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On March 18, 2024, a Superior Court judge denied Harvard’s motion to dismiss a case brought by Zalkind Law attorneys David Russcol and Harvey Silverglate and co-counsel Ruth O’Meara-Costello. In the suit, Plaintiff Benjamin Edelman, a former tenure-track faculty member at Harvard Business School, alleges that Harvard mishandled an inquiry into Prof. Edelman’s conduct and he was not granted tenure as a result. Among other things, Prof. Edelman alleges that Harvard initiated a Faculty Review Board process when it was not needed, did not provide him with evidence that was used against him, and employed a flawed process that ultimately damaged his reputation. Zalkind Law brought claims of breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and promissory estoppel based on Harvard’s failure to follow its established procedures, biased practices, and conflicts of interest by the Faculty Review Board.

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On Monday, October 30, 2023, Attorney Brian Bixby filed a discrimination and retaliation complaint against Burns & Levinson LLP, the firm where he works and where he served as a longtime Chair of the Private Client Group.

Mr. Bixby is a highly regarded and experienced estate and fiduciary litigation attorney. Although he had served as a Chair of the Private Client Group for many years, in July of 2020, the Burns & Levinson Managing Partner decided “it was time” for Mr. Bixby to be replaced by a younger partner. At the meeting where this was discussed, one member of the Firm’s Executive Committee speculated that Mr. Bixby “fears approaching retirement.” Despite the fact that he objected to being removed from this role, which he rightly viewed as a demotion, the Firm announced, falsely, that Mr. Bixby was “stepping down” as practice group chair.

Mr. Bixby tried to address his concerns internally. When that failed and the Firm learned that he would bring a complaint to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the Firm said that it was “really not going to be good” for him if he did that and that “it really [was] folly to go down that path.” Since Mr. Bixby filed at the MCAD, the firm has retaliated in several ways, financially and otherwise.

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Awards Zalkind Law inaugural “Empowering Women” Award. As the publication writes, “Supporting women is not just a top priority at Boston’s Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein. It serves as the 13-lawyer firm’s core identity.” This award highlights the firm’s unique makeup as a women-owned, majority-women firm, as well as the work we have done for decades to advance women’s rights in the workplace and in academics. Read more here: https://masslawyersweekly.com/2023/07/31/empowering-women-2023/.

We are pleased to announce that eight of our attorneys have been selected to the 2022 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list. We would also like to congratulate three of our attorneys for being selected to the 2022 Massachusetts Rising Stars list.

Super Lawyers rates outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations. Only up to 5 percent of the lawyers in a state are named to the Super Lawyers list, and no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.

Please join us in congratulating the following attorneys who have been selected as “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars” this year!