• Won the sole acquittal and dismissal of all criminal securities fraud and conspiracy charges against the former Chief Operating Officer of Enterasys Networks, Inc., a worldwide computer networking hardware company.  Ten other executives were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

• Won acquittal of a former Vice President of Alibris, Inc., an on-line used book service, for conspiracy to intercept e-mail and obtain unauthorized access to another company’s computer.

• After lengthy federal and state investigations of a death from the failure of a tunnel roof shortly after the opening of Boston’s Big Dig highway system, persuaded authorities not to prosecute the lead engineer employed by two companies that manufactured and distributed concrete anchor systems that caused the tunnel roof to fall.

• After a five-year investigation into a product recall and technology theft and espionage issues, persuaded federal authorities not to prosecute a former Chief Scientific Officer of Boston Scientific Corporation, a worldwide and leading medical device manufacturer.

• After a lengthy investigation into off-label marketing of an epilepsy medication, persuaded federal authorities not to prosecute a former Vice President of North American Neuroscience division of Novartis, a worldwide pharmaceutical manufacturer.

• After a lengthy investigation, persuaded federal authorities not to prosecute owners of manufacturer of robotic machines for alleged $26 million gift and estate tax fraud.

• Successfully represented a former Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority in a litigated dispute against former Governor Mitt Romney concerning the Chairman’s tenure.

Former partner, Good & Cormier, Silverglate & Good, and Silverglate, Gertner, Fine, & Good, widely recognized as amongst the top small law firms in the country.

Former President and Founding Member of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) and recipient of the Joseph J. Balliro Award.

Former Chair of the White Collar Committee and of the Task Force on Department of Justice Ethics of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

Cooperating Attorney and former Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.

Active member of the American Bar Association Task Force on Technology and Law Enforcement, and frequent lecturer in continuing legal education programs.

Mr. Good has played a central role in a number of high-profile cases over the course of his career, including trying co-lead counsel with Barry Scheck in the worldwide-televised murder trial of Louise Woodward which resulted in a 279-day, time-served sentence for manslaughter; as well as appellate and post-conviction actions for Leona Helmsley, Michael Millken, and Jeffrey MacDonald.

Listed for decades in Best Lawyers in America, Massachusetts Super Lawyers, Martindale Hubbel’s highest AV Rating.

Education

Boston University, J.D., 1972; University of Wisconsin, B.A., 1968.

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Federal District of Massachusetts; United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; United States Tax Court.

In addition to his criminal-defense work, Mr. Schneider devotes a substantial part of his practice to the representation of professors, students, physicians, postdocs, and scientists accused of scientific research misconduct at medical schools, hospitals, universities, and other research institutions, as well as before the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Mr. Schneider has almost two decades of experience vigorously defending university students accused of plagiarism, academic misconduct, and sexual misconduct at law schools, medical schools, and universities in Boston and in other parts of the country, including at Babson, Boston University, Brandeis, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Medical School, Holyoke, Tufts, as well as a number of universities in other regions of the country. Mr. Schneider worked with an out-of town law firm to obtain a landmark federal court ruling questioning the fairness of Title IX procedures mandated by the US Department of Education in campus sexual assault cases.

Mr. Schneider began his career as a public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), including under the late Brownlow Speer, later worked as an associate to Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, and served as Of Counsel to The Spangenberg Group, a consulting firm providing technical assistance in the area of legal aid and indigent criminal defense delivery systems in various states (Kentucky, New York, Texas, and Washington) and foreign jurisdictions (Cambodia, Chile, and China). Prior to forming the firm of Good Schneider Cormier, Mr. Schneider was a founding partner of Salsberg & Schneider, which was listed by US News & World Report as one of the Best Law Firms in America.

Teaching

Mr. Schneider was also a Lecturer in Law at Boston University School of Law, where he taught for many years a seminar on “Wrongful Convictions, Miscarriages of Justice, & the U.S. Criminal Justice System.” He has lectured at legal education seminars and law schools, and has authored articles on criminal justice topics.

