Darshana Indira and Trisha Gautam Publish Law360 Article Covering Massachusetts Whistleblower Protections

Darshana Indira and Trisha Gautam recently published an article in Law360 analyzing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent decision in Galvin v. Roxbury Community College and its implications for employers under the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act.

In the article, titled “What Mass. Ruling Clarifies About Whistleblower Protections,” Indira and Gautam examine the court’s decision, addressing whether employees whose job duties include monitoring and ensuring compliance can claim whistleblower protection when the alleged violation falls within their own responsibilities.

The court answered the question decisively: an employee does not lose whistleblower protection simply because identifying or reporting the violation was part of the employee’s role.

This case involved Thomas Galvin, who served as the director of facilities and public safety at Roxbury Community College and was responsible for campus security and compliance with the Clery Act. After learning of unreported sexual assault allegations that should have been included in the college’s federal disclosures, Galvin raised concerns internally and with the Massachusetts State Auditor’s Office. His employment was subsequently terminated, and a jury found that his whistleblowing was the determinative cause of his termination.

Indira and Gautam explain that the court’s reasoning reinforces the broad scope of the Whistleblower Act. The statute contains no limitation excluding employees who are involved in or responsible for the conduct at issue, and the court recognized that compliance officers and similar roles are often the individuals most likely to identify regulatory failures. Excluding them from protection would undermine the statute’s purpose of encouraging the reporting of violations that might otherwise remain concealed.

At the same time, the article notes an equally important distinction drawn by the court: establishing that an employee engaged in protected activity does not resolve whether the employee was unlawfully terminated. Employers retain the ability to address performance issues and misconduct, including failures related to compliance. The critical question is whether the adverse action was taken because of the employee’s protected activity—a fact-intensive determination properly left to the jury.

The article offers practical takeaways for employers, including how important it is to maintain thorough documentation of performance evaluations and disciplinary decisions, ensuring that employees have accessible internal channels for raising concerns, and applying disciplinary policies consistently. There is a particular emphasis that employers who invest in strong compliance programs and approach disciplinary decisions with care will be better positioned to navigate scrutiny when compliance failures come to light through internal reporting.

The full article is available to subscribers at Law360.

Smith Kane’s Darshana Indira Presents at the MBA’s 47th Annual Labor & Employment Spring Conference

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Partner Darshana Indira presented at the Massachusetts Bar Association’s (MBA) 47th annual Labor & Employment Spring Conference, April 30 at Suffolk University Law School. Indira spoke on the “Employment Law Update Panel,” which brings together practitioners to discuss pressing legal issues including recent case law, new regulations and other employment law-related developments.

Indira is an accomplished employment and business lawyer who advises company owners, organizational leaders, and C-suite executives across a wide range of employment and commercial litigation matters. Her practice spans both transactional counseling and complex disputes, with particular experience in industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, and retail.

Indira provides strategic counsel to businesses navigating the complexities of employer-employee relationships. She regularly advises management and senior executives on executive compensation matters, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and severance negotiations.

In addition to her employment law practice, Indira is a trusted advisor to startups and emerging companies in Massachusetts and across the country. She works closely with founders and leadership teams to form entities, draft foundational corporate documents, and establish employment frameworks that support long-term growth. As those businesses evolve, she continues to serve as a key legal resource, advising on disputes and litigation when they arise.

Indira is an active leader in the legal community. She is co-chair of the BBA’s Labor & Employment Section, a member of the Women’s Bar Association’s Board of Directors and co-chair of its Women of Color Committee. She also serves as vice chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Business Law Section Council. In 2025, Indira was named an Excellence in the Law: Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Matthew Kane Publishes Article in Mass Lawyers Weekly on Wire Fraud Loss Allocation

Matthew A. Kane authored an article titled “Wire fraud litigation: understanding the loss allocation rules for Article 4A”  for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. In the article Matt examines the loss allocation rules governing wire transfer fraud under Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code. Drawing on his experience representing banks, Matt explains how losses from wire transfer fraud are allocated under the statutory framework and why the results often surprise the victims.

Matt shares that most wire transfer fraud does not involve sophisticated hacking. Instead, fraudsters rely on social engineering, impersonation, and forged documents to trick businesses into authorizing transfers to accounts the fraudster controls. When a business later discovers the fraud and turns to its bank for reimbursement, Article 4A determines who bears the loss, not common law concepts like negligence or causation. Under Article 4A, if the customer authorized the payment order (even if the customer was deceived into doing so), the bank generally has no obligation to refund the loss. The statutory framework was designed not to assess which party was more careful, but to establish in advance who would bear the risk.

