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On March 28, 2013, the firm sued the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Governor’s Office, the Executive Office for Public Safety and Security, and the Department of Correction in federal court on behalf of Anne Manning-Martin, a Department of Correction employee. The complaint alleges that the government promoted Ms. Manning-Martin to the position of Deputy Superintendent of one of its facilities, refused to pay her the salary it promised her for 21 months, and then demoted her after she expressed her political support for her sister, Mary-Ellen Manning, a member of the Governor’s Council and critic of the Patrick administration. The complaint also alleges that Ms. Manning-Martin was demoted because she notified the Department of Correction that she required medical leave for cancer treatment, and because she complained about the Commonwealth’s failure to pay her upon her promotion. During the nearly two years Ms. Manning-Martin served as the Deputy Superintendent she was paid a salary approximately $35,000 less per year than the man the Commonwealth hired to replace her.

The plaintiff’s complaint is available here: Manning v. Commonwealth Amended Complaint

For media reports on the lawsuit see:

In November 2012, as trial approached, Inga Bernstein and Rachel Stroup negotiated a substantial settlement for a client in a case against a state entity for discrimination on the basis of national origin and religion, and retaliation.

In August 2012, Norman Zalkind and Monica Shah won a motion to dismiss a first-degree murder case, resulting in the dismissal of the indictment against their client, on the grounds that the Commonwealth improperly presented highly prejudicial evidence to the grand jury.

In August 2012, Norman Zalkind and Ruth O’Meara-Costello convinced a judge to grant their client, charged with his second offense, a continuance without a finding on the charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, over the Commonwealth’s objection. They also secured the dismissal of the other charges against the client, including the charge of committing a controlled substance violation in a school zone, which could have resulted in a mandatory minimum jail sentence.

In November 2011, Inga Bernstein and Emma Quinn-Judge won a $1.1 million jury verdict in an employment retaliation case after a three week trial in Suffolk Superior Court. An article about this victory appeared in Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly, Jan. 9, 2012.

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