Boston Lawyer Blog

Superlawyers Spotlights Attorney Monica Shah’s Career

Published on: October 17, 2025 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Massachusetts Superlawyers Magazine published an in-depth article on Attorney Monica Shah’s career representing individuals against powerful institutions. Shah says, “I went in this direction to represent people who are in vulnerable situations, but that may mean that that vulnerable somebody is someone from the white-collar space or, in my university practice, a student or a faculty member. But they’re all facing the powers that be and a system that is stacked against them.” Through interviews with Monica’s colleagues in the Boston legal community, the article highlights Monica’s committment to her clients, tenacity, and creative legal thinking. Zalkind Law attorney Emma Quinn-Judge discusses Monica’s approach to career development as a litigator: “She recognizes that it’s important not to stand still, and to keep moving and developing and growing and getting out of your comfort zone.” Monica credits her training at Zalkind Law and the colleagues she has at the firm for some of her success as a litigator: “If there is any superpower I have, it’s this amazing team.”

Read more about Monica’s impressive career and the work she does at Zalkind Law here.

Attorney Monica Shah Speaks to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly About AG Campbell’s DEI Guidance

Published on: March 2, 2025 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

On February 13, 2025, Attorney General Campbell and the attorneys general of fifteen other states released guidance for employers about the state of the law on DEI initiatives in response to the Trump administration’s executive order on DEI. Monica Shah spoke to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly about the guidance, and how it makes clear that DEI initiatives are and remain legal. According to Shah, “They needed to do this because the executive orders coming from the administration are distorting our laws and making it difficult for employers to feel like they can proceed with what have always been lawful practices.”

Read the full article here: https://masslawyersweekly.com/2025/02/28/campbell-other-ags-issues-guidance-in-response-to-trump-dei-order/

Attorney Monica Shah Speaks to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly About Use of Wiretap Evidence in the Workplace

Published on: January 27, 2025 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

In response to a Superior Court judge’s recent decision to allow an employer from using an allegedly illegally obtained recording in a civil litigation matter, Zalkind Law partner Monica Shah expressed concerns “about the message that is sent if employers can make use of unauthorized recordings in the workplace” and noted that “If employers are allowed to rely on recordings made in violation of the wiretap law, it incentives further violations to occur,” by encouraging employees to surveil each other, which undermines the purpose of the wiretap statute. Shah noted that the Legislature could make changes to the statute, including “to create an exemption for an employee engaged in protected activity or documenting incidents of discrimination or harassment.”

Click here to read more: https://masslawyersweekly.com/2025/01/25/surreptitious-recording-in-workplace-admissible/

Emma Quinn-Judge and Monica Shah speak to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly about Amendments to Criminal Procedure Rule 14

Published on: December 17, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Attorneys Emma Quinn-Judge and Monica Shah spoke to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly about the amendments to Rule 14 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure. The revisions dramatically reform Rule 14 in response to the SJC’s decision in Committee for Public Counsel Services v. Attorney General, which ordered the an advisory committee to propose a checklist to clarify the definition of exculpatory evidence under Brady and its progeny in response to Massachusetts’ drug lab scandal. Attorneys Quinn-Judge and Shah had submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the Cato Institute and the Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, which advocated for such a checklist to ensure that DA’s offices are held accountable for their broad disclosure obligations. Among other changes, revised Rule 14 includes a detailed non-exhaustive definition of the prosecutorial team, defines exculpatory evidence as any evidence “favorable to the defense,” and requires disclosure of such evidence as early as arraignment and the first pre-trial conference. As the article explains, how the rule is implemented will be closely watched by defense attorneys when it goes into effect in March 2025. Read the full article here: Defense lawyers in ‘wait-and-see’ mode on new criminal rule | Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

Monica Shah quoted in GBH article about termination for participation in violent protests at the Capitol

Published on: January 12, 2021 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Attorney Monica Shah spoke to GBH News about the constitutionality of terminating an employee for their involvement in violent protests at the Capitol. Shah explains, ‘”I think what employers and public employers may be trying to figure out is, is there a distinction between people who were there and present and those who ran into the Capitol and potentially wanted to overthrow the government?”‘ Click here to read more.

Attorneys Emma Quinn-Judge and Monica Shah Provide their Criminal Defense Expertise in Recent Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Article

Published on: October 24, 2018 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Attorneys Emma Quinn-Judge and Monica Shah weigh in on Rule 14 when it comes to prosecutorial discovery obligations in the Supreme Judicial Court. Read more here.