Matt’s article also addresses the role of “commercially reasonable” security procedures, the ability of banks and customers to modify loss allocation rules by agreement, and the high burden a customer faces when attempting to shift liability back to a bank. He notes that Article 4A intentionally displaces competing legal theories when the alleged loss arises from the execution of a wire transfer.

For commercial litigators, Matt emphasizes that claims arising from induced wire transfer fraud require more than showing that the fraud was foreseeable or that the bank might have acted differently. Successful claims typically turn on whether the bank deviated from agreed security procedures or relied on procedures that were not commercially reasonable.

The full article is available to subscribers at Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Smith Kane Adds Trisha Gautam As New Litigation Associate

Smith Kane, LLP announces the addition of Trisha Gautam as an associate in the firm’s Business Litigation practice. Representing companies and executives in complex business disputes, Gautam supports clients in all aspects of litigation including legal research, due diligence, discovery, depositions, case strategy, and trial preparation.

Before joining Smith Kane, Gautam was an associate at a boutique law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse in complex civil actions. In this role, she handled a wide range of discovery issues, involving motion practice, case management, and deposition support. Gautam’s experience also includes serving as a legal extern for the in-house counsel team of a global biopharmaceutical company, where she gained a business perspective that she applies to her work in private practice. She also served as a legal intern with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable.

“We’re pleased to welcome Trisha to our growing firm,” said Matthew A. Kane, Managing Partner at Smith Kane. “She brings strong potential, a thoughtful approach, and a genuine enthusiasm for the practice of law. We look forward to supporting her growth as she develops her skills and contributes to our team and clients.”

Gautam is active in the legal community as a member of the Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston, and the Women’s Bar Association. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and received her B.A. from Chapman University, Wilkinson College. 

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Smith Kane Elevates Senior Counsel Darshana Indira to Partner

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Darshana Indira has been elevated to partner, effective April 1, 2026.

Indira is an accomplished employment and business lawyer who advises company owners, organizational leaders, and C-suite executives across a wide range of employment and commercial litigation matters. Her practice spans both transactional counseling and complex disputes, with particular experience in industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, and retail.

“Darshana has become an invaluable advisor to our clients and a trusted colleague within the firm,” said Matthew A. Kane, Managing Partner of Smith Kane. “Her thoughtful approach to complex employment and business issues, combined with her litigation experience and practical business judgment, makes her a natural fit for partnership. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary and continue to grow following our recent rebrand, Darshana’s leadership will play an important role in the firm’s future.”

Indira provides strategic counsel to businesses navigating the complexities of employer-employee relationships. She regularly advises management and senior executives on executive compensation matters, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and severance negotiations.

In addition to her employment law practice, Indira is a trusted advisor to startups and emerging companies in Massachusetts and across the country. She works closely with founders and leadership teams to form entities, draft foundational corporate documents, and establish employment frameworks that support long-term growth. As those businesses evolve, she continues to serve as a key legal resource, advising on disputes and litigation when they arise.

Indira is an active leader in the legal community. She is co-chair of the BBA’s Labor & Employment Section, a member of the Women’s Bar Association’s Board of Directors and co-chair of its Women of Color Committee. She also serves as vice chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Business Law Section Council. In 2025, Indira was named an Excellence in the Law: Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Smith Kane Celebrates 30 Years of Strategic Growth and Leadership

Smith Kane, LLP is proud to celebrate its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of effective legal counsel, courtroom excellence, and unwavering commitment to clients and community.

Founded originally as Laredo & Smith in 1996 in Boston’s Financial District, the firm was built on a clear vision: to combine large-firm sophistication with the agility, responsiveness, and client-centered approach of a boutique practice. Over the past 30 years, the firm has grown into a respected litigation and business law firm serving businesses, financial institutions, and individuals throughout Massachusetts and beyond.

This milestone comes during a defining chapter in the firm’s evolution. In 2025, the firm transitioned leadership as part of its long-term growth strategy, with Matthew A. Kane assuming the role of Managing Partner and Partner Payal Salsburg joining the management team. Later that year, following the election of co-founder Marc C. Laredo as Mayor of the City of Newton, the firm rebranded as Smith Kane, LLP, reflecting both continuity and confidence in its future.

