Kathleen M. Donovan‑Maher

Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher is the Managing Partner of the Firm’s Boston office and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Kathleen focuses her practice on prosecuting class actions, including RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), breach of fiduciary duty, securities, antitrust, corporate fraud and whistleblower cases. Kathleen has been a plaintiffs’ lawyer for over 30 years and has served as lead or co-lead counsel in large, complex cases in federal courts around the country.

Kathleen has a passion for taking on the Goliaths of the world, advocating on behalf of the little guy and holding wrongdoers accountable. She represents current and former Massachusetts firefighters in complex, federal multidistrict litigation alleging that the firefighters’ exposure to PFAS “forever chemicals” in protective turnout gear and firefighting foam caused the firefighters to be diagnosed with and treated for cancers and other serious illnesses. She also led Berman Tabacco’s efforts to bring financial justice to people who were taken advantage of by unlawful online payday lending schemes.

Kathleen is AV Preeminent^® rated by Martindale-Hubbell^® and was selected for the Martindale-Hubbell® 2013 Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™.  She was also selected as one of New England’s Top-Rated Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell^® (2013, 2018-2023), as featured in The National Law Journal.  Martindale-Hubbell^® also selected her as a Top-Rated Litigator (2019) and as one of its Women Leaders In Law (2021-2023).  She has also been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star (2013-2015, 2021-2024) and a Massachusetts State Litigation Star (2021-2024) in Securities, Competition/Antitrust, and was recognized as a Benchmark Plaintiff Top 150 Women in Litigation.  She has also been designated as a Super Lawyer by New England/Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2004-2005 and 2020-2023).   She was also selected as one of the Top Lawyers of the year by Boston Magazine (2021-2022). She was also selected by Lawdragon for its 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers guide (2019-2023), as featured in Lawdragon’s The Plaintiff Issue magazine (2020-2023).

Through all stages of litigation, including trial, Kathleen has helped recover billions of dollars for consumers, employees, retirees, retirement plans and institutions.

Education

• Suffolk University Law School (J.D., 1991)
• Suffolk University (B.S., Business Administration, magna cum laude, 1988)

Experience

• Currently serving as co-counsel in complex, federal multidistrict litigation representing Massachusetts firefighters who allege injuries, including cancer and other serious illnesses, caused by the firefighters’ exposure to PFAS “forever chemicals” in turnout gear and firefighting foam. The actions are presently consolidated within multidistrict litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina as part of In Re Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litig., MDL No. 2783 (D.S.C.).
• Lead the firm’s team in a class action brought on behalf of investors in limited partnerships associated with the Jay Peak ski resort in Vermont, Daccache, et al. v. Raymond James Financial, Inc., et al., 16-cv-21575 (S.D. Fla.), which recovered over $150 million to benefit investors who were harmed by an alleged Ponzi-like scheme.
• Lead member of the Berman Tabacco team that prosecuted federal RICO class actions against the operators and financial backers of unlawful, sham “rent-a-tribe” online payday lending schemes, including Solomon, et al. v. American Web Loan, Inc., et al., No. 17-cv-145 (E.D. Va.), Gingras, et al. v. Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC, et al., No. 17-cv-00233 (D. Vt.), Gingras, et al. v. Rosette, et al., No. 15-cv-101 (D. Vt.), and In re Think Finance, LLC, et al., No. 17-33964-hdh11 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.)., which succeeded in securing, collectively, over $126 million in cash and other relief for the consumer borrower classes in those matters.
• Secured a judgment against Emanuel Pinez, Centennial’s founder and former CEO, in excess of $207 million, plus costs, for violations of federal securities laws in In re Centennial Technologies Securities Litigation, No. 97-CV-10304 (D. Mass.).
• Played a chief role in In re Enterasys Networks, Inc. Securities Litigation, C-02-071-M (D.N.H.) ($50 million settlement, consisting of $17 million cash and $33 million worth of Enterasys common stock). The Enterasys Networks settlement also included corporate governance improvements, requiring the company to back a proposal to eliminate its staggered board of directors, allow certain large shareholders to propose candidates to the board and expand the company’s annual proxy disclosures.
• Served as one of the lead attorneys in Wyatt v. El Paso Corp., No. (N.D. Tex.) ($285 million settlement – $273 million contribution by El Paso and $12 million contribution by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP).
• One of the prime attorneys representing State Universities Retirement System (SURS) of Ilinois in In re General Electric Co. Securities Litigation, No. 09-CIV-1951 (S.D.N.Y.), which settled for $40 million.
• Served as principal attorney in a securities class action involving American Home Mortgage Securities Litigation, 07-MD-1898 (E.D.N.Y.), which settled for $37.25 million despite complications posed by bankruptcy.
• Served as a member of the trial team in In re ICN/Viratek Securities Litigation, No. 87-cv-04296 (S.D.N.Y.), which settled for $14.5 million after the 1996 trial when the jury deadlocked with an 8-1 vote in favor of plaintiffs.

