Payal Salsburg

Partner

Payal Salsburg focuses her practice in the areas of business litigation, corporate advice and counsel, and white collar criminal defense. She represents corporations, small businesses and individuals in connection with an array of matters including contract and business disputes, False Claims Act litigation, and government and internal investigations. Payal also routinely advises closely-held businesses on corporate and employment matters. Having grown up in India, she speaks fluent Hindi.

Payal is active in the Boston Bar Association (BBA) as the Co-Chair of the Business and Commercial Litigation Section, a member of the Women’s Leadership and Advancement Forum Advisory Committee, and a member of the BBA/BBF Joint Planning Committee. She is also the Co-President of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston (SABA GB), on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA), and a member of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM). Payal is a regular speaker and moderator for a host of seminars and panels organized by various Bar associations and industry groups.

Prior to joining Laredo & Smith, Payal was a litigator at a large international law firm, in its Florida and Boston offices. Her work at the firm focused on litigation at the federal and state levels involving breaches of contract, corporate dissolution, fraudulent transfer claims, commercial foreclosures, and patent infringement. She also handled FINRA arbitrations on behalf of broker-dealers.

Payal’s pro bono experience includes several successful CORI-sealing petitions, petitions for asylum, an appeal from an inmate on Florida’s death row, litigation and appeal to assist a not-for-profit foundation, and invoking Hague Convention protection to return a child wrongfully removed to the United States by a parent. She is also assigned counsel for criminal matters at the Boston Municipal Court (Central).

In her free time, Payal regularly volunteers at Saint Francis House Day Shelter, Ricesticks and Tea Asian Food Pantry, and Massachusetts General Hospital. She has been recognized for her volunteerism by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, receiving the President’s Volunteer Service Award several years in a row.

Payal is a graduate of Saint Elizabeth University in New Jersey, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in Computer Science and Mathematics. She earned a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Engineering and Applied Science, and JD magna cum laude from the Nova Southeastern University in Florida. While at Nova, Payal was the Chief Justice of the Moot Court Society and the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA).

• Favorably resolved threatened litigation between government agency and corporate provider of facilities management.
• Negotiated favorable resolution of federal and state government investigations for regulated corporate clients, including matters involving the False Claims Act.
• Favorably resolved preliminary inquiries and investigations by the State Ethics Commission, including complete dismissals and private education letters.
• Implemented policies and procedures in corporate employment practices.
• Assisted in mediating a favorable settlement for clients in a business dispute involving the dissolution of a corporate entity.
• Served as hearing officer and chair for attorney disciplinary proceedings.
• Won dismissals and negotiated favorable outcomes for indigent clients facing significant charges in District Court criminal proceedings.
• Dismissed and prevailed on a summary judgment against claims for breach of contract, securities fraud, and misrepresentation seeking between $7 million and $100 million in damages asserted against a Fortune 100 company.
• Assisted several clients respond to state agency and federal government inquiries, including preliminary ethics inquiries, in connection with ongoing investigations.

• Is the Massachusetts Anti-SLAPP Statute Working as Intended?, panelist, Massachusetts Bar Association (May 2023)
• Finding Your Voice in the Courtroom and Boardroom, moderator, Women’s Bar Association (February 2023)
• Women’s Day of Conversation, facilitator, Women’s Bar Association (May 2022)
• Building and Maintaining Your Legal Network While Working Remote/Hybrid, Boston Bar Association (April 2022)
• Common Pitfalls of a Senior Associate: Ethics and Conflicts Refresher, Boston Bar Association (February 2022)
• Chapter 93A Claims – Mastery of Critical Issues, Boston Bar Association (January 2022)
• When the Love is Gone: Small Business Divorce & Shareholder Disputes, National Business Institute (June 2021)
• Business Litigation Year in Review, Boston Bar Association (June 2021)
• Virtual Courtroom: Perspective of the Juror, Women’s Bar Association (June 2021)
• Restrictions are Loosening: What Will Your Depositions, Arbitrations and Trials Look Like,Boston Bar Association (June 2021)
• Planning for the Transfer of Ownership and Operating Control of a Privately-Held Business From One Generation to the Next, Boston Bar Association (April 2021)
• Nonprofit Board Membership 101, Board Connection, United Way (April 2021)
• Related Aspects of Prepping Trials in the Remote World, White Collar Crime Conference, Boston Bar Association (February 2021)
• Do’s and Don’ts of Depositions, Boston Bar Association (February 2021)
• Ethical Dilemmas and Considerations in Representing Impaired Clients, Boston Bar Association (January 2021)
• Best Practices for Conducting a Zoom Trial, Women’s Bar Association (December 2020)
• Zoom Litigation: What’s Working and What’s Not,Moderator, Boston Bar Association (September 2020)
• Access to Justice, Pro Bono, Public Service and LAR, Practicing with Professionalism Panelist, Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Lynn Bar Association (September 2020)
• Mentorship Committee Office Hours, South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston (September 2020)
• Semester Kick-Off: Diverse Career Pathways,Boston College Law (September 2020)
• Q1-Q2 2020 Enforcement Trends and What They Mean For Your Company, Health Care Compliance Association (July 2020)
• Job Hunting & e-Networking During a Pandemic,South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston (July 2020)
• Force Majeure: What it Means for Your Company During the COVID-19 Crisis, Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (May 2020)
• How to Increase Your Visibility as a New Lawyer, Boston Bar Association (May 2020)
• Civil Litigation Series: Drafting Complaints and Answers,Boston Bar Association (February 2019)
• Representing Closely Held Businesses Post-Baker v. WilmerHale: A Delicate Dance, Moderator, Boston Bar Association (January 2019)
• SLAPP Happy Redux: The Anti-SLAPP Statute One Year After Blanchard, Moderator, Boston Bar Association (June 2018)
• How to Excel as a Second Chair, Presenter, Boston Bar Association (June 2018)
• A Young Lawyer’s Guide to Litigating Closely-Held Business Disputes, Co-Presenter, American Bar Association (May 2018)
• Practicing with Professionalism, Panelist, Boston Bar Association (2016, 2017 and 2018)
• Speed Networking with Labor & Employment Attorneys, Panelist, Boston Bar Association (January 2018)
• Student Trial Advocacy Program, American Association for Justice, Volunteer Judge (March 2017)

• Co-President, South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston
• President, Board of Directors, Boston CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)
• Hearing Officer, Board or Bar Overseers
• Boston Bar Association:
  • Co-Chair, Business and Commercial Litigation Section
  • Women’s Leadership and Advancement Forum Advisory Committee
  • BBA/BBF Joint Planning Committee
  • Ethics Committee, Former Member
• Board of Directors, Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
• Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• Trustee, Women’s Bar Foundation