“Reaching 30 years is a significant milestone and a testament to the trust our clients place in us every day,” said Kane. “Our success has always been rooted in proactive problem-solving and thoughtful planning — the same forward-looking guidance we provide to our clients — along with a steadfast commitment to delivering practical, results-driven legal solutions.”

Throughout its history, the firm has guided clients through high-stakes litigation, complex business disputes, white collar criminal defense matters, government investigations, and employment issues. Known for its tenacious representation and strong appellate advocacy, the firm has successfully represented clients before state and federal trial courts, as well as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court.

“Our rebrand marked the beginning of our next chapter, but our foundation remains the same,” said Salsburg. “We have an exceptional team of lawyers and staff and a culture built on integrity, collaboration, and excellence. As we celebrate 30 years, we are focused not only on where we’ve been, but on how we continue to grow and serve our clients in the decades ahead.”

Laredo, who co-founded the firm and helped guide it for nearly three decades, played a central role in establishing its reputation for thoughtful advocacy and community engagement. His election to public office reflects the leadership values that have long defined the firm’s culture.

As Smith Kane enters its next decade, the firm will continue to invest in its people, its brand, and its long-term growth. A refreshed visual identity and forward-looking business plan underscore the firm’s commitment to remaining a trusted advisor to clients navigating complex legal and business challenges.

 

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Smith Kane’s Darshana Indira Moderates BBA Panel, “Preparation with Purpose: Managing Deponents in Employment Matters”

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Darshana Indira moderated the Boston Bar Association (BBA) panel, “Preparation with Purpose: Managing Deponents in Employment Matters,” March 12 at noon.

This program focused on how employment litigators prepare deponents for deposition, with an emphasis on judgment, strategy, and risk management. Attendees heard from both employee-side and management-side attorneys about how they approach deposition preparation and gained practical strategies for structuring prep sessions, addressing credibility issues, and avoiding common mistakes in employment matters.

Indira is an accomplished employment and business lawyer who advises company owners, organizational leaders, and C-suite executives across a wide range of employment and commercial litigation matters. Her practice spans both transactional counseling and complex disputes, with particular experience in industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, and retail.

Indira provides strategic counsel to businesses navigating the complexities of employer-employee relationships. She regularly advises management and senior executives on executive compensation matters, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and severance negotiations.

In addition to her employment law practice, Indira is a trusted advisor to startups and emerging companies in Massachusetts and across the country. She works closely with founders and leadership teams to form entities, draft foundational corporate documents, and establish employment frameworks that support long-term growth. As those businesses evolve, she continues to serve as a key legal resource, advising on disputes and litigation when they arise.

Indira is an active leader in the legal community. She is co-chair of the BBA’s Labor & Employment Section, a member of the Women’s Bar Association’s Board of Directors and co-chair of its Women of Color Committee. She also serves as vice chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Business Law Section Council. In 2025, Indira was named an Excellence in the Law: Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Smith Kane’s Darshana Indira Elected to the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts’ Board of Directors

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Darshana Indira was elected a 2026-27 member of the Women’s Bar Association (WBA) of Massachusetts’ Board of Directors. Indira joins an impressive team of women lawyers in an At-Large Director position. In this leadership role, Indira will help drive the WBA’s mission to bring together the women lawyers in the Commonwealth so that they may build important personal and professional relationships.

Indira is an accomplished employment and business lawyer who advises company owners, organizational leaders, and C-suite executives across a wide range of employment and commercial litigation matters. Her practice spans both transactional counseling and complex disputes, with particular experience in industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, and retail.

She provides strategic counsel to businesses navigating the complexities of employer-employee relationships. She regularly advises management and senior executives on executive compensation matters, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and severance negotiations.

In addition to her employment law practice, Indira is a trusted advisor to startups and emerging companies in Massachusetts and across the country. She works closely with founders and leadership teams to form entities, draft foundational corporate documents, and establish employment frameworks that support long-term growth. As those businesses evolve, she continues to serve as a key legal resource, advising on disputes and litigation when they arise.

Indira is an active leader in the legal community. In addition to her position as a WBA board director, she is co-chair of the WBA’s Women of Color Committee. She also serves as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section, and as vice chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Business Law Section Council. In 2025, Indira was named an Excellence in the Law: Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

The WBA of Massachusetts promotes, enhances, and achieves the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society. The WBA encourages professional interaction and exchange of ideas among its members through programs such as meetings, forums, monthly calendars, special publications, and programs. The WBA’s membership represents women across a full range of practice areas from law firms, as solo practitioners and also in-house counsel positions across the state. The WBA proudly provides excellent leadership opportunities, a networking forum for business development, continuing education at all levels and more.

