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Emily C. Shanahan
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Emily is the Chair of the Litigation Department at Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers, P.C. She provides effective legal guidance and advice to business owners, institutions, and individuals. Her experience in a wide range of legal issues and across diverse industries allows Emily to deliver practical counsel on disputes that arise in the course of business.
Emily’s thorough preparation and analytical approach to her clients’ needs have proven to be effective in maximizing the chances of a favorable and early resolution of the dispute.
Prior to joining Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers in 2007, Emily was a senior associate in the litigation department of Ropes & Gray LLP. She also served as a law clerk to Honorable Paul J. Barbadoro of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
- The Boston Club
- Board of Directors (2019-2023)
- Chair of Governance Committee (2019-2023)
- The Wellesley Club - Secretary (2021-Present)
- Wellesley Free Library Foundation - Board of Directors (2020-2023)
- Recent Developments in Removal and Remand Litigation Procedure in D. Mass. and First Circuit - Boston Bar Association (March 2023)
- "The Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies For Whom the Order Tolled," Boston Bar Journal, November 3, 2021
- Panel on Initiating the Lawsuit, Pretrial Litigation Primer, MCLE (October 2019)
- Moderator for Boston Bar Association annual Business Litigation Session Year in Review (June 2019)
- Moderator for Panel on anti-SLAPP statute after Blanchard, Boston Bar Association (June 2018)
- Panel on Attorney-Client Privilege, Massachusetts Bar Association (October 2017)
- Panel on anti-SLAPP Statute, Boston Bar Association (June 2017)
- Moderator for Panel on Summary Judgment Practice, Boston Bar Association (November 2016)
- "Closely Held Corp.'s Governing Documents Critical in Litigation," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, October 31, 2011
- "Becoming Your Clients' Trustee," sumnews, Spring 2011
- "The Happy Trustee," Private Wealth Magazine, March / April 2011
- Strictly Business, Except When It’s Not – Dealing With Disputes Within Family Businesses
- Named as a Best Lawyer for Litigation-Trusts and Estates - 2023-2024
- Named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Thompson Reuters - 2013-2023
- Boston Bar Association
- Business and Commercial Litigation Section Steering Committee, Co-Chair (2022-Present)
- Massachusetts Bar Association
- Emily successfully negotiated pre-litigation buyouts, on both the buy side and sale side, among partners in closely held businesses going through “business divorces,” thereby avoiding the expense and disruption of litigation, while allowing the remaining partners to continue the operation of the businesses.
- Emily secured a significant gift to a non-profit institution under a charitable trust the validity of which was challenged by the donor’s adult children on a number of grounds, including lack of capacity and undue influence.
- Emily achieved a favorable decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that the client had properly classified the plaintiffs in a possible class action as independent contractors under the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law. Sebago v. Boston Cab Dispatch, Inc., et al., 471 Mass. 321 (2015).
- Emily settled, on terms favorable to the clients, a lawsuit brought by a former executive against the trustees of a business trust and a number of family trusts who claimed that, under a phantom stock plan, he was entitled to a larger share of the proceeds from the sale of the business owned by the trusts. By negotiating the settlement early in the discovery phase, Emily was able to save the clients the time and expense of a trial.
- Emily has litigated and settled disputes between contracting parties in a variety of contexts, including disputes arising under contracts involving the purchase and sale of businesses and commercial leases.
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1999)Order of the Coif
- Bowdoin College (B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1994)Phi Beta Kappa
ADMISSIONS
- Massachusetts
- United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- United States District Court, District of New Hampshire
- United States District Court, District of Massachusetts
- United States Supreme Court
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1999)
Order of the Coif - Bowdoin College (B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1994)
Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
- Massachusetts
- United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- United States District Court, District of New Hampshire
- United States District Court, District of Massachusetts
- United States Supreme Court
