law day awards dinner

Thursday, May 1, 2025
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:00 p.m. Dinner and Awards

Seaport Hotel
1 Seaport Lane
AV诊所, Massachusetts

Registration opening soon!


Ticket Prices

General

$300.00听

Legal Services/Government

$150.00听

Classes of 2021鈥2025

$150.00听

Class of 1969 and Earlier

$150.00

Established by proclamation in 1958, Law Day, held each year on May 1, is a long-standing national tradition. At BC Law, we mark Law Day with a signature event that celebrates the most important goals of the legal profession: to advance equality and justice, encourage observation and enforcement of the law, and to foster respect for law and an understanding of its essential place in the life of every citizen.

Law Day Awards Dinner Committee Co-Chairs

Elizabeth Pendergast, JD鈥11

Kate Beattie, JD鈥06

Law Day Awards Dinner Committee Members

  • Yoni Bard, JD鈥16
  • Brandon Bigelow, JD鈥01
  • Kristen Cassetta 鈥01, JD鈥04
  • David Cerveny, JD鈥97
  • Jason Dunn, JD鈥97
  • Brian Dunphy 鈥98, JD鈥07
  • Peter Egan, JD鈥98
  • Michael Fee 鈥81, JD鈥84
  • Joshua Goodman, JD鈥95
  • Anne Gordon, JD鈥11
  • Ryan McCaffrey 鈥09, JD鈥15
  • James McDermott 鈥77, JD鈥80
  • Emily Kanstroom Musgrave, JD鈥10
  • Allison O'Neil, JD鈥98
  • Stephen Riden 鈥95, JD鈥99
  • Travis Salters, JD鈥23
  • Aliki Sofis, JD鈥09
  • Rosaline Valcimond, JD鈥05
  • Mark Warner 鈥85, JD鈥89
  • April Wilmar 鈥97, JD鈥01

Platinum Sponsor ($20,000)

鈼 Recognition as lead Platinum sponsor with prominent logo display in all event materials, including on-screen during event, signage, and printed/digital program
鈼 Logo on BC Law鈥檚 website and in BC Law Magazine
鈼 Table with preferred seating for 10 guests听

($18,000 is tax deductible)

Gold Sponsor ($15,000)

鈼 Recognition as Gold sponsor with prominent donor logo display in all event materials, including on-screen during event, on signage, and printed/digital program
鈼 Logo on BC Law鈥檚 website and in BC Law Magazine
鈼 Table with preferred seating for 8 guests听

($13,400 is tax deductible)

Silver Sponsor ($10,000)

鈼 Recognition as Silver sponsor with prominent donor logo display in all event materials, including on-screen during event, on signage, and printed/digital program
鈼 Logo on BC Law鈥檚 website and in BC Law Magazine
鈼 Table with preferred seating for 8 guests听

($8,400 is tax deductible)

Bronze Sponsor ($5,000)

鈼 Recognition as Bronze sponsor during event and in printed/digital program
鈼 Logo on BC Law鈥檚 website and in BC Law Magazine
鈼 Table with preferred seating for 8 guests

($3,400 is tax deductible)

Maroon Sponsor ($2,500)

鈼 Recognition as Maroon sponsor during event and in printed/digital program
鈼 Logo on BC Law鈥檚 website and in BC Law Magazine
鈼 Table with preferred seating for 4 guests

($1,700 is tax deductible)

Patron ($1,000)

For those who wish to support our efforts and are unable to attend. This support is fully deductible.
鈼 Recognition as Patron with listing during and in printed/digital program

2025 Law Day Honorees


St. Thomas More Award

Robert D. Keefe, JD鈥72
Former Partner, WilmerHale, LLP

Robert D. Keefe, JD'72

Robert D. Keefe grew up in Arlington, MA, was a student in the Arlington public schools, and graduated from Arlington High School in 1963. Mr. Keefe attended Phillips Exeter Academy for one year and upon graduation, he went to Harvard College where he graduated in 1968 with a B.A. degree cum laude. Mr. Keefe enrolled in AV诊所 College Law School in 1969 and graduated in 1972 with a J.D. degree summa cum laude. He then joined the Department of Justice鈥檚 Criminal Division in Washington D.C. where he supervised several federal criminal investigations and prosecuted a number of corporations and individuals for violations of federal criminal laws throughout the United States and argued appeals in five federal appellate courts from 1972 - 1974. In the fall of 1974, Mr. Keefe joined Hale and Dorr鈥檚 Litigation Department where he had a complex general litigation practice, including internal corporate investigations, extensive white collar criminal defense work and large commercial disputes. Mr. Keefe remained at Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale) from 1974 to the present. Mr. Keefe retired as a Partner at WilmerHale in 2015 but remained with the Firm as a Senior Counsel until his retirement this year.听