Awards

Mr. Schneider has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America since 2003, and has been named as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer since 2009. He has a 10.0 out of 10.0 rating on AVVO and a 5.0 out of 5.0 AV Preeminent rating for his legal ability and professional ethics from Martindale- Hubbell.

Member

Mr. Schneider is a longtime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL). He has been a cooperating attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union and has served on the Board of Directors of both the national ACLU and the Massachusetts affiliate (ACLUM).

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Massachusetts; State of New York; Federal District of Massachusetts; United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and, the United States Supreme Court.

Education

Columbia University Law School, J.D., 1983, Charles Evans Hughes Fellow; Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, M.A.L.D., 1997(concentration in International Criminal Law & Human Rights); Brown University, A.B. 1978.

Leona Helmsley in the appeal of her federal tax evasion conviction, defended au pair Louise Woodward on charges of murder, and represented Dr. Jeffrey R. MacDonald in his multi-decade effort to overturn his wrongful conviction. He has represented and defended clients in grand jury investigations, pre-trial proceedings, trials, sentencings, appeals, and forfeiture matters. In a number of instances, he has successfully prevented grand jury indictments of clients or obtained pre-trial dismissal of charges in serious matters involving tax evasion, mail fraud, kidnapping, harboring illegal aliens, firearms possession, and aggravated forcible rape. He often represents clients in parallel civil actions or enforcement proceedings that are related to an ongoing criminal action or criminal investigation, as well as in proceedings before professional regulatory boards such as the Board of Bar Overseers, the Board of Registration in Dentistry, and the Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine.

Throughout his years in practice, he has represented scores of students in plagiarism and disciplinary proceedings in colleges and universities, including sexual misconduct and Title IX investigations, as well as in related criminal proceedings brought against student-clients in the Massachusetts state and federal courts. In a number of instances, he has obtained successful resolution of college disciplinary matters by persuading the institution that the charges were unfounded on the merits, were the result of a procedurally-defective fact finding process, or that the conduct at issue warranted a much less serious sanction so that his clients’ academic careers were not irreparably damaged.

He has extensive experience in the use of DNA testing, crime scene reconstruction, computer forensic investigations, and mental health investigations in the defense of criminal cases. In 2003 and 2015, utilizing DNA and other forensic testing, he successfully overturned on appeal the first-degree murder convictions of two of his clients in Massachusetts. Mr. Cormier was responsible for overseeing the DNA testing in U.S. v. Jeffrey MacDonald after he and his firm successfully re-opened Dr. MacDonald’s habeas corpus proceedings by obtaining one of the first post-conviction DNA testing orders issued by a federal court.

His First Amendment work has involved cases in which the government and others have sought to restrict the free speech of individuals and organizations, including attempts to ban commercial advertising deemed harmful to the general public, the censorship of sexually explicit television shows, and the imposition of sanctions on professors and students for their speech.

Mr. Cormier has served as a cooperating attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM), representing persons who have been subjected to investigation, surveillance or harassment by the federal government because of their Islamic faith, ethnicity or political beliefs. He has also represented and counseled clients whose international travel has been restricted or impeded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He has authored supporting amicus briefs on behalf of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) on important issues concerning retributive sentencing and the insanity defense.

Mr. Cormier teaches the Wrongful Convictions Clinic at Boston University School of Law.

Member

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL).

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Federal District of Massachusetts; United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; and, the United States Tax Court.

Education

Northeastern University, J.D., 1989; Bates College, B.A., 1983.

sentencing guidelines disputes and in reversing convictions for conspiracy and attempted robbery. In a precedent-setting case, Ms. Fried challenged her client’s 15-year mandatory minimum sentence under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act, arguing that her client’s Massachusetts state court convictions for assault and battery were not categorically violent felonies for purposes of the Act’s sentencing enhancement provisions.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit agreed with this argument and vacated the client’s sentence. She has won appeals in Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Member

Ms. Fried has been a member of the Boston Bar Association’s Criminal Law Section, which she joined in 2012. In her work on that body she organized and moderated a public forum on the changes in the marijuana laws in the Commonwealth in 2014. She also worked on a  subcommittee that formulated recommendations on behalf of the Bar Association to the legislature on revisions to the state’s gun laws in the aftermath of Sandy Hook. Ms. Fried was also a clinical instructor at the Harvard Law School Criminal Justice Institute working under Professor Charles Ogletree for more than four years. She taught fundamentals of trial  practice, supervised law students who represented  adults and juveniles in the Massachusetts courts, wrote and argued appeals in cases the Institute took on as pro bono projects, team-taught the Institute’s 3rd-year criminal justice seminar, and designed and taught a juvenile practice seminar.

