Business Litigation
Our Business Litigation practice group offers the experience of seasoned lawyers who recognize the value of solving problems to promote your business success.
Complex Tort Defense
Since its founding in 1988, a staple of Conn Kavanaugh’s practice has been the defense of business entities in serious and complex personal injury or property damage actions.Construction
Whether you are the owner, design professional, general contractor, project administrator, subcontractor, or supplier on a construction project, our Construction practice will assist you in achieving a successful project outcome.Corporate / Transactional
Our Corporate/Transactional practice has a broad range of skills. This versatility allows them to remain a principal point of contact with our business clients and to move freely across multiple disciplines to ensure continuity of representation.
Criminal / White Collar / Regulatory
We have extensive experience advising businesses and individuals who are the subject of criminal or regulatory investigations or proceedings.
Employment Litigation / Counseling
Employers and employees alike look to Conn Kavanaugh’s employment lawyers for advice in navigating the increasingly complex web of state and federal statutes,Estate Planning / Administration
Our Estate Planning attorneys help individuals and their families plan for the future and protect their assets. We handle all aspects of estate planning.
Family Law / Probate Litigation
Our experienced Family Law/Probate Litigation attorneys work zealously to ensure rightful asset distributions in these emotionally charged proceedings. Our group handles a wide range of areas including prenuptial agreements, custody disputes, and post-divorce support or estate modifications.
Insurance Litigation
Land Use / Real Estate Litigation
Our Land Use/Real Estate Litigation practice has extensive experience in handling real estate disputes of all kinds and at all levels. We can develop a strategy for your dispute.Mediation / Arbitration
Having litigated hundreds of cases, the Mediation/Arbitration practice is well-equipped to effectively value cases to resolve disputes according to your needs and goals.
Product Liability
Conn Kavanaugh’s lawyers regularly represent manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in defending against product liability claims.Professional Liability
Our trial attorneys are accomplished in defending claims against attorneys, health care professionals, insurance agents and brokers, and other professionals.Real Estate
Our Real Estate practice provides skilled representation in a variety of transactions, including the financing, leasing, acquisition and disposition of commercial properties.
- Business Litigation
- Complex Tort Defense
- Construction
- Corporate / Transactional
- Criminal / White Collar / Regulatory
- Employment Litigation / Counseling
- Estate Planning / Administration
- Family Law / Probate Litigation
- Insurance Litigation
- Land Use / Real Estate Litigation
- Mediation / Arbitration
- Product Liability
- Professional Liability
- Real Estate
Architects/Engineers
Conn Kavanaugh has a wealth of experience advising and representing architects and engineers in many aspects of their businesses.
Cannabis
Closely Held/Family Businesses
Conn Kavanaugh’s business attorneys have a broad range of skills and are very experienced in providing legal services to family-owned and other closely-held businesses.
Construction
Conn Kavanaugh has provided an array of services to private and public clients in the construction industry, including the manufacturers of building materials and systems.Financial Services
Conn Kavanaugh draws upon a wide range of disciplines to meet the needs of individual and institutional clients in the financial services industry.
Food and Beverage
Our decades of work in the food and beverage industry, including alcohol regulatory and distribution, have permitted us to gain expertise and insight into the typically fast paced and challenging world of our clients engaged in the food and beverage industry.Government
Conn Kavanaugh provides an array of services to clients in the public sector, including state agencies, municipalities, and public officials.Healthcare
The Conn Kavanaugh team has the skills and experience necessary to successfully maneuver our clients through the increasingly complex and highly regulated environment of the health care industry.Insurance
Our lawyers work with our insurance industry clients in a variety of ways. We represent their insureds in virtually every type of lawsuit for which insurance coverage is available. We represent insurance companies directly in bad faith actions, and in high-exposure losses or losses that present unusual or challenging coverage issues.Law Firms
Since the firm was founded in 1988, our attorneys have been known as “lawyers’ lawyers.”Manufacturing
Conn Kavanaugh has broad experience in representing the interests and needs of various manufacturers.
Real Estate
Conn Kavanaugh has a wealth of experience in the real estate field.Staffing and Recruiting
Staffing companies and Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) are playing an increasingly important role in many aspects of human resource management, as employers are relying more and more on staffing companies and PEOs for payroll and employee benefit administration, risk management, and other increasingly complex administrative burdens.
Erin K. Higgins
Partner
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Print Full BioErin is a civil trial lawyer. During her 27 years of practice, she has focused on representing lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, and other types of professionals in defending against errors and omissions claims. She also represents lawyers in disciplinary matters, having recently completed a four-year term on the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, and advises lawyers on ethics issues. Erin understands that for a professional, reputation is everything, and she will work towards a resolution that best protects that interest, whether that means an early and confidential settlement or a defense verdict from a jury. Erin speaks regularly on professional liability and ethics topics, and writes a regular column on ethics for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Erin co-chairs the firm’s Professional Liability group, and also serves as the firm’s Risk Management Partner.
Erin also handles business litigation and insurance coverage matters, and defends manufacturers against product liability claims. She is an experienced appellate advocate, having argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the United States Court of Appeal for the First Circuit.
