Mathilda is a multifaceted litigator who solves clients’ business disputes and personal challenges through creative solutions and traditional litigation mechanisms, driven by each client’s particular priorities. Mathilda’s practice encompasses complex commercial litigation, class actions, white-collar criminal and administrative investigations, trust and estate litigation, appellate litigation, and insurance coverage disputes. Through strategic discovery, well-researched briefing, and effective oral advocacy, she has repeatedly won cases at the motion to dismiss or summary judgment stage and obtained favorable pre-trial resolutions.
In her Complex Commercial Litigation practice, Mathilda handles business disputes for companies and non-profits in the higher education, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, retail & consumer brands and real estate industries, among others. Mathilda’s expertise includes contract disputes, trade secrets cases, joint venture and partnership disputes, and business tort claims. In addition, Mathilda regularly and successfully defends against class action claims arising under state consumer protection laws, particularly those brought against landlords by residential tenants, and is one of a handful of class action defense lawyers in Massachusetts with in-depth knowledge of the Massachusetts security deposit and submetering laws. In her complex litigation practice, Mathilda also defends multinational insurance companies in emerging and complex coverage issues and disputes. This includes representing insurers in state, bankruptcy and federal courts nationwide.
As an associate in the firm’s White-Collar Criminal Defense Group, Mathilda has expertise representing high-profile, high-net-worth individuals in all manner of investigations, with a particular focus on fraud investigations and charges levied by the Department of Justice and private institutions. In addition to her individual representation in the white-collar space, Mathilda counsels private clients in various probate-related disputes including trustee removal actions, executor and administrator fiduciary duty claims, and a range of will and trust disputes.
As a full-service litigator, Mathilda has experience advising clients in all stages of dispute resolution, from pre-litigation counseling and investigation through discovery, dispositive motion practice, and trial. She is skilled at guiding her clients, when necessary, through the appeals process, from crafting an appellate strategy to drafting briefs and handling oral arguments. Mathilda’s appellate experience also uniquely positions her to anticipate and lay the foundation for appellate issues at the trial court level.
Mathilda has a particular passion for legal issues facing the higher education industry. For clients in this sector, Mathilda draws on her broad experience as a lead team member in the defense of the “Varsity Blues” college admissions cases, an advisor to companies operating in the education space, and directly in the industry, including as a former legal intern at the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, an Education Pioneers Fellow, and an administrator at Columbia University. Mathilda has leveraged this experience to advise clients on compliance with federal education laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and aid clients in navigating Title IX investigations on campus, among other representations.
Mathilda also has an active pro bono practice, with a particular focus on immigration issues, for which she has received Mintz’s Pro Bono Award and the Lawyers for Civil Rights Pro Bono Award. In 2017, she helped an immigrant secure release from ICE custody after nearly a year of detention on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court. She has assisted Lawyers for Civil Rights file briefs of amici curiae in seminal cases involving affirmative action and the inclusion of a citizenship question on the U.S. census before the U.S. Supreme Court, partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts on a seminal case that shifted the burden of proof in bond hearings for certain immigrants detained during removal proceedings, and represented the NAACP – Boston Branch as an intervenor in a high-profile case regarding the admissions criteria for Boston’s highly selective public schools.
Prior to joining the firm, Mathilda served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Robert J. Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and to the Honorable Douglas P. Woodlock of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. During law school, Mathilda was editor-in-chief of the Boston College Law Review and a student attorney in the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau.
Education
- Boston College (JD, magna cum laude)
- Columbia University (MA)
- Oberlin College (BA)
Experience
Commercial Litigation
- Representing one of the largest generic drug manufacturers in two breach of contract cases.
- Secured summary judgment and leveraged successful settlement for joint venture fund client in a dispute over ownership rights associated with an $80 million+ hotel property.
- Prevailed at trial on behalf of a major interactive entertainment company against a claim brought by a player who was banned for cheating.
- Obtained dismissal of a complex counterclaim asserting violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) in federal district court.
- Served as second chair at a trial representing a limited liability company in complex commercial litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery relating to claims concerning contractual interpretation and fiduciary duties.
- Obtained a favorable arbitration award in California in a dispute over an oral joint venture to open and operate a garment manufacturing facility in China.
- Part of a team that obtained complete dismissal of a breach of contract and antitrust complaint in federal district court.
Class Action Defense
- Defeated a motion for class certification and obtained summary judgment on claims brought by a putative class of tenants of a residential realty company asserting violations of the Massachusetts utility submetering laws and the Massachusetts consumer protection act, chapter 93A.
- Obtained voluntary dismissal of a consumer class action involving unsolicited text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
White Collar Criminal Defense
- Helped to secure dismissal on behalf of a former Saudi intelligence official in a case brought by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and its subsidiaries, alleging our client embezzled billions of dollars.
- Part of a team defending two parent-defendants in the Varsity Blues college admissions prosecution in the District of Massachusetts.
