Beth Boland

Beth Boland is chair of the firm’s Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice and a former vice chair of the Litigation Department. She represents clients in shareholder suits, SEC and Attorney General investigations, and consumer class actions. Named one of the “most powerful business people” in Boston by the Boston Business Journaland one of the most “influential” attorneys in the Commonwealth by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Beth regularly represents corporations in connection with insider trading issues, Ponzi schemes, accounting fraud, corporate control issues, and derivative actions. Beth is the president of the New England Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors; she advises corporate boards and leads internal investigations and the defense of government enforcement actions involving whistleblower claims, government contracts, corporate governance issues, and disputes involving executive compensation and strategic business transactions.

Beth also defends some of the nation’s largest financial institutions and retailers in connection with class action litigation and multi-agency enforcement actions involving privacy, fraudulent sales practices, and other statutory violations. She has won numerous class actions, including a case with industry-wide ramifications in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Her clients operate in a wide range of industries, including financial services, retail, high technology, and manufacturing.

Prior to joining Foley, Beth was a partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP, where she was in the firm’s Securities Litigation practice in Boston. Earlier in her career, Beth served as a clerk to the Honorable Milton Pollack in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York while he was assigned to the Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken insider trading litigations.

Community Engagement :

Active on many fronts in the legal community, Beth co-chaired the Boston Bar Association (BBA) Task Force on Corporate Governance and was appointed by the chief justice of the trial court to co-chair the committee charged with overseeing the Massachusetts business court after its inception in 2000. As one of the youngest presidents of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA), she is considered a pioneer on issues affecting women in the profession and women who are victims of abuse. Beth’s representation of women who flee across international borders to protect their children from abuse has received national attention and has produced seminal court decisions under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. In 2010, the WBA presented her with its highest honor, the Lelia J. Robinson Award, in recognition of her contributions to the legal profession and the greater community. Beth was also appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to serve on the state Lottery Commission along with the Massachusetts Treasurer.

Recognition :

Chambers USA named Beth as a leading lawyer in securities litigation (2013 – present), noting “Her extremely detailed and in-depth knowledge is invaluable.” Beth has been named one of the state’s most influential lawyers by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and one of the Top 50 Massachusetts Women Lawyers by Boston Magazine for multiple years. She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards and received numerous awards for her work in this area. Other honors include:

• Named in the “Power 50” by the Boston Business Journal (2018)
• “Circle of Excellence” (one of five women lawyers so honored), Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2016)
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2015 – present)
• Leading Woman Award, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (2012)
• Lelia J. Robinson Award, Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (2010)
• Named in “The Power List” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2009)
• Women’s Leadership Award, The Alliance of Women’s Business and Professional Association (2007)
• Super Lawyers, Massachusetts (2004 – present); Top 50 Women Lawyers (2004, 2012, 2015 – present); Business Litigation
• “Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Massachusetts Lawyer Power Matrix (2004)
• President’s Award, The Boston Club (2004)

Education :

Beth earned her J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School (1988) where she was articles editor of the University of Chicago Legal Forum and a Daniel Yee Merit Scholar. She received her B.A. from The University of Chicago (with honors, 1985) where she was a Rhodes Scholarship State Finalist and elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Admissions and Professional Memberships :

Beth is a member of the Boston Bar Association, the American Bar Association and is president of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), New England Chapter. She is admitted to practice in New York and Massachusetts, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second and District of Columbia Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the District of Massachusetts and Southern District of New York.