Nearly 120 attorneys attended the Massachusetts Bar
Association's 31st Annual Labor & Employment Law Spring
Conference held at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston on May 11.
Luncheon keynote speaker Stuart J. Ishimaru, former acting
chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
reflected on his year-and-a-half as acting chair and spoke about
the future of the commission.
Ishimaru discussed his role in building a platform for the
recently appointed chair to "put her stamp on." Jacqueline A.
Berrien, a longtime civil rights attorney and litigator, is the new
chair of the EEOC. "We are excited about the possibilities that she
brings to the EEOC," said Ishimaru.
In addition to Berrien's arrival, the commission welcomed a new
general counsel, P. David Lopez, as well as two new commissioners,
in April. Ishimaru characterized these as "huge changes" for the
commission, which employs 2,500 staff around the country.
Ishimaru's address complemented the educational panel
presentations held throughout the daylong conference. The closing
panel addressed summary judgment and was led by the Hon. William G.
Young of the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, who
was joined by David C. Casey of Littler Mendelson PC and Robert S.
Mantell of Rogers, Powers & Schwartz LLP.
The conference was well-received by attendees. "This is one of
the best CLE programs I've been to," said Fatema Fazendeiro, an
attorney with the Boston Public Health Commission.