Trust and Estate Litigation
- Representing a prominent individual in his capacity as trustee of a multi-million dollar family trust in a dispute in Massachusetts Probate Court regarding the interpretation of core trust terms.
- Represented a high-net-worth individual as a beneficiary of a $1b estate in a dispute in Massachusetts Probate Court regarding the proper distribution of assets.
Appellate
- Representing a residential realty trust in a landlord-tenant class action before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
- Representing a high-profile former Saudi official in a complex dispute before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
- Representing intervenors in Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. v. The School Committee of the City of Boston before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
- Representing a trustee in a trustee removal action currently pending before the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
- Represented a residential realty company in an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on a certified question from the First Circuit.
- Represented amici in several cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, including:
- President and Fellows of Harvard College, et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-11283 (D. Mass.), a case challenging interim guidance issued by DHS and ICE during the COVID-19 pandemic that would have prevented international students on F-1 visas from taking online courses while enrolled in a United States academic program.
- Department of Commerce, et al. v. New York, et al., No. 18-966 (U.S. Sup. Ct.), a case challenging the inclusion of a citizenship question on the decennial census questionnaire.
- Abigail Noel Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, et al., No. 14-981 (U.S. Sup. Ct.), a seminal case involving the issue of affirmative action in higher education.
Recognition & Awards
- Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch": Appellate Practice (2022)
- Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch": Commercial Litigation (2021-2022)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers: Rising Star (2021)
- Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch": Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants (2021-2022)
- Richard Mintz Pro Bono Award (2019)
- Lawyers for Civil Rights, Pro Bono Award (2016 and 2019)
- Order of the Coif
- McGrath & Kane Award, Boston College Law School (2013)
Involvement
- Member, Subcommittee on Alternative Paths to Admission of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Steering Committee on Bar Admissions (2021- present)
- Associate Editor, ABA Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (2021- present)
- Member, Boston Bar Association Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Section Steering Committee (2020- present)
- Board Member, Lawyers for Civil Rights (2020- present)
- Gubernatorial Appointee, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (2018– present)
- Member, Supreme Judicial Court Law Clerks’ Society Governing Board (2015- present)
- Member, Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Program, Class of 2019- 2020
- Vice Chair and Board Member, Apprentice Learning (2016– 2019)
- At-Large Member, Oberlin College Alumni Leadership Council (2016– 2019)
- Member, ONEin3 Advisory Council to Mayor Thomas M. Menino (2013- 2014)
- Member, Executive Board & Nominations Committee, Oberlin Alumni Association (2011- 2014)
- Class Trustee, Oberlin College (2007- 2010)
Recent Insights
Viewpoints
Collaborating to Expand Access to Boston's Exam Schools
January 3, 2022 |Article
News & Press
Events
Viewpoints
Collaborating to Expand Access to Boston's Exam Schools
January 3, 2022 | Article
A COVID-19 Ready Campus: Steps Colleges and Universities Should Take to Avoid Future Litigation Over Tuition and Fees
June 29, 2020 | Blog | By Mathilda McGee-Tubb
COVID-19 Tuition and Fees Lawsuits: Defending University Practices and Defeating Class Claims
June 26, 2020 | Blog | By Thomas Wintner, Mathilda McGee-Tubb
Massachusetts SJC Recognizes Limited Affirmative Duty of Universities to Take Suicide Prevention Measures for Known-Risk Students
May 9, 2018 | Blog | By Mathilda McGee-Tubb
Where is the Line? Options for Professional Leagues and Teams Facing On-Field Player Social Activism
February 22, 2018 | Blog | By Mathilda McGee-Tubb
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action Program at University of Texas
June 23, 2016 | Blog | By Mathilda McGee-Tubb
Settlement Agreements with Students Are Protected Student Records But Must Be Disclosed in Redacted Form Under Public Records Law, Says Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
November 30, 2015 | Blog | By Mathilda McGee-Tubb
News & Press
A Tort Without a Cause: Section 12 of the Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance
April 19, 2021
Mintz Honored with PAIR’s 2020 Pro Bono Mentor Award
May 22, 2020
The first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit, Pereira Brito v. Barr, was filed in June on behalf of immigrants who were jailed due to flawed detention hearings in which the detainee was required to bear the burden of proof as to not being a flight risk or a danger to the community. The latest ruling holds that the class of immigrants are entitled to bond hearings at which the government bears the burden of justifying an immigrant’s detention, and at which the immigration court must consider someone’s ability to pay when setting a bond amount.
The Mintz pro bono team representing the plaintiffs in this case includes Members Susan Finegan and Susan Cohen, Special Counsel Andrew Nathanson, and Associates Mathilda McGee-Tubb, Jennifer Mather McCarthy, and Ryan Dougherty.
Federal Judge Rules Detained Immigrants Are Entitled to Fair Hearings
November 27, 2019
Gov't Often Has 'Nothing' To Hold Immigrants, Judge Says
November 6, 2019
Immigration Courts Are 'Ignoring The Law,' Mass. Judge Says
August 6, 2019