Sen. Spilka Joins Day Pitney Law Firm

Day Pitney LLP announced Massachusetts State Senator Karen E. Spilka has joined the firm’s Corporate and Business Law department in the Boston office as of counsel.  

Spilka has been a state senator for the 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District in Massachusetts since 2005, and represents Framingham.

She was recently appointed Senate Majority Whip and serves as Senate Chair of both the BioTech Legislative Caucus and Tech Hub Legislative Caucus.

She is also currently on the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and STEM Goddard Council. She was instrumental in the passage of legislation on clean energy and broadband and is the chief author of major economic development and regulatory reform legislation. She also recently served as Senate Chair of the Jobs Creation Commission and the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.  

“Karen brings to Day Pitney a wealth of experience in state legislative and regulatory matters that will be invaluable to our clients throughout the business community in Massachusetts,” said R. Scott Beach, Day Pitney’s chair of the Corporate and Business Law department. “Through her service in the legislature, Karen has developed a deep understanding of the biotech, life sciences and clean energy industries which complements our already robust practices in these areas.”  

Leiha Macauley, managing partner of Day Pitney’s Boston office, said, “We are pleased to have Karen on our team as her addition will ensure that we continue to deliver on our promise to provide excellent legal representation for our Massachusetts-based clients.”  

Day Pitney partner William M. Pezzoni, a past Chair of the Board of Directors and currently a member of the Executive Committee for the M and member of the 495 Partnership’s Board of Directors Executive Committee, has worked closely with Ms. Spilka in many of her legislative efforts. “I’ve known and worked with Karen since her first years as state representative, and she is a highly respected lawyer and legislator,” he said.  

Prior to being elected state senator, she was a member of the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004.

Before beginning her legislative career, she worked in the public and private sector as a labor and employment attorney, a mediator and an arbitrator.  She is the recipient of the first William J. Fallon Fellowship, an intensive apprenticeship program established by members of the National Academy of Arbitrators involving all aspects of the labor arbitration process and alternative dispute resolution.   

Day Pitney LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and Washington, DC. The firm offers clients strong corporate and litigation practices, with experience on behalf of large national and international corporations as well as emerging- and middle-market companies and individuals.