Lawrence J Casey

Lawrence J. Casey, who holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Boston Magazine “Super Lawyer” in 2009 and multiple years prior, is the Head of Litigation at the firm, and has more than 25 years experience successfully litigating complex employment related matters on behalf of executives, professionals and employers in trials in state and federal courts, arbitrations and agency hearings.

Some of Mr. Casey's successes include:  obtaining a significant arbitration award on behalf of a high-level executive concerning a claim of contractual severance owed; co-trial counsel through public hearing at the MCAD in a precedent-setting case, MCAD v. Stonehill College, obtaining a significant award on behalf of the client on a claim of race-based discrimination in compensation that was listed in the January 3, 2005 issue of Massachusetts Lawyer's Weekly as the "Most Important Decision of 2004"; obtaining a defense verdict in Massachusetts Superior Court in favor of a multinational high-tech services company and its Chief Financial Officer in a case involving discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a former senior executive seeking an award in excess of $2,400,000; trying one of the first Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower cases filed in the Boston regional office of the U.S. Department of Labor; and successfully prosecuting and defending numerous motions for injunctive relief concerning non-competition and non-solicitation agreements in the state and federal courts.  Mr. Casey has also argued appeals before the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Massachusetts Appeals Court.  His representation of individuals in court, arbitrations and mediations has resulted in numerous judgments and settlements in excess of a million dollars.

Mr. Casey also has extensive experience negotiating complex executive employment and transition agreements in various industries, including mergers and acquisitions, change-in-control agreements, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, lift-outs and incentive/equity compensation.  Mr. Casey advises executives concerning the numerous and varied documents that are often used to memorialize their compensation packages including employment agreements, stock and option plans and agreements, long term incentive plans, deferred compensation agreements, promissory notes, pledge agreements, redemption agreements, partnership or limited partnership agreements, limited liability company agreements and expatriation and repatriation agreements regarding overseas assignments.

A frequent author and speaker regarding issues of employment law, Mr. Casey has contributed articles and spoken at seminars and conventions conducted by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE) and Boston Bar Association (BBA) including the Employment Law Conference, an annual conference conducted by MCLE.  His speaking engagements have included the following programs: Effective Discovery in Employment Litigation (MCLE), Domestic Violence Issues in the Workplace (BBA), Advising the Maturing Business: Moving Beyond the Start-Up (MCLE) and Electronic Discovery (MCLE).  Mr. Casey also presented the employee’s case at You Be the Judge – An HR Courtroom Drama, sponsored by the Northeast Human Resources Association, and recently co-authored the Privacy chapter of MCLE’s Massachusetts Employment Law publication.

Mr. Casey is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, Colorado and Hawaii, and before the United States District Courts for Massachusetts and Hawaii, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Tax Court.  He has also been admitted, for specific litigation cases, in federal and state courts in New Hampshire and Connecticut.  He served as a member of the Board of Bar Examiners of the State of Hawaii in 1989.

Prior to co-founding Shilepsky O’Connell Hartley, Mr. Casey was a partner at Perkins, Smith & Cohen, and managing partner at Crowe & Casey.  Mr. Casey is a cum laude graduate of Boston College.  He received his J.D. from Duquesne University where he served as a member and managing editor of the Duquesne Law Review.  Mr. Casey served on the Board of Directors of the Andover School of Montessori for nine years and was president of the Board of Directors for eight years.