Erin co-chairs the firm’s pro bono committee. In that role, she connects the firm’s lawyers with various opportunities to serve low-income clients, including those referred by the Women’s Bar Foundation, Veterans Legal Services, the Victim Rights Law Center, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, the New England Food Hub, and the Lawyers’ Clearinghouse. Erin lives in Arlington with her husband, also a lawyer, and multiple dogs. They are empty nesters, with their three children either in college or officially off the payroll, but they still manage occasional family trips and dinners (as long as they pick up the check).
Erin also handles business litigation and insurance coverage matters, and defends manufacturers against product liability claims. She is an experienced appellate advocate, having argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the United States Court of Appeal for the First Circuit.
Erin co-chairs the firm’s pro bono committee. In that role, she connects the firm’s lawyers with various opportunities to serve low-income clients, including those referred by the Women’s Bar Foundation, Veterans Legal Services, the Victim Rights Law Center, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, the New England Food Hub, and the Lawyers’ Clearinghouse. Erin lives in Arlington with her husband, also a lawyer, and multiple dogs. They are empty nesters, with their three children either in college or officially off the payroll, but they still manage occasional family trips and dinners (as long as they pick up the check).
Practice Areas
- Professional Liability
- Product Liability
- Business Litigation
- Complex Tort Defense
- Insurance Litigation
Industries
Education
- Boston College Law School, J.D. cum laude (1991)
- Georgetown University, B.A. cum laude (1987)
Court Admissions
- Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
- United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America © (2016 — 2020)
- Selected as Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine (2004-2018)
- Selected as Top 100 Lawyers in Massachusetts by Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine (2015-2018)
- Top Women of Law 2018 Circle of Excellence Honoree, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2018)
- Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Award, ABA Tort Trial & Ins. Practices Section (2014)
- Victim Rights Law Center Shining Star Award for pro bono work (2009)
Representative Matters
- Legal Malpractice
- Successfully moved to dismiss legal malpractice complaint against global intellectual property firm on grounds that plaintiff had not sufficiently alleged conflict of interest. Decision affirmed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in first-in-the nation decision addressing subject matter conflicts in patent prosecution matters.
- Successfully established that law firm’s internal communications regarding a client complaint were protected by the attorney-client privilege, in first-in-the-nation decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
- Successfully moved to dismiss legal malpractice complaint on grounds that plaintiff had not sufficiently alleged an injury and therefore had no standing to pursue claims. Decision on appeal to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
- Successfully moved to dismiss legal malpractice complaint on claims-splitting grounds.
- Successfully moved to dismiss legal malpractice complaint on grounds that beneficiary of will could not demonstrate existence of attorney-client relationship with testator’s attorney.
- Product Liability
- Obtained defense verdict for electrical subcontractor following three-week jury trial of negligence claims brought by two injured tunnel workers.
- Obtained summary judgment for manufacturer of hot tub spa in product liability action filed in Connecticut federal district court, on grounds that disclosed expert testimony was insufficient to establish that alleged defect made the product unreasonably dangerous, or was the cause of injury.
- Acted as local counsel for global tobacco products manufacturer in defending against multiple personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.
- Obtained dismissal of wrongful death action against tobacco products manufacturer on grounds that personal representative had waited too long to seek probate of estate.
- Insurance Coverage
- Obtained summary judgment for insurance company in rescission action filed in New Jersey Superior Court, defeating claim that allegedly innocent co-insureds should retain coverage.
- Obtained summary judgment for insurance company in declaratory judgment action involving a $3 million arbitration award.
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of a Pennsylvania insurance agency on claims presenting an exposure of nine million dollars.
- Trial and Appellate Experience
- Obtained defense verdict for electrical subcontractor following 3-week jury trial of negligence claims brought by two injured tunnel workers.
- Obtained defense verdict for hotel company following 8-day jury trial of age discrimination claim.
- Represented law firm in 3-week jury trial involving claim that former partner at law firm provided negligent advice concerning life insurance transaction. Case settled prior to entry of judgment.
- Obtained injunction for distributor preventing the termination of his distributorship agreement and the likely loss of his business, following five-day evidentiary hearing in federal district court.
- Obtained favorable decision for municipality following a four-day evidentiary hearing involving testimony from multiple experts as to impact of sewerage agreement as between two neighboring municipalities.
- Have appeared for oral argument at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Professional Affiliation and Activities
- Boston Bar Association Council, Member (2018-2021)
- Boston Bar Association Amicus Committee, Co-Chair (2018-2020)
- Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, Member (2014-2018); Chair, Rules Committee (2015-2018)
- Professional Liability Defense Federation, President (2017-2018) and Board Member (2014-2019)
- Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
- Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, Board Member
- Women's Bar Foundation of Massachusetts, President (2008) and Board Member (2002-2019)
- Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, Member (2008-2017)
- Supreme Judicial Court Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct, Member (2009-2015)
- Boston Bar Association Business Litigation Section, Steering Committee Member (2015-2017)
- International Association of Defense Counsel, Member
- Defense Research Institute, Member
- Women's Bar Association, Member
- American Bar Association Civil Litigation Section, Member
