Ogletree Deakins Kicks Off 2009 with New Boston Office

BOSTON, MA – January 27, 2009 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the nation’s biggest labor and employment law firms, announced today it has opened a Boston office to better serve clients in the New England area. Joshua M. Davis, Neil V. McKittrick, and Deborah Hesford DosSantos, formerly with Goulston and Storrs, and Mark H. Burak, previously with Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, are the founding shareholders of the new office. Additional lawyers will be hired in the near future to round out the team.

“Boston is an important market for us. Many of our clients have operations in the New England area, and we needed an office in this region to accommodate their growing legal needs,” said Gray Geddie, managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins. “The team of attorneys we’ve brought on board are first-rate and share our firm’s culture and important commitment to client service. They are an asset to our firm, and we welcome them into the Ogletree Deakins family.”

Doug Husid, co-managing director at Goulston & Storrs, also commented on the announcement, stating: “We wish our former colleagues well in their new labor and employment practice and look forward to continued collaboration with them in servicing mutual clients’ needs.”

Joshua M. Davis, formerly a partner at Goulston & Storrs, provides counsel to employers in all types of employment matters. He is particularly experienced in employment litigation and appellate matters, including litigation involving restrictive covenants and the defense of class actions. Mr. Davis also has experience in “traditional” labor matters, and provides regular counsel to unionized employers. Prior to joining Goulston & Storrs, he chaired the Employment & Labor Law Practice Group at the Boston firm of Hill & Barlow. Mr. Davis will be the managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ Boston office.

Neil V. McKittrick represents management in all areas of labor and employment law, including contract claims, restrictive covenants, employee privacy rights and workplace security issues.  He has an active traditional labor practice, representing unionized employers at the bargaining table and in administrative agencies. Neil McKittrick is also a well-renowned champion of civil rights causes. He received the ABA Pro Bono Publico award in 2001 in recognition of his tireless advocacy on behalf of adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. At Ogletree Deakins, McKittrick will develop and coordinate a national pro bono program for the firm. Before joining Ogletree Deakins, Mr. McKittrick was a partner at Goulston & Storrs and prior to that at Hill & Barlow, where he was a partner.

Deborah Hesford DosSantos also joins Ogletree Deakins from Goulston & Storrs where she was a partner. Her practice focuses on counseling employers through complex employment decisions – typically involving contractual matters or discrimination claims. She has particular expertise in the financial services sector. Ms. DosSantos represents management in all types of litigation before state and federal courts and administrative agencies and regularly conducts employee and supervisor training in areas such as sexual harassment, discipline, and workplace diversity. Ms. DosSantos, together with Mr. Davis and Mr. McKittrick, came to Goulston & Storrs from Hill & Barlow.  Ms. DosSantos is active in the local community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts.

Mark H. Burak represents employers before administrative agencies and in state and federal courts in defense of sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, wage-hour, ERISA disputes, and other employment-related claims, and in the litigation of non-compete and trade secret matters. In addition, he advises employers in all aspects of employment law with a focus on implementing preventive employment practices. Before joining Ogletree Deakins, Mr. Burak was a partner at Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton in Waltham, Massachusetts and prior to that served as a partner in the Labor and Employment Group of Nixon Peabody LLP.

Also joining the Boston office is Charles E. Engeman, founding shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ office in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Mr. Engeman, who joined the firm in 2000, previously practiced employment law in the Boston office of Goodwin Procter LLP. He has continued to serve clients in the New England area since joining Ogletree Deakins and will now divide his time between the firm’s St. Thomas and Boston offices.

With the addition of the Boston office, Ogletree Deakins now has 34 locations across the United States positioned to assist employers with their growing labor and employment law needs.

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has more than 430 lawyers located in 34 offices from Miami to Los Angeles. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law.  Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Karen Gonzales, communications manager, at 210-277-3606.