2018 Lawyer of the Year
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January 21, 2019: Emily Smith-Lee, attorney and owner of the Sharon law firm slnlaw, was named a 2018 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The award recognizes Smith-Lee’s precedent-setting victory at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, announced in March 2018, which opened the door for consumers of generic drugs to seek a remedy if they are injured by inadequate warnings on the drugs.
Once a downtown Boston lawyer who represented pharmaceutical companies defending personal injury claims, Smith-Lee took this case in 2012, recognizing that her client was among the approximately 80% of pharmaceutical consumers who use generic drugs, and under existing precedent were entirely without a remedy if the manufacturers failed to warn of dangerous side effects. In November 2017 she made the case to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that this result was inconsistent with established principles of tort law and fundamentally unjust, and in March 2018 the SJC issued an opinion in her client’s favor, breaking from over 100 cases in other jurisdictions that had closed the courthouse doors to plaintiffs like him. Though slnlaw primarily focuses now on business and employment disputes and estate planning, the story speaks volumes about our willingness to stand up to much larger opponents and persist in making sure the laws protect the people they are intended to protect. We were proud to be recognized for this achievement at a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly dinner in March, along with other lawyers from the greater Boston area who also made significant and impressive contributions to the law in 2018 by their advocacy and hard work. 
Emily Smith-Lee and the slnlaw team at the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Leaders in the Law awards in March 2019
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About Emily
Emily Smith-Lee has more than twenty years experience as a business and employment lawyer and litigator, including small business litigation, employment and consumer disputes, contract review and general business law advice. She was formerly a partner at a large Boston, Massachusetts law firm, where she handled business litigation, contract and trade secret and non compete claims. In 2009, she started her own law firm, which became slnlaw llc in 2016. Since starting her own business, Emily has represented individuals and businesses in civil litigation involving trade secrets, non compete agreements, business litigation, and labor and employment law. She has helped employees invalidate or re-negotiate their non compete agreements, obtained settlements for dozens of employees in overtime, wage and hour, employment discrimination, and independent contractor misclassification lawsuits, and favorably resolved numerous business disputes. Emily also helps small businesses with preventative legal advice on employment and contract issues, and negotiation and drafting of key business contracts, including vendor agreements and acquisition agreements. Emily graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1993, and from Boston College Law School, summa cum laude, in 1996. In addition to the Lawyer of the Year recognition, she has been recognized on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list every year since 2013, enjoys a perfect avvo rating, and is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. Emily lives in Sharon, Massachusetts, where she is a member of the Sharon Rotary Club and serves on the advisory board of The Law, Your Money and You, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving financial and legal literacy in the community. She served for eight years as a member of the Sharon, Massachusetts School Committee, and was recently elected Selectman for the Town of Sharon. |
Testimonials
"Emily, a chief partner, and the two other lawyers at SLN Law who worked on my case were extremely competent and approachable. They were responsive to inquiries and they thoughtfully explained, as needed, complex legal terms. I was very well represented at each stage of a protracted legal case against a major national firm." Brian R.
"Emily is an incredible resource of knowledge on employment law. She helped guide us on how to structure our employee classifications and made adjustments to our consulting agreements so our business is better protected and positioned. She's both law-savvy and business minded - great asset to have when launching/growing a business." Diana B.
"SLN represented me in a complicated employment-related dispute. What could have been a prolonged nightmare for me was handled swiftly and skillfully, and with fairness and dignity." Smita N.
"Long overdue public words of gratitude for Emily and her associates' work on my behalf. They were so very respectful of me during an emotionally and financially ridden time -- and that mattered more than the positive result. May all clients have such advocates on their sides!" Donna B.
"Emily Smith Lee handled my age discrimination case against my former employer. She was thorough and professional throughout the whole legal process. Due to her knowledge and efforts we came to an out of court financial settlement with a victory. I would highly recommend Emily to anyone as an extremely competent attorney." Mark B.
"After more than a year of discrimination and harassment in my previous position at a teaching hospital, I was finally at the point when I knew I needed help, otherwise I could break. Thus, I started to search Massachusetts Employment regulations, and one of my Google searches brought me to an advertisement for Emily E. Smith-Lee’s book “Rules of the Road. What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts.” It was my lucky day, and the start of my road out of the continued misery in my workplace... I would like sincerely to thank them both for their excellent job, and emotional support and encouragement. If you feel harassed, bullied, or discriminated against, Emily and Jack are the ones who will go out of their way to help you." Valentina W.
