismissal in federal court for their clients, the Billerica Police Department, and several individual municipal employees. The Plaintiff had alleged multiple civil rights claims arising from his interactions with the Billerica Police and its employees, including retaliation, unlawful seizure and privacy invasion, abuse of process and malicious prosecution, and violations of the Massachusetts wiretap statute, among others. BHPK moved for judgment on the pleadings, which was allowed in full by the court after a hearing.

Francesca first started at BHPK as a law clerk in 2019, before joining the firm as an associate in 2021 upon graduation from law school. In the past five years, she has consistently proven herself to be an invaluable member of our firm, with a tireless work ethic, and impressive results for her clients, time and time again.

Mike joined BHPK in 2024 after several years in private practice and almost a decade before that in the Suffolk County DA’s office. Through his work, he has proven to be a dedicated advocate on behalf of survivors and victims of sexual assault, as well as a respected mentor to newer attorneys and law students.

Beyond their resumes, both Francesca and Mike possess the same core values that our firm was built on 30 years ago and we are excited to move forward with their added leadership on our team.

Congratulations to both on this well-deserved promotion!

Crystal Huff successfully defended the Wareham School Committee in a class action grievance filed by the Wareham Education Association for an alleged violation of the collective bargaining agreement. The disagreement stemmed from the inclusion of Student Growth Percentile (SGP) data in observation reports of certain union members’ evaluations. After exhausting internal grievance steps, the parties agreed to arbitration. Ultimately, the arbitrator found that the union did not meet its burden of proof that a contractual violation had occurred and denied the grievance – namely because the law requires SGP to be used in the evaluation process, it was not used as the basis for the summative evaluation, and its inclusion, in some form, had been used in previous years. Congratulations to Crystal!

Congratulations to Lenny Kesten and Erica Brody for their $11 million jury verdict in Suffolk Superior Court! The jury’s decision capped a protracted legal battle by Major Kathryn Downey, a 20-year veteran of the force, who first filed suit in 2018, claiming retaliation and gender discrimination. The case was initially dismissed in 2021 after summary judgment, but the appeals court reinstated Downey’s claims against the State Police last year, paving the way for a trial. After an eight day trial, jurors found that Downey suffered “emotional distress” and that discriminatory acts by the State Police were “intentional and reckless or recklessly indifferent”. They ordered the state to pay $10 million in punitive damages and $1 million in compensatory damages. In a statement to the Boston Globe, Downey’s attorneys, Leonard Kesten and Erica Brody, said the verdict “sends a clear message: discrimination is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, especially in a profession tasked with upholding the law for all people.” Congratulations to Lenny and Erica – and to Major Downey for her continued advocacy for equity in this male dominated field.

Read article.

Crystal Huff and Tom Donohue recently obtained a summary judgment dismissal in Superior Court for their client, the Town of Dracut. The dismissal was the conclusion of almost a decade of litigation that spanned through the Superior Court, United States District and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. The Plaintiff, a former member of the Dracut Police Department, alleged that the defendants had conspired to retaliate against him for reporting alleged corruption in the Department. After winning summary judgment in federal court, the First Circuit affirmed most of the USDC’s decision, but remanded some of the Plaintiff’s state law claims to state court. Those claims included the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act against Dracut and intentional interference with advantageous relations against two individuals at the Police Department. The Defendants each moved separately for summary judgment which was allowed after a hearing.

BHPK’s Michael Glennon recently joined Mike Beaudet and WCVB Channel 5 to discuss the groundbreaking work he is doing on behalf of survivors of human trafficking and the hotels that profit off their suffering. BHPK is proud to support his efforts, and equally proud to stand with clients such as Audra as they work together to hold those accountable. For more info on Safe Exit Initiative, please click here: https://safeexitinitiative.org/ 

https://www.wcvb.com/article/sex-trafficking-survivor-sues-hotel-chains-in-massachusetts/66352776