Honors & Distinctions

• Awarded a rating of AV Preeminent^® by Martindale-Hubbell^®
• Selected for the Martindale-Hubbell^® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™
• Selected by Martindale-Hubbell^® as one of New England’s Top Rated Lawyers, as featured in The National Law Journal (2013, 2018-2023)
• Selected by Martindale-Hubbell^® as a Top-Rated Litigator, as featured in Corporate Counsel and The American Lawyer magazines (2019)
• Selected by Martindale-Hubbell^® as one of the Women Leaders In Law, as featured in The National Law Journal, Corporate Counsel, and The American Lawyer magazines (2021-2023)
• Ranked by Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star (2013-2015, 2021-2024) and a Massachusetts State Litigation Star (2021-2024) in Securities, Competition/Antitrust
• Recognized among the Benchmark Plaintiff Top 150 Women in Litigation
• Named a Super Lawyer by New England/Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, which features the top 5% of attorneys in the region (2004-2005, 2020-2023)
• Selected as one of the Top Lawyers of the year by Boston Magazine (2021-2022)
• Selected by Lawdragon in its 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers guide (2019-2023), as featured in Lawdragon’s The Plaintiff Issue magazine (2020-2023)

Admissions

• U.S. Supreme Court
• State Bar of Massachusetts
• U.S. District Court of Massachusetts
• First Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals
• Second Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals
• Third Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals
• Fourth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals
• Eleventh Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals

Affiliations

• Phi Delta Phi
• Delta Mu Delta National Honor Society in Business Administration
• Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society of Economics
• American Bar Association
• Boston Bar Association
• Women’s Bar Association

Publications, Presentations & Appearances

• Why Dark Money Is Bad Business, The New York Times, May 10, 2016
• Damages in Securities Litigation: Plaintiffs’ Strategies for a Defensible Damages Study, Law Seminars International Program (2008)
• Challenges Facing Foreign Investors in U.S. Securities Class Actions, ALI-ABA Securities Litigation Program (2008)
• The Interplay of the U.S. Financial Markets, Securities Fraud Class Actions and Auditor Liability, ALI-ABA Securities Litigation Program (2007)
• Challenges to Plaintiffs Seeking Lead Plaintiff Status in Securities Fraud Class Actions, ALI-ABA Securities Litigation Program (2006)
• The Effects of Bankruptcy on Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance, ALI-ABA Course of Study (2002)
• Recent Challenges To Class Certification In Securities Fraud Class Actions, ALI-ABA Securities Litigation Program (2005)
• Implications of Pleading the Fifth Amendment in a Securities Fraud Class Action, ALI-ABA Securities Litigation Program (2004)
• Challenges To Expert Testimony In The Aftermath of Daubert and Kumho, Practising Law Institute (2000)
• Primary Liability Under the Federal Securities Law, Even When You Do Not “Make” a Statement – The Aftermath of Central Bank, ALI-ABA Securities Litigation Program (2003)
• The Battle Over Class Representative Testimony at the Trial of Securities Fraud Class Actions, ALI-ABA Course of Study
• Information and Belief Pleading Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, ALI-ABA Course of Study (2001)