In the case of a broken engagement, who gets to keep the rings? This was the question the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently addressed in Johnson v. Settino, 103 Mass. App. Ct. 291 (2023).
In Johnson, the plaintiff had given his fiancé a $70,000 engagement ring and purchased two wedding bands. After he broke off the engagement, and his now ex-fiancé refused to return the rings, he filed a lawsuit to get them back.
Laredo & Smith is pleased to be named to the 2024 edition of “Best Law Firms” in the following categories:
Laredo & Smith is proud to be highly ranked in this year’s publication. Firms included in the “Best Law Firms” rankings are recognized for professional excellence and have impressive ratings from clients and peers. The Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.
Saint Elizabeth University ran a featured article about alumna and Laredo & Smith Partner, Payal Salsburg in a recent edition of the school’s magazine.
In the article, Payal talks about her journey from when she arrived in the United States from India to her work as a lawyer. She shares important insights about helping people who may not be able to obtain legal representation on their own. Sharing her thoughts about how her support as a pro bono lawyer can impact others and how her undergraduate experience helped shape who she is today, Payal tells us “being a student of Saint Elizabeth was a critical part of my development. To be in an environment that supported and nourished my need to serve others and to help me find ways to do that was really instrumental and made me realize those were my values too.”
Marc Laredo and Payal Salsburg are on the top of the Super Lawyers Lists! Marc and Payal were both named to the 2023 Top 100 list and Payal is also named to the 2023 Top 50 Women list.
Marc is recognized for his work in Business Litigation and Closely-Held Businesses. Payal is recognized on both lists for her work in Business Litigation and White Collar Crime.
Laredo & Smith is pleased to announce that many of the firm’s attorneys are named to Super Lawyers for 2023, including:
Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country.
Laredo & Smith announces that William G. Cosmas, Jr. joins the firm as a Partner this fall.
Representing sophisticated corporate and individual clients, Will resolves complex business disputes across many industries including finance, banking, technology, and life sciences. He handles business litigation and arbitration, both domestic and international; government investigations and white-collar criminal defense; and real estate matters. Will also serves as local counsel for out-of-state law firms seeking assistance in Massachusetts state or federal courts.
“Will Cosmas is a tremendous advocate and pragmatic litigator. We are very excited to welcome his practice to our firm and look forward to working with him,” says Managing Partner, Marc Laredo.
Prior to joining Laredo & Smith, Will ran his own private practice, Cosmas Law LLC, representing individuals and corporations in sophisticated business disputes and real estate litigation. Will remarks, “I am thrilled to be joining Laredo & Smith. The firm provides my clients a fantastic platform for providing top-level legal representation while retaining very personalized service.”
About the Firm
Based in Boston, Laredo & Smith helps clients grow their businesses and resolve legal matters. The firm’s attorneys successfully combine a strategic approach to running a business with thoughtful, thorough, and protective legal representation. The firm represents clients in matters related to business law and litigation, criminal and governmental investigations, employment law, and school disciplinary and Title IX.
Boston Magazine named 5 Laredo & Smith lawyers to the 2023 Top Lawyers List. The firm’s honored lawyers include:
To compile the list, Boston Magazine invites Boston-area lawyers to nominate up to three of their peers in a select number of specialties. The top vote-getters in each specialty are reviewed by an advisory board of select lawyers and ultimately chosen for their credentials and the high number of votes they received.
Darshana Indira is a featured guest speaker at Northeastern University’s law school orientation. She is participating in a program entitled “A Positive Future for Attorney Well-Being” which covers the importance of mental health and well being through law school and the legal profession.
This important program is geared at destigmatizing help-seeking behavior and educating students on the central concepts underlying well-being. Darshana shares personal stories and support for navigating stress and adversity resulting from bias, discrimination, or racism.
Laredo & Smith’s partners Marc Laredo, Mark Smith, and Payal Salsburg are again selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.
Marc Laredo is selected again this year for his work in both Commercial Litigation and Employment Law/Management. Marc represents clients in disputes among owners of closely held businesses and a wide array of other business litigation matters including commercial contract cases, business torts, employment and non-competition litigation, government investigations and construction cases. Additionally, Marc serves as counsel to closely held businesses, advising them on issues such as the initial formation and maintenance of the business entity, contract and employment matters, crisis situations and exit strategies.
Payal Salsburg is selected this year for her work in Commercial Litigation and Criminal Defense: White Collar. She 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.
Mark Smith is selected again this year for his work in Criminal Defense: White Collar. He is also recognized for work in Commercial Litigation, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law. Mark is retained by businesses and individuals during all stages of criminal and other government enforcement actions. National law firms also choose Mark to handle a wide range of Massachusetts-specific litigation and regulation matters as outside counsel on behalf of their clients.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Over 109,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and they received millions of evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.
Payal Salsburg is a guest speaker at Boston University’s law school orientation in August 2023. The program covers the importance of mental health, well being, and being centered through law school and the legal profession. Delivering her personal account to first year law students at BU, she will talk about taking care of personal mental health and wellbeing while attending law school and during their careers.
Laredo & Smith offers clients big-firm expertise with the client-centered, cost-effective strategy that only a small firm can offer.
