Peremptory Challenges Task Force - Task Force members
Chair
Richard P. Campbell
Richard P. Campbell is the MBA's president and
the founder and chairman of Campbell, Campbell, Edwards &
Conroy PC, which specializes in trial practice with offices in
Boston and Philadelphia. He represents individuals and corporations
in personal injury matters, commercial disputes, multi-district
litigation, class actions, aviation disasters, toxic tort and
products liability disputes. In addition, he organizes and leads
his firm's pro bono project, educating parents, students and school
administrators about civil and criminal social host liability laws.
Campbell is a past chair of the American Bar Association's Tort
Trial & Insurance Practice Section and was awarded the Andrew
C. Hecker Memorial Award by the section in 2009. He was also
honored with the Founder's Medal, Boston College Law School's
highest award for dedication to the law. Click here to e-mail this member of the
Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Hon. Peter W. Agnes Jr.
The Hon. Peter W. Agnes Jr. is a justice with
the Massachusetts Superior Court. Agnes was appointed to the
Superior Court in 2000 following a nine-year judgeship with the
Charlestown Division of the District Court. Prior to joining the
bench, he served as chief of operations for Governor Michael S.
Dukakis (1989-1991), assistant secretary of Public Safety
(1986-1989) and as an assistant district attorney from 1976 to
1986. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Supreme Court
of New Hampshire in 1975. Agnes served as chairman of the District
Court Professional Development Group on Impaired Driving Cases and
as chairman of the Supreme Judicial Court/Trial Court Committee on
Dispute Resolution. Agnes is a past president of the Justinian Law
Society and a member of the New England Society of Professionals in
Dispute Resolution. He is also active in the American,
Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations. Click here to e-mail this
member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Philip J. Callan Jr.
Philip J. Callan Jr. practices at Doherty,
Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy in Springfield. Callan served as
the state chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers from 2001
to 2003. He is the primary outside counsel in Western Massachusetts
for a number of major insurance companies and specializes in the
defense of professional malpractice, product liability and personal
injury suits and insurance coverage interpretation. He is a past
president of the Hampden County Bar Association and is an adjunct
professor at Western New England College School of Law. Click here to e-mail this member
of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Beverly J. Cannone
Beverly J. Cannone began as a Committee for
Public Counsel Services staff attorney in 1985. Since 2006, she has
served as the attorney-in-charge for the CPCS Dedham office. In
addition to being a frequent lecturer and faculty member at
Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and CPCS training
programs, Cannone is a member of the Harvard Law School Trail
Advocacy Workshop teaching team and a panelist and committee member
for the Norfolk County Bench Bar. She served on the MBA Criminal
Justice Section Council and received the MBA Access to Justice
Defender Award in 2002. Cannone was also the recipient of the 2008
CPCS Edward J. Duggan Award. Click here to e-mail
this member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force
Edward V. Colbert III
Edward V. Colbert III is a partner with Looney
& Grossman LLP in Boston. He has extensive experience in civil
and criminal litigation and his practice often involves business
disputes and government enforcement actions. He represents
individuals and businesses in contractual, employment, personal
injury, and professional liability cases. Colbert was an assistant
attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts before
joining Looney & Grossman LLP. Since joining the firm, he has
continued to serve as a special assistant attorney general for the
commonwealth. Colbert is admitted to the Supreme Judicial Court of
Massachusetts and U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, and
practices in both state and federal court.
Daniel F. Conley
Daniel F. Conley is the chief law enforcement
officer for the cities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop,
Massachusetts. As district attorney, Conley is responsible
for the prosecution of more than 40,000 criminal cases every year
in the state's most densely populated county. Conley's top
priorities as district attorney include the protection of society's
most vulnerable members, including seniors, children, and victims
of domestic violence; the aggressive prosecution of violent
offenders; and adherence to the highest ethical standards by every
member of his office. Prior to taking office as Suffolk County's
14th district attorney, Conley served for eight years on
the Boston City Council. A career prosecutor before seeking
public office, Conley served as an assistant district attorney for
nine years in the office he now leads, prosecuting homicides and
other serious felonies including drug trafficking, non-fatal
shootings, and intimate partner violence.
Frank Corso
Frank Corso is a principal at Sarrouf Corso LLP
in Boston. A past chairman of the Journal of Massachusetts
Academy of Trial Attorneys, Corso is a member of the MBA's
Civil Litigation Section and a member of the MBA's Tort Reform and
Lawyers Public Service Responsibility committees. Corso is also a
governor for the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys and
participates in the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. The
recipient of the Amos L. Taylor Award for excellence in
scholarship, Corso served as an adjunct professor for New England
School of Law. Click here to e-mail this member of the
Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Emily G. Coughlin
Emily G. Coughlin is a founding partner of the
firm of Coughlin Betke LLP (formerly Ryan, Coughlin & Betke
LLP) and is president of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers
Association, having served on its board of directors and held
various officer positions since 2002. She tries cases and handles
appeals in all state and federal courts in Massachusetts. Her
practice concentration includes more than 20 years of broad-ranging
civil litigation experience representing businesses and insurers in
construction-related litigation, premises litigation, products
liability litigation, and professional liability litigation, while
establishing an extensive expertise in risk allocation and
avoidance in construction matters. Coughlin is also active in the
International Association of Defense Counsel, the Defense Research
Institute and the American and Massachusetts Bar Associations. Click here to e-mail this
member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Robert A. Curley Jr.
