Victoria L. Steinberg Selected as PAIR’s 2023 Business Leader in Human Rights

The Political Asylum/Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project has selected Cloherty & Steinberg LLP partner Victoria L. Steinberg to receive its 2023 Business Leader in Human Rights Award for her pro bono work providing legal guidance and representation to PAIR and other community-based nonprofits.  Vicky will receive the award at PAIR’s Gala on June 6th. 

PAIR is a Boston-based nonprofit providing free legal services to asylum seekers and promoting the rights of detained immigrants.  PAIR has chosen Vicky for the Business Leader award because of her longstanding commitment to supporting PAIR and other nonprofits across Boston by providing them representation and advice on employment practices and policies, personnel matters, internal reviews, and various other issues.  PAIR recognizes that Vicky’s work on behalf of nonprofit clients allows these vital organizations to focus their attention and resources on their critical missions.

Federal Court Acquits Firm Client on All Charges

BOSTON, MA — On March 16, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered an Order granting a Firm client’s post-trial motion for a judgment of acquittal in a money laundering conspiracy case.  The trial in the case had ended in a hung jury, and after consideration of all of the evidence presented during that trial, the federal court concluded that the government had failed to prove the charges against our client.  The Court entered a judgment of acquittal in our client’s favor, ending a nearly five-year ordeal for the client and his family.  The court separately granted our client’s motion to dismiss the charges on Speedy Trial Act grounds.  A summary of the decision and a link to the full text of the Court’s opinion can be found at https://masslawyersweekly.com/2023/03/21/criminal-money-laundering-conspiracy-3/.  Daniel Cloherty, a partner at the Firm, served as lead counsel in the matter.

Boston Litigators Daniel Cloherty and Victoria Steinberg Launch Boutique Litigation Firm

BOSTON, MA - Demonstrated wins for Boston-area colleges and universities, including helping Harvard and Northeastern fend off challenges to the schools’ tuition charges for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, are helping to pave the way for distinguished Boston-based litigators Victoria L. Steinberg and Daniel J. Cloherty to leave the well-known Boston litigation firm Todd & Weld LLP and form their own boutique education, business litigation, employment and white collar defense firm.

See Law360’s coverage of Cloherty & Steinberg LLP.

Cloherty and Steinberg have defended universities in numerous Title IX lawsuits for nearly a decade of constant change in Title IX laws and regulations. Steinberg, who frequently has represented Harvard, said she finds it particularly rewarding. “We are representing universities that have to continually adjust to changing regulations and precedents.  They are constantly and thoughtfully navigating the best ways to protect their students’ access to education.”

Cloherty and Steinberg have both represented marquee institutions and national leaders in the financial, communications, and healthcare industries, among others, in complex business disputes involving commercial contracts, internal investigations, and a range of employment disputes. They are also devoted to Boston-area nonprofits, representing many local advocacy institutions pro bono. 

Besides his civil litigation practice, Cloherty has a thriving investigations and white collar criminal defense practice.  He was also recently appointed by the U.S. District Court to serve as the Chair of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Board for the District of Massachusetts. In that role, Cloherty works with the District Court judiciary and the federal defense bar to address issues impacting defendants and their counsel in federal criminal proceedings throughout Massachusetts. 

Cloherty graduated from Harvard College and UC-Berkeley School of Law.  After federal clerkships in the Central District of California and the Third Circuit, he started in private practice at the D.C. law firm Miller, Cassidy, Larocca & Lewin LLP before relocating to Boston and joining the powerhouse Boston boutique firm Dwyer & Collora.

Steinberg graduated from Harvard College and Boston College Law School.  After clerking for the judiciary of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, she joined Cloherty at Dwyer & Collora.

Steinberg said that she is inspired by her father, who in 1959 was among the first attorneys to join New Jersey law firm Lowenstein Sandler, a firm which has grown to be the largest in New Jersey.  She has long wanted to found her own firm and build it from the ground up, focused on the core value of client-centered legal work of the highest quality, as well as equity and inclusion both within the firm and across the legal profession.  She discovered that she shared that dream with Cloherty, with whom she has worked on cases since 2007. Steinberg and Cloherty were among four litigators who left Collora in 2017 after it was acquired by Hogan Lovells.