Boston Lawyer Blog

Attorney Quinn-Judge Wins Appeals of Criminal Conviction

Published on: May 28, 2025 | by Emma Quinn-Judge

Attorney Emma Quinn-Judge won an appeal of an assault and battery conviction in the Appeals Court. In Commonwealth v. Jeudin, the firm’s client was charged with strangulation. After the Commonwealth rested its case, Mr. Jeudin moved for–and the judge granted–a required finding of not guilty because the Commonwealth had not proved the elements of strangulation. The judge then reduced the charge to assault and battery, and the jury convicted the client of that charge.

On appeal, Attorney Quinn-Judge argued that reducing the charge to assault and battery was improper because it allowed the jury to convict Mr. Jeudin for conduct that he was not charged with in the complaint, that assault and battery has at least one element strangulation does not have, and that Mr. Jeudin was further prejudiced by this change in charge because it impacted the strategic decisions he had made with respect to his trial. The Appeals Court agreed, finding that the amendment of the charge let the jury convict the client for a crime that was not alleged in the complaint against him, based on different actions than those alleged in the complaint. The Appeals Court further found that this error prejudiced Mr. Jeudin, and reversed the judgment against him.

Boston Bar Journal Article by Zalkind Law attorneys David Russcol and Niamh Gibbons Provides Guidance on Criminal Record Sealing in Massachusetts

Published on: May 27, 2025 | by David Russcol and Niamh Gibbons

The process for sealing a criminal record in Massachusetts has changed significantly in recent years due to amendments to the sealing statute and new court decisions. Zalkind Law attorneys David Russcol and Niamh Gibbons explain the current state of the law and provide practical tips for attorneys helping clients navigate the process, including those seeking to file in court to seal records of dismissed or nol prossed charge before they are eligible to be sealed through the more straightforward administrative process.

Sealing State Criminal Records: A Practitioner’s Guide

Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein Joins Amicus in Support of Perkins Coie and the Rule of Law

Published on: April 4, 2025 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP is proud to join more than 500 other law firms in an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie’s challenge to the Trump Administration’s executive order targeting that firm. As a firm dedicated to representing individuals who stand up to the government and large institutions, Zalkind Law applauds Perkins Coie for resisting the administration’s attempts to bully and threaten law firms into abandoning the core values of the American justice system.

Read the full brief here

View the list of law firms here

Ana Muñoz selected for Women’s Leadership Institute

Published on: January 21, 2025 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts has selected Ana Muñoz to participate in the 2024-2025 Women’s Leadership Initiative, a program that provides mentoring and leadership development for women attorneys in Massachusetts who have been identified as the rising stars of the profession. WBA President Alexandra Mitropoulos said, “The WBA is so pleased that Ana Muñoz will join as a member of the new class of the WBA’s Mary K. Ryan Women’s Leadership Initiative. The program is directly aligned with the WBA’s goal of advancing women in the profession and we are certain that Ana will be a beacon for that important work. We are thrilled to have such a promising class, led by accomplished mentors committed to developing the next generation of women leaders.” Congratulations to Ana and all the other women leaders selected for this honor.

Ana Muñoz becomes Zalkind Law’s newest partner

Published on: December 28, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Ana-Isabel

Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP is proud to announce that Ana Muñoz joins the firm’s partnership effective January 1, 2025. Ana will continue her litigation practice in employment, complex civil litigation, civil rights, and criminal matters. For more information about Ana’s background and experience, find her biography here.

Commonwealth Adopts Position Advocated by Attorney Herrmann in Criminal Case Before SJC

Published on: December 6, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

This week at the SJC, the Commonwealth adopted the position of an amicus brief for the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL), authored by Jennifer Herrmann. The case, Commonwealth v. Andrade, addressed the question of whether evidence of a victim’s violent acts used to prove who was the first aggressor—known in Massachusetts as Adjutant evidence—should include evidence of a victim’s violence after the charged crime.

“I will concede that the amicus brief filed in this case lays out a lot of really great policy arguments for extending the Adjutant principle to post-crime conduct,” ADA Kristen Jiang stated at argument. “The Commonwealth does not contest that.”

Both parties and the justices repeatedly referenced Attorney Herrmann’s amicus brief, which argued that extending Adjutant evidence to subsequent conduct is consistent with Massachusetts law and general principles of evidence. ADA Jiang also said, “The amicus brief was very helpful to me in thinking through the reasoning that other jurisdictions have gone through in deciding this issue . . . . I was able to think of lots of scenarios in my head where a post-crime violent act would be extremely probative of whether the victim was the first aggressor. The cases that are cited by the amicus brief are rife with examples of that, so to say that it’s an absolute bar for that reason I’m not sure is correct.”

Zalkind Law attorneys selected for Boston magazine’s Top Lawyers 2024

Published on: November 25, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Congratulations to Inga Bernstein, selected for Boston magazine’s Top Lawyers™ 2024 – Criminal Defense/White Collar, and Monica Shah, selected for Boston magazine’s Top Lawyers™ 2024 – Labor and Employment. The full list of 2024 Top Lawyers can be viewed here.

Naomi Shatz named a “Go To” Higher Education Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

Published on: October 29, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly included partner Naomi Shatz in its 2024 list of “Go To” Lawyers for Higher Education. Naomi represents undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and employees in cases involving discrimination, employment matters, and Title IX.

Emma Quinn-Judge and Jennifer Herrmann Defeat Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in an Age and Disability Discrimination Case

Published on: October 11, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Zalkind Law’s Emma Quinn-Judge and Jennifer Herrmann recently defeated a partial motion for summary judgment filed by a fishing corporation that sought to throw out age and disability discrimination claims brought against them by our client. The Superior Court rejected the defendant’s argument that our client should be denied the opportunity to recover damages for lost wages when, after he was fired from his long-time employer in a close-knit industry, he took Social Security to mitigate his damages. The Superior Court also accepted our argument that our client should not, at this stage, be kept from arguing to a jury that the debilitating emotional distress his termination caused should be considered in determining whether his actions to replace his income were reasonable. Our client looks forward to proving his claims at trial.

Emma Quinn-Judge Defeats Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment in Race Discrimination Case

Published on: October 10, 2024 | by Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP

Zalkind Law’s Emma Quinn-Judge recently defeated a motion for summary judgment by a car dealership and its owners that sought to throw out race discrimination and retaliation claims brought against them by our client. The Superior Court soundly rejected the defendants’ argument that there was not enough evidence to support a race discrimination claim: the Court found that “the frequent, objected-to use of the plaintiff’s race as an identifier in an unwanted ‘nickname,’” as well as “references to stereotypes of Black culture, allusions to violence against Black individuals, and an arguably disingenuous question regarding why white people could not use the n-slur” were certainly sufficient to support a claim that our client was subjected to a racially hostile work environment. The Court also rejected the defendants’ arguments that our client’s claim was untimely and that there was not enough evidence to support a retaliation claim. Our client looks forward to proving his claims at trial.