Robert A. Curley Jr. is president of Curley
& Curley PC in Boston. He is a fellow of the American College
of Trial Lawyers. His practice involves the defense of product
liability, catastrophic personal injury cases, general civil
litigation and insurance coverage matters. In 2004, the
Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association recognized him as the
Defense Attorney of the Year for his service to clients and to the
bar. Curley has frequently participated as a faculty member in
continuing legal education programs and authored several articles
that have appeared in both regional and national publications. Click here to e-mail this
member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Michael S. Hussey
Michael S. Hussey has been an attorney with the
Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Public Defender
Division since 1985, and the attorney-in-charge of the Worcester
office since 1994. The 2003 recipient of the MBA's Access to
Justice Award, Hussey has been on the "Murder List" since 1992. In
2004, Hussey was inducted into the American College of Trial
Lawyers, of which he is currently a fellow. In addition, Hussey is
the 2006 recipient of the Edward Duggan Award given by CPCS, and
has been a frequent lecturer and faculty member at MCLE and CPCS
training programs. Hussey was also a contributing author to MCLE's
Trying Murder and Homicide Cases and is a long-time member
of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Citizens Against the
Death Penalty and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers. Click here to e-mail this member of the
Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Marianne C. LeBlanc
Marianne C. LeBlanc is a principal with
Sugarman and Sugarman PC in Boston, where she concentrates in all
aspects of serious personal injury litigation, with an emphasis on
medical negligence and product liability. Committed to making a
difference for both her clients and the community at large, LeBlanc
has provided leadership to a wide variety of legal, civic, and
community organizations. LeBlanc currently serves as the
chair-elect of the Women's Trial Lawyers Caucus of the American
Association of Justice and serves on the boards of the
Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Women's Bar Foundation
and Women's Bar Association. A past president of the WBF and WBA of
Massachusetts, LeBlanc chaired the MBA's Civil Litigation Section
from 2001 to 2002. LeBlanc has also published numerous articles and
presents frequently at MCLE and MBA programs, among other venues.
LeBlanc is a 2006 recipient of the AAJ's Wiedemann Wysocki Citation
of Excellence. Click here to e-mail this member of the
Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Eric Neyman
Eric Neyman is a partner with McCarter and
English in Boston. His experience encompasses civil, criminal and
complex commercial litigation. The focus of his practice is on
fraud, class action, securities and contract disputes. He also
advises businesses and individuals on strategically addressing
government investigations at the civil, criminal, and
administrative levels. Prior to joining McCarter and English,
Neyman was Deputy Legal Counsel to Governors A. Paul Cellucci and
Jane M. Swift, and Deputy General Counsel to the Executive Office
of Public Safety. Neyman also spent several years as a trial and
appellate prosecutor at the Suffolk County and Berkshire County
District Attorney's Offices. Click here to e-mail this
member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
Michael O'Keefe
Michael O'Keefe is district attorney for the
Cape and Islands District. With over twenty-seven years of
experience working in the District Attorney's office, O'Keefe has
tried to conclusion over 250 jury trials. While successfully
prosecuting 19 homicide trials, he has also represented the
commonwealth before the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Supreme
Judicial Court as well as authoring briefs in conjunction with that
representation. O'Keefe has been the recipient of a multitude of
awards throughout his tenure, including being named as Prosecutor
of the Year for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the
Massachusetts District Attorneys' Association in 1994 and as a
fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2002. Among his
many other endeavors, Michael O'Keefe is currently a member of the
Federal-State Anti-Terrorism Task Force. Formerly, O'Keefe was
president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys' Association. Click here to e-mail
this member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.
The Hon. David Ricciardone
The Hon. David Ricciardone, Harvard
University (A.B., 1980), Villanova University School of Law
(J.D., 1985), spent the first several years of his legal career as
an assistant district atorney for the Middle District. He
subsequently managed a successful general trial practice in
Worcester for the next fifteen years, and for many of these years
held office as president of the Worcester County Bar Advocates,
Inc. As such, he formulated policies and programs to advance high
quality representation of indigent persons (many of which are still
implemented). In 2004, he was appointed a justice of the Worcester
District Court where he has presided over some of the busiest
sessions of the commonwealth. Judge Ricciardone remains a frequent
contributor to continuing legal education programs for both judges
and lawyers. Click here to
e-mail this member of the Peremptory Challenges Task Force.