The Massachusetts Bar Association is pleased to welcome Labor &
Employment practitioners back for the 47th Annual Labor & Employment Spring
Conference.
This year’s conference will be held in person on Thursday, April 30, at
Suffolk University Law School. The program will feature a distinguished faculty
of judges and accomplished attorneys offering timely insights and thought
leadership on the most pressing issues in labor and employment law.
We are proud and excited to announce this year's keynote speaker: Kalpana
Kotagal, commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Kalpana Kotagal was designated by President Joe Biden as a member of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on July 14, 2023, and joined the agency
as a commissioner on Aug. 9, 2023, serving a term through July 2027. In
January 2024, she was selected to lead the EEOC’s REACH Initiative, focused on
strengthening outreach to vulnerable workers and underserved communities. A
longtime advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, Kotagal
has built a career centered on civil rights and equal opportunity, and she is
the first female EEOC commissioner of Indian descent.
Prior to her appointment, Kotagal was a partner at Cohen Milstein, where
she practiced civil rights and employment law and chaired the firm’s Hiring
& Diversity Committee, representing women and marginalized workers in major
class actions involving Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the ADA, FMLA, and related
wage and hour matters. She also co-authored the widely recognized “Inclusion
Rider,” advancing equal opportunity in the entertainment industry. Earlier in
her career, she clerked for Hon. Betty Binns Fletcher on the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Kotagal graduated with honors from Stanford
University and earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania
Carey Law School.
Conference Agenda
8:30A.M. Registration, Coffee & Refreshments
9:00A.M. Welcome Remarks
Michelle De Oliveira, Esq., Ruberto, Israel & Weiner
Kim Alley, Esq.,
Ruberto, Israel & Weiner
9:05A.M. - 10:05A.M. EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE
Moderator: Richard S. Loftus, Esq., Hirsch Roberts Weinstein
LLP
Panelists:
Gregory Vanden-Eykel, Esq., Cole Law
Partners
Ellen J. Zucker, Esq., Zucker Law Group
Darshana Indira, Esq., Smith Kane, LLP
10:05A.M.-10:15A.M. Networking Break
10:15 – 11:15A.M. LABOR LAW UPDATE
Joshua D. Nadreau, Esq., Fisher Phillips
Laurie Houle, Esq., Mass Teacher
Association
Paige McKissock, Esq., Segal Roitman, LLP
11:15 – 11:30A.M. Networking break
11:30A.M. – 12:00P.M. IMMIGRATION LAW PANEL
Shiva Karimi,
Esq., McLane Middleton
Heather Yountz, Esq., Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
12:00P.M. – 1:00P.M. Lunch
1:00 – 2:00P.M. KEYNOTE ADDRESS
EEOC Commissioner Kalpana
Kotagal
Moderator:
Michelle De Oliveira, Esq., Ruberto, Israel & Weiner
2:00 – 2:15P.M. Break
2:15 – 3:15P.M. JUDICIAL PANEL
Moderator:
Kim
Alley, Esq., Ruberto, Israel & Weiner
Panelists:
Hon. Jackie A. Cowin, Associate Justice of
the Massachusetts Superior Court
Hon. Cathleen Campbell, Massachusetts
Superior Court Justice
Hon. Matthew J. Nestor, Massachusetts Superior Court Justice
3:15 – 3:30P.M. Networking Break
3:30- 4:30P.M. MCAD UPDATE PANEL
Moderator
Kavita Goyal, Esq., Rosen & Goyal, P.C.
Panelists:
Michael Memmolo, Esq., Executive Director, MCAD
Lila Roberts,
Esq., Chief of Investigations, MCAD
Deidre Ann Hosler, Esq., General Counsel,
MCAD
4:30P.M. Closing Remarks
Registration is required by 4 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2026, to
participate in this program.