About ten years ago, Mr. Keefe joined the Cummings Foundation as one of its first community volunteers, initially reviewing letters of inquiry and applications by non-profit organizations. In 2017, Mr. Keefe started to conduct site visits at non-profit organizations on behalf of the Foundation, and he now chairs its Suffolk Site Visits Committee. Mr. Keefe has also been involved with the Foundation鈥檚 Final Grants Selection Committee, NExT Grants Selection Committee, and 10-Year (Sustaining Grants) Committee. In addition to supporting a variety of other projects for the Foundation over the last decade, in 2022, Mr. Keefe was appointed to the Foundation鈥檚 Board of Trustees. In November 2024, Mr. Keefe was awarded the Big Heart Service Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals 鈥 Massachusetts for being a leader, mentor, and advocate within the Cummings Foundation, especially through initiatives like the site visit program; Mr. Keefe was also declared a champion for the community for his thoughtful and compassionate approach to inspire others and for making a meaningful difference in the lives of so many.


Hon. David S. Nelson Public Interest Law Award

Stacey A. L. Best, JD鈥95
Executive Director, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers

Stacey A. L. Best, JD鈥95

Stacey is the Executive Director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Massachusetts, the lawyer assistance program in Massachusetts. LCLMA provides direct services to members of the legal community, their families, and law students through addiction recovery services, evaluations and referral to mental health services, well-being programming and practice support. LCLMA also provides education through partnerships with legal employers, bar associations, non-profit agencies, and C providers. LCLMA also provides substance use monitoring required by employers or orders issued to lawyers by tribunals of competent jurisdiction, and evaluations of practice management.听

As the executive director of LCLMA, Stacey represents the interest of LCLMA and participates with key stakeholders at various bar associations, and the Committees of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), including the SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, and the Standing Advisory Committee on Professionalism to improve the quality of the legal profession. In 2025, the SJC appointed Stacey to a 3-year term on its Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct.听

Stacey joined LCL after spending 18 years with the Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) and the Office of Bar Counsel (OBC) as an assistant bar counsel.听Before leaving the BBO join LCL, with her deep knowledge and strategic approach to attorney discipline, Stacey became the Inaugural Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion(interim) at the BBO. Stacey is interested in, presents, teaches, and coaches on the topics of ethics, lawyer wellbeing, DEI, and leadership.


Daniel G. Holland Lifetime Achievement Award

Judith Gail Dein, JD鈥79
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

Judith Gail Dein, JD鈥79

Judith Gail Dein was appointed as a Magistrate Judge of the United States District听 Court for the District of Massachusetts on July 31, 2000, and served as Chief Magistrate听 Judge from 2009-2012. Since 2017, she has also served in the District of Puerto Rico as the听 Magistrate Judge for PROMESA, the Puerto Rico reorganization statute. Judge Dein鈥檚 third听 eight-year term as a Magistrate Judge expired on July 30, 2024, and she has continued to听 serve in both Districts on a recall basis since then.听听

In the District of Massachusetts, Judge Dein has worked closely with and helped听 expand the Court鈥檚 Nelson Fellowship program 鈥 a summer program for high school听 students, and the Lindsay Fellowship program 鈥 a summer program for college students听 interested in going to law school. She is also an active participant in the Discovering听 Justice Court Education Project based in the courthouse. Judge Dein is a recipient of a听 Community Peacemaker Award from the Community Dispute Settlement Center in听 Cambridge, Massachusetts, in recognition of her help in creating a program with the听 Federal Bar Association that provides pro bono mediation counsel for pro se litigants appearing in the District of Massachusetts federal court.听听

Judge Dein has served on various committees of the Administrative Office of the听 United States Courts, the Federal Magistrate Judges Association, and the Massachusetts听 Bar Association, and served on the editorial board of the AV诊所 Bar Journal. She is a听 Fellow of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation and the American Bar Association. She has听 served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Union College, Schenectady, New York,听 since 2012.听听

Judge Dein graduated from Union College in 1976, and AV诊所 College Law School听 in 1979, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the AV诊所 College Environmental Affairs听 Law Review. After clerking for the Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court (1979- 1980) and Robert Braucher, Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial听 Court (1980-1981), she entered private practice and worked as a civil litigator in state and听 federal courts until her appointment to the bench.


Recent Graduate Award

Matt Brooks 鈥09, JD鈥15
Managing Attorney of Consumer Rights Unit, Greater AV诊所 Legal Services

Matt Brooks 鈥09, JD鈥15

Matthew Brooks is the Managing Attorney of the Consumer Rights Unitt Greater AV诊所 Legal Services (GBLS). He has been working there since 2016. Matthew focuses on helping low-income individuals fight against debt collection abuses and other consumer rights issues. He has provided representation to hundreds of individuals in debt collection actions and has been actively involved in advocating for changes to court rules that favor consumers.听

Before joining GBLS, Matthew worked as a Judicial Law Clerk for the US Bankruptcy Courts and the United States Courts. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Theology from AV诊所 College and a J.D. from AV诊所 College Law School.