Choate, Hall & Stewart > Boston, United States > Firm Profile

Choate, Hall & Stewart > The Legal 500 Rankings

Industry focus > Education Tier 1

Based out of Boston, the multidisciplinary education group at Choate, Hall & Stewart has demonstrable strength advising medical institutions and academic medical centers on sensitive investigations and internal reviews pertaining to alleged misconduct and federal grant misuse. Practice head Christine Savage remains a key name to note, having over two decades of experience advising healthcare related clients on reviews and compliance. Joan Lukey and Justin Wolosz bring high-stakes litigation expertise to the group and are the main points of contact for government investigations and litigation for higher education institutions on allegations of misconduct and sexual abuse by staff. Elsewhere, the group also has a foreign influence subgroup which deals with academic espionage and university ties to foreign governments. Alison Reif and Lyndsey Kruzer handle employment related issues, including terminations and disputes. Greg Keating has left the firm.

M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m) Tier 1

Home to over 70 attorneys, Choate, Hall & Stewart’s business department delivers representation to acquirers, investment bankers, financing sources and targets on an array of corporate transactions. In Boston, Brian Goldstein  co-chairs the practice alongside John Pitfield who, in addition to M&A, also supports companies on disclosure, governance and board level mandates, directing particular attention to the TMT, life sciences and health services industries. A key point of differentiation for the group is its proficiency in cross-border transactions, a forte which often sees it instructed as US counsel to Canadian, Israeli, British, Irish and European entities.

Insurance > Advice to insurers Tier 2

The ‘excellent team of professionals‘ at Boston-based Choate, Hall & Stewart has a strong reinsurance practice, while also regularly supporting clients on significant insurance issues, including opioid exposure, coverage for natural disasters, or mass shooting exposure. The practice is well equipped to handle arbitrations, coverage actions and appeals. In particular, its activity with respect to Covid-19 reinsurance and retrocessional matters are of note wherein the team has taken on global counsel roles for high-profile reinsurance clients. Leading the team are David Attisani , an ‘extraordinarily talented reinsurance lawyer‘, Robert Kole, who handles many of the biggest insurance coverage matters of the practice, and J.P. Jaillet , who supports Attisani in the reinsurance space. Principal Kevin Finnerty in Boston is involved in many key matters.

Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters) Tier 3

M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies Tier 4

Choate, Hall & Stewart has an experienced investor-side practice that represents several highly active venture and private equity funds. The Boston-based firm has good credentials in a range of life sciences and technology-related sectors including big data and analytics, cloud computing, fintech, cybersecurity, health, robotics, and the internet of things. Fund clients, which include 5AM Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Vertical Venture Partners, also benefit from the firm’s transactional expertise, where ‘the team’s experience, responsiveness, flexibility, practical advice and collaborative nature are beyond compare‘. The ‘terrific‘ practice head Brian Goldstein ‘makes the cross department interactions fairly seamless‘, particularly with key areas such as IP, where partner Charles Lyon is valued for his ‘ability to take complex science and distill it to allow us to make important business and IP decisions‘. Corporate partner Tobin Sullivan is also highly active in this space.

Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers Tier 5

Joan Lukey - Choate, Hall & Stewart

Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings) Tier 5

Praised for being ‘very responsive, collaborative, and pleasant to work with’, Boston-based firm Choate, Hall & Stewart offers a solid patent prosecution practice, which is particularly well known for providing strategic patent counseling to life sciences clients, be it start-ups, venture-backed mid-size companies or large biopharma companies. Brenda Herschbach Jarrell and Charles Lyon share the lead of the team, which has a particular experience in matters related to financings, IPOs, product launches, or acquisitions, and also shows good capabilities when handling reexaminations and post-grant proceedings. Partners Kristen Buteau and Stephanie Schonewald are other names to note.

Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional Tier 5

M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts Tier 5

Boston-based Choate, Hall & Stewart is an active player in the middle-market, advising funds, target companies, venture capital, and financial institutions on a wide range of transactions, with a strong record in targeted industry verticals in sectors including technology, media and telecoms, healthcare, and fintech. T.J. Murphy leads the team alongside Lee Feldman, representing a wide range of private equity clients and portfolio in growth equity investments, recapitalizations, and buyouts. Brian Lenihan takes the lead on financing transactions, and also regularly acts as special counsel to Canadian investors on cross-border deals. The practice was bolstered by the arrival of Michael Stick from an in-house position in June 2021.

Tax > US taxes: non-contentious Tier 5

Helmed by the seasoned private equity fund advisor Louis Marett , Choate, Hall & Stewart‘s boutique tax practice is regularly engaged on all manner of middle-market deals, ranging from M&A and fund formations to convertible notes issuances. Olivier Léger‘s recent highlights include high-value fund closures and private equity-backed portfolio acquisitions. Financial taxation expert Judith Fiorini and the fund sponsor focused Ed Saad have recently joined the practice, arriving in September 2021 from Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP and PwC LLP, respectively. All named lawyers are based in Boston unless noted otherwise.

Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate Tier 6

Choate, Hall & Stewart has a strong reputation for its company and creditor expertise, utilizing its skills to oversee restructurings, workouts, distressed asset and debt acquisitions as well as insolvency proceedings. It represented Liberty Mutual Insurance Company as lead bankruptcy counsel in relation to its $1.4bn claim in the pending bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Company. John Ventola and Sean Monahan lead the Boston-based practice.

Real estate

Finance > Commercial lending

Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense