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.
Thomas E. Peisch
Of Counsel
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Print Full BioTom is a co-founder of the firm and was an accomplished and sought-after trial lawyer for over 40 years. He has successfully defended executives and companies in high stakes cases and tried over 50 cases to jury verdict or jury-waived decision. He specialized in professional and product liability defense, business litigation, and regulatory law.
In 2004, Tom was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, the membership of which cannot exceed 1% of the lawyers in a given state. In 2013, Tom was named Lawyer of the Year by the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, of which Tom is a past President. Tom was appointed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to both the Client’s Security Board and the Board of Bar Overseers, and he served as the CSB’s chair and the BBO’s vice-chair.
Tom is now of counsel to the firm and regularly consults with firm lawyers on strategy. He also serves as an expert witness on liability and ethics issues is a certified conciliator. He chairs the board of trustees one of the state’s 15 community colleges.
Practice Areas
- Complex Tort Defense
- Professional Liability
- Business Litigation
- Criminal / White Collar / Regulatory
- Mediation / Arbitration
- Product Liability
- Insurance Litigation
Industries
Education
- Boston College Law School, J.D. (1974)
- Dartmouth College, B.A. (1970)
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 - 2019)
- Selected as Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA) (2013)
- Selected as Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine (2004 - 2018)
- Selected as Top 100 Lawyer in Massachusetts by Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine (2007- 2014)
- Selected as Top 100 Lawyer in New England by Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine (2007, 2008, 2009)
Representative Matters
- Representative clients/ matters
- A consumer products manufacturer and its research affiliate in product liability, mass tort, and regulatory litigation over a 20-year period.
- A law firm in an important Supreme Judicial Court opinion establishing the first in the U.S. intra-law firm privilege.
- Numerous matters involving negligence or malpractice claims against individual and corporate healthcare providers.
- An engineering company sued for negligence in connection with severe electrocution injury.
- A lawyer/community activist charged by state regulators with conflict of interest.
- A lawyer accused of misconduct in connection with Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. Client exonerated by federal court.
- An expert witness in claim of negligence and breach of contract by the client. The client was exonerated after protracted proceedings.
- A healthcare executive accused of repeated sexual assaults by a co-worker. No charges were brought and the accuser was prosecuted criminally for making false allegations.
- A high-tech sales executive on criminal charges of false recognition of revenue. Charges dropped by the prosecutors prior to trial.
- A business owner accused of insider trading in connection with a public offering of stock.
- A real estate developer in a fraud claim brought by former partner resulting in the client’s exoneration with court cost paid by plaintiff.
- A municipal official in sexual harassment claim.
- A state agency employee charged with fraud and larceny. The matter included an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a case of first impression interpretation of corporate records statute.
- Numerous defense jury verdicts for specialized healthcare providers in medical malpractice claims.
- Multiple defenses of lawyers and law firms in malpractice cases and disciplinary and regulatory actions.
- Multiple successful defenses of healthcare professionals charged with wrongdoing by regulatory agencies.
- A trade industry group in an amicus brief to Supreme Judicial Court in appeal of an eight-figure jury verdict against product manufacturer.
- A corporation charged with unlawfully withholding dividends.
- An out-of-state bank in a five-week long lender liability trial.
- Sellers of vacation property against claims by buyers of breach of non-development agreement.
- Preparation of legal briefs and oral argument in multiple significant appeals to Massachusetts appellate courts.
Professional Affiliation and Activities
- American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), Fellow
- Superior Court Working Group on Civil Litigation Alternatives, Committee Member (2015-2016)
- Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA), Member and Past President
- International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), Member
- Defense Research Institute (DRI), Member
- Harvard Law School, Trial Advocacy Workshop Instructor
- Board of Bar Overseers, Special Hearing Officer
- Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court Member from 1999-2004, and Vice-Chair in 2004
- Massachusetts Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
- Oversight Committee - Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (2004-2007), Member
- Member, Massachusetts Clients' Security Board of the Supreme Judicial Court (Chair 1997-1999)
- Felony prosecutor (Special Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County (Boston) (1975-1979)
