Susan M. Finegan, a Member at Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. and the firm’s first full-time Pro Bono Partner, has been named co-chair of the third Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, a 24-member body appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court.  The Commission is charged with the mission of providing leadership, vision and coordination in the search for equal justice for all persons in the Commonwealth.  She will serve alongside Supreme Judicial Court Justice Geraldine S. Hines.

As co-chair of the Commission, Ms. Finegan will play a critical role providing leadership to, and coordination with, the many organizations involved in and improving access to justice. Current priorities include strengthening the civil legal aid community currently providing legal services for those unable to afford counsel; enlarging the number of attorneys providing pro bono civil legal services and limited assistance representation; and improving access to justice in administrative proceedings.

“Mintz has long championed pro bono efforts that serve to enhance access to justice for vulnerable members of our communities,” said Bob Bodian, Managing Member of the firm. “Sue has served as a driving force for such initiatives, and I can think of no one more qualified or capable to serve in this important role.”

Ms. Finegan manages the pro bono efforts at Mintz, which consist of 400 varied cases across eight offices, and also represents her own pro bono clients, particularly victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. In addition to representing hundreds of individual clients affected by sexual assault and domestic violence, she has worked on legislative reforms, filed appellate briefs in state and federal courts, and advised numerous domestic violence-related nonprofits on a variety of legal issues.  Ms Finegan is the recipient of many awards for her pro bono work, including those from the International Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association, and Boston College Law School.  She is active in a number of professional activities, including serving as Chair of the Commission on Judicial Conduct; ex officio member (and most recent former Chair) of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services; and a member of the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.  In addition to her work at Mintz, Ms. Finegan has served as the Legal Director at the Victim Rights Law Center, and as a law clerk to both the Honorable Andrew A. Caffrey of the United States District Court and the Honorable Francis P. O'Connor of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  A graduate of Dartmouth College and Boston College Law School, she is President of the Dartmouth College Association of Alumni.