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Compliance Duties Don’t Cancel Whistleblower Rights

On January 27, 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a significant decision in Thomas Galvin v. Roxbury Community College clarifying the scope of protection under the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act, G.L.c. 149, §185. The Court held that a public employee may engage in protected whistleblowing activity even if identifying legal violations falls within the employee’s job responsibilities and even if the employee may have been involved in the underlying compliance failures.

The decision provides important guidance for public employers, particularly educational institutions and other entities that rely on internal compliance officers or administrators to oversee regulatory obligations.

The plaintiff served as Roxbury Community College’s Director of Facilities and Public Safety and was the college’s primary campus security authority responsible for compliance with the federal Clery Act. Over a number of years, a student reported allegations of sexual assault to multiple senior administrators. Despite those reports, the college failed to disclose the allegations to the U.S. Department of Education as required by federal law. The plaintiff raised concerns internally, sought guidance from the Department of Education, disclosed the issue to the State Auditor’s Office, and later formally objected in writing to the board of trustees regarding the college’s failure to comply with its reporting obligations.

After external audits confirmed that Clery Act violations had occurred, the college terminated the plaintiff’s employment. The college asserted that the decision was based on performance deficiencies, including the plaintiff’s own failures to ensure regulatory compliance. The plaintiff sued, alleging that he was terminated in retaliation for whistleblowing in violation of the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act. A jury agreed and awarded substantial damages.

On appeal, the college argued that the plaintiff could not qualify as a whistleblower because reporting Clery Act violations was part of his job and because he was himself implicated in the failures to report. The Supreme Judicial Court rejected those arguments and affirmed the verdict.

The Court held that when an employee objects to conduct that is undisputedly unlawful, the employee engages in protected activity as a matter of law. The statute requires only an objectively reasonable belief that a legal violation occurred, and that standard is automatically satisfied where the illegality is not in dispute. The Court further concluded that the Whistleblower Act does not exclude employees who had compliance responsibilities or who may have been involved in the misconduct they report.

Importantly, the Court drew a clear distinction between whistleblower status and cause for termination. While an employer remains free to discipline or terminate an employee for legitimate performance issues or misconduct, the employer may not do so because the employee objected to unlawful conduct. Determining whether the termination was motivated by whistleblowing or by performance failures is a fact-specific inquiry for the jury.

For public employers, this decision underscores the need for caution when responding to internal reports of regulatory violations, particularly when those reports come from compliance officers or administrators tasked with oversight. The ruling reinforces that the Whistleblower Act is intended to encourage the reporting of unlawful activity, not to penalize those closest to identifying it. Employers should ensure that adverse employment decisions are well documented, clearly grounded in legitimate performance concerns or other business needs unrelated to protected reporting activity, and carefully separated from any such activity. As regulatory scrutiny and enforcement continue to increase, this case serves as a reminder that an organization’s response to internal compliance concerns can have significant legal consequences.

Winter 2026 Newsletter

Smith Kane’s Matthew A. Kane and Payal Salsburg Named to The Legal 500’s Boston City Elite Rankings

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Matthew A. Kane and Payal Salsburg have been named to The Legal 500’s Boston City Elite rankings in the areas of Commercial Litigation and White Collar Crime, respectively. The Legal 500 U.S. City Elite rankings highlight leading lawyers at regional powerhouse firms who are handling work at the top of the legal market in their respective cities. The full rankings list can be viewed here.

The firm’s managing partner and a business litigation attorney, Kane focuses on business litigation in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Representing banks, financial institutions, businesses, and individuals, he is known for his extensive experience in consumer finance, real estate, employment, construction, general litigation, and appeals. Kane also advises closely held businesses on corporate and transactional matters.

Salsburg is a member of the firm’s management team. As a litigator, 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 contract and business disputes, False Claims Act matters, State Ethics Commission inquiries, and government and internal investigations. Salsburg also advises closely held businesses on corporate and employment matters.

The Legal 500 is a comprehensive research guide that highlights the practice area teams and attorneys who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel around the world. Research is based on feedback from more than 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms, and interviews with leading private practice lawyers.

 

About Smith Kane, LLP

For nearly 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has helped clients grow their businesses and resolve legal matters–offering clients big-firm expertise with the client-centered strategy that only a small firm can provide. 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, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law.