"Emily, a chief partner, and the two other lawyers at SLN Law who worked on my case were extremely competent and approachable. They were responsive to inquiries and they thoughtfully explained, as needed, complex legal terms. I was very well represented at each stage of a protracted legal case against a major national firm." Brian R.
"Emily is an incredible resource of knowledge on employment law. She helped guide us on how to structure our employee classifications and made adjustments to our consulting agreements so our business is better protected and positioned. She's both law-savvy and business minded - great asset to have when launching/growing a business." Diana B.
"SLN represented me in a complicated employment-related dispute. What could have been a prolonged nightmare for me was handled swiftly and skillfully, and with fairness and dignity." Smita N.
"Long overdue public words of gratitude for Emily and her associates' work on my behalf. They were so very respectful of me during an emotionally and financially ridden time -- and that mattered more than the positive result. May all clients have such advocates on their sides!" Donna B.
"Emily Smith Lee handled my age discrimination case against my former employer. She was thorough and professional throughout the whole legal process. Due to her knowledge and efforts we came to an out of court financial settlement with a victory. I would highly recommend Emily to anyone as an extremely competent attorney." Mark B.
"After more than a year of discrimination and harassment in my previous position at a teaching hospital, I was finally at the point when I knew I needed help, otherwise I could break. Thus, I started to search Massachusetts Employment regulations, and one of my Google searches brought me to an advertisement for Emily E. Smith-Lee’s book “Rules of the Road. What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts.” It was my lucky day, and the start of my road out of the continued misery in my workplace... I would like sincerely to thank them both for their excellent job, and emotional support and encouragement. If you feel harassed, bullied, or discriminated against, Emily and Jack are the ones who will go out of their way to help you." Valentina W.
About slnlaw
We are a Massachusetts law firm focused on business law, employment law, and estate planning. Our team includes attorneys with large law firm experience, public service experience, experience working with small businesses on a wide variety of matters, an attorney with an advanced degree (LLM), and a former clerk to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Attorney and founder Emily Smith-Lee has been named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list every year since 2013, and was recently named a 2018 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Our lead estate planning attorney Jenna Ordway has been recognized as a top estate planning attorney, and has published a book about estate planning in Massachusetts.
What We Do
Employment Law: We advise both businesses and individuals about Massachusetts and federal employment laws, and represent them as needed in litigation if a lawsuit cannot be avoided.
Business Law: In addition to providing advice on employment matters and defense of employee lawsuits, we can help you set up your new business, review your agreements with vendors and customers, resolve or litigate business disputes, and much more.
Estate Planning: We provide customized plans for individuals and families to help minimize your estate tax liability, protect and preserve your assets, and ensure that the people in your life are taken care of the way that you want. We can help you with wills and trusts, planning for a child with special needs, planning for the cost of long term care, and more.
We also have an extensive network of other professionals, some lawyers in other practice areas and others who are non-lawyer professionals who offer services that our clients frequently need. If the problem you need solved is not one that we handle, we are happy to provide a referral to someone we know you can trust.
We are a Massachusetts law firm focused on business law, employment law, and estate planning. Our team includes attorneys with large law firm experience, public service experience, experience working with small businesses on a wide variety of matters, an attorney with an advanced degree (LLM), and a former clerk to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Attorney and founder Emily Smith-Lee has been named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list every year since 2013, and was recently named a 2018 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Our lead estate planning attorney Jenna Ordway has been recognized as a top estate planning attorney, and has published a book about estate planning in Massachusetts.
What We Do
Employment Law: We advise both businesses and individuals about Massachusetts and federal employment laws, and represent them as needed in litigation if a lawsuit cannot be avoided.
Business Law: In addition to providing advice on employment matters and defense of employee lawsuits, we can help you set up your new business, review your agreements with vendors and customers, resolve or litigate business disputes, and much more.
Estate Planning: We provide customized plans for individuals and families to help minimize your estate tax liability, protect and preserve your assets, and ensure that the people in your life are taken care of the way that you want. We can help you with wills and trusts, planning for a child with special needs, planning for the cost of long term care, and more.
We also have an extensive network of other professionals, some lawyers in other practice areas and others who are non-lawyer professionals who offer services that our clients frequently need. If the problem you need solved is not one that we handle, we are happy to provide a referral to someone we know you can trust.
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46 South Main Street
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