Education
Ms. Fried is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School.

the District of Columbia Superior Court. He has successfully defended clients charged with armed robbery, armed assault with intent to kill, drug trafficking, and sex crimes, as well as tax evasion, wire fraud, and other serious felony and misdemeanor charges. Mr. Brooks’s appellate practice is similarly focused on clients convicted of serious felonies, including murder. In addition, Mr. Brooks regularly represents clients in other post-conviction and collateral proceedings, including probation violation hearings, motions to revise and revoke sentences, sentence appeals, and appeals before the Sex Offender Registry Board.  Mr. Brooks also represents professionals under investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for both criminal and civil violations, and professionals before various licensing boards, including medical registration boards and the Board of Bar Overseers.

Mr. Brooks’ recent successes include an acquittal after trial of a client charged with a near fatal stabbing; the dismissal of all charges of cyber harassment upon a motion that successfully argued that the charges violated his client’s First Amendment rights; and the reduction of a sex offender’s classification level after an appeal before the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB). In addition, Mr. Brooks recently litigated the appeal in Gardner v. United States, 140 A.3d 1172 (2016) which resulted an important ruling limiting the scope of allowable testimony by firearms experts at trial.

Member

Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL); Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) post-conviction panel; Suffolk Lawyers for Justice.

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Massachusetts; District of Columbia; Federal District of Massachusetts; First Circuit Court of Appeals

Education

Northeastern University, J.D., 2004; Wesleyan University, B.A. with Honors in Philosophy, 1996.

Other Experience

Legal internships at the Office of Public Advocacy, Anchorage, Alaska; Lurie and Krupp, LLP; Kopelman & Paige, P.C.; and the United States Attorney’s Office, Boston; Teaching Assistant for Constitutional Law at Northeastern University School of Law.

Mr. Halpern’s recent jury trial wins include back-to-back acquittals in two highly publicized murder cases, including a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity verdict, which may be the only successful insanity defense involving a male defendant in Massachusetts in the past 25 years.  Mr. Halpern’s largest civil recovery, $7.2 million, was for a client who invested in a real estate trust and was cheated out of the profits.  He recently obtained a jury award of $2.82 million in a medical malpractice case involving the failure to diagnose a bowel obstruction.

Mr. Halpern has frequently taught as a visiting instructor at Harvard Law School and Harvard College.  He has appeared as a speaker at professional conferences, and his work has been published in professional journals, focusing in particular on the use of experts in complex civil and criminal trials.

Member

Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL).

Education

Harvard Law School, J.D., 1982; Brown University, A.B., magna cum laude, 1978.

Mr. Harris argued and won Clay v. Massachusetts Parole Bd., 475 Mass. 133 (2016), which resulted in parole for a juvenile offender

Mr. Harris graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2010, where he represented clients through the Northeastern Prisoners’ Rights and Criminal Defense clinics and worked for United States District Court Judge Nancy Gertner and Superior Court Judge John T. Lu.  He has also worked for the Boston criminal defense firms of Shapiro, Weissberg & Garin and Rankin & Sultan.

Mr. Harris has been selected as a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers for three years running and won a Mass. Lawyers Weekly Lawyer of the Year award in 2018 for his representation of Frederick Clay, who was exonerated after 38 years in prison.  

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Massachusetts and United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Massachusetts District Courts.

Education

Northeastern University, J.D., 2010; New York University, MA Music Business, 2007; Trinity College, B.S., Mathematics, 1998.

Awards

SuperLawyers “Rising Star” – 2016, 2017, 2018

Mass Lawyers Weekly – Lawyers of the year 2017 (click to read)