Susan M. Finegan, a Member of the Litigation Practice and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., has been selected as the 2017 Woman of the Year on behalf of the Women’s Law Center at Boston College Law School.

The award honors outstanding Boston College Law School alumna who make significant contributions to the legal profession through practice, community involvement or scholarship in the field. Past recipients have included accomplished alumna in a variety of settings, including large, small or solo firms; government, public interest and public policy; general or in-house counsel; and academia.  Ms. Finegan received this honor for her significant pro bono work throughout the years, most recently her leadership of the firm’s representation, with the ACLU of Massachusetts and other co-counsel, challenging President Trump’s first immigration executive order “travel ban.” 

“In addition to being a superb attorney, Sue’s decades-long dedication to pro bono has made a real and lasting difference in the Boston community and beyond,” said Michael Fantozzi, Managing Member of Mintz Boston office. “We congratulate Sue on this very fitting honor.”

 Appointed as the firm’s first full-time Pro Bono partner in 2007, Ms. Finegan serves as lead counsel on numerous high-profile pro bono litigation matters, chairs the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, and oversees the firm’s 300+ pro bono matters. She is also co-Chair of the Access to Justice Commission, a member and former Chair of the Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, and former Chair of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. She has created several new innovative statewide pro bono projects, including the Access to Justice Fellows Program for retired lawyers and the Massachusetts Civil Appellate Pro Bono Program. She has also served on several nonprofit boards.

Following graduation from Boston College Law School, Ms. Finegan served as a law clerk for the Honorable Andrew Caffrey at the United States District Court and for the Honorable Francis O’Connor at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In addition to her nearly two decades at Mintz, she served as legal director for the Victim Rights Law Center. She has received numerous other awards and recognitions, including the 2017 Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the International Bar Association Pro Bono Award, Women’s Bar Association’s Lelia J. Robinson Award, the Top Women of Law/Circle of Excellence Award, the PAIR Project Outstanding Achievement Award, the Boston College Law School/Curtin Center Pro Bono Service Award and the Dartmouth Alumni Award.  

Ms. Finnegan was formally honored by the Women’s Law Center at an award ceremony on April 20th at Boston College Law School.