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.

Smith Kane’s Payal Salsburg Moderates BBA Webinar, “From Practice to Politics: Candid Stories from Women Who’ve Done It”

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Partner Payal Salsburg served as a moderator on the Boston Bar Association’s (BBA) webinar, “From Practice to Politics: Candid Stories from Women Who’ve Done It,” January 27.

The panel hosted candid conversations with women of color who began their careers as attorneys, entered the political arena, and then returned to legal practice. Panelists shared their personal journeys, what motivated them to pursue public office or political roles, the challenges and opportunities they encountered, and how legal training prepared them for leadership beyond the courtroom. Led by Salsburg, the discussion also explored concrete ways attorneys can support and uplift colleagues who pursue political ambitions, such as running for office, serving in government, or engaging in advocacy.

Salsburg is a member of Smith Kane’s management team. As a business and litigation attorney, 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. Prior to joining Smith Kane, Salsburg was a litigator at a large international law firm, in its Florida and Boston offices. She is a sought-after speaker on many topics, including business litigation, ethics, and lawyer well-being. Salsburg is recognized for her deep commitment to volunteerism in the community. Her 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 was also a bar advocate for criminal matters at the district court level.

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.

Smith Kane Attorneys Serve as Faculty for MCLE’s 11th Annual Appellate Practice Conference

Smith Kane, LLP managing partner Matthew A. Kane and partner Payal Salsburg served as faculty for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education’s (MCLE) 11th Annual Appellate Practice Conference on December 11. Kane covered new developments in civil law practice. Salsburg was conference co-chair and moderated a panel of the newest judges of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, including Assoc. Justice Jennifer Allen, Assoc. Justice Gloria Tan, and Assoc. Justice Chauncey Wood. They discussed good appellate briefs and oral arguments, as well as their experiences as the newest appeals court justices.

A premier yearly event for appellate practitioners, the conference featured a full-day, concentrated focus on the appellate process. This year, the conference covered important key changes happening in appellate practice, including developments in criminal law and civil law, new judges, new clerk of court, and more. Each topic was timely and geared toward helping attorneys become better appellate litigators.

The recorded conference was rebroadcast from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on December 29 and January 6, 2026.

Kane is a member of Laredo, Smith & Kane’s management team, and has been serving as the incoming managing partner since January 1, 2025. As a business litigation attorney, he focuses on business and commercial law. Representing banks, financial institutions, businesses, and individuals, Kane is a key member of the firm’s business litigation practice. He is known for his extensive experience in consumer finance, employment, construction, real estate, and general litigation. He is also particularly skilled in appellate advocacy, having successfully argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Salsburg is also a member of the firm’s management team. As a business and litigation attorney, 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.

MCLE is a non-profit corporation that aims to raise the caliber of lawyers’ professional and ethical service to their clients and communities by providing comprehensive and practical continuing legal education of the highest quality to the broadest possible audience.

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.

Laredo, Smith & Kane Rebrands as Smith Kane Following Co-Founder’s Election as Mayor of Newton

Laredo, Smith & Kane has rebranded to Smith Kane, LLP, reflecting the next chapter in the firm’s nearly 30-year history. The change follows the election of Marc C. Laredo, the firm’s co-founder and former managing partner, as Mayor of the City of Newton, Massachusetts. Laredo will step down from the firm on January 1, 2026, to assume his new role in public service.

This rebranding underscores the firm’s stability and strength under the leadership of Managing Partner Matthew A. Kane and Partner Payal Salsburg, who together have guided the firm’s strategic direction and client service since January 2025.

“Marc’s election is an exciting milestone and a proud moment for our firm,” said Kane. “His commitment to leadership and community mirrors the values that have defined this firm since its founding. As we move forward as Smith Kane, our focus remains on providing clients with the highest level of strategic, responsive, and results-driven legal counsel.”

Founded in 1996, the firm has earned a reputation for combining large-firm sophistication with personalized, pragmatic legal advice. As Smith Kane, the firm will continue its long history of representing businesses, financial institutions, and individuals across a range of practice areas, including business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law.

“The transition to Smith Kane reflects both continuity and confidence in our future,” said Salsburg. “We have an exceptional team of lawyers and loyal clients who have been with us through decades of growth and change. We’re proud to carry forward the culture of excellence that Marc helped establish.”

Laredo, who co-founded the firm in Boston’s Financial District, has served the City of Newton for more than two decades, including 14 years on the Newton City Council and eight years on the Newton School Committee. He is currently the City Council President and formerly served as the chair of the School Committee. His election as mayor is the culmination of years of civic engagement rooted in consensus-building and service, principles that have also shaped the firm’s collaborative approach to client representation.

“It’s been an honor to help build this firm from the ground up,” said Laredo. “Matt, Payal, and our entire team have positioned Smith Kane for continued success. I’m deeply grateful to our clients and colleagues who have made this journey possible.”

Smith Kane’s rebrand includes a new visual identity and website, which will debut later this year. The firm will continue to operate from its Boston office, maintaining its commitment to exceptional client service and community involvement.

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.

Boston Globe: As Marc Laredo leaves to become mayor of Newton, law firm changes name

As published in the Boston Globe on December 17th:

The new year will mean a new mayor in Newton — and a new name for the law firm he used to lead.

As Marc Laredo prepares to be sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1, taking over for Ruthanne Fuller, he’s also wrapping up matters at the Boston firm he cofounded in 1996, now called Laredo, Smith & Kane. Within a few weeks, his name comes off the sign. So it will just be Smith Kane as Laredo ends his equity investment in the firm to focus on his new City Hall job.

Laredo was already starting to step back. A year ago, Matthew Kane took over for Laredo as the 10-person litigation firm’s managing partner, and Kane’s name was added to the firm’s name. That name change happened with little fanfare — the firm’s website still makes it seem as if the business is called Laredo & Smith — but there will be a bigger push to promote the latest iteration. (Partner Mark Smith, who joined about 25 years ago, will remain on board.)

Laredo says he’ll miss working with his clients. But the longtime city councilor will now need to spend more time on solving school budget issues, making sure the parks stay green and the trash gets picked upon time, and dealing with other headaches of municipal government.

“I decided to run for mayor over 18 months ago,” Laredo said. “Early on, we decided this would be a really good time to think about the firm’s future. It’s very important to me that a place I helped build thrives going forward [and] we transition to the next generation, whether I won or lost the election.”

What happens when HR execs violate their own policies?

Darshana Indira authored an article, “What Happens When HR Execs Violate Their Own Policies,” for HR Executive. In the article, Darshana discusses how recent headlines involving HR executives and workplace misconduct highlight a critical issue for employers: the heightened legal exposure and credibility concerns that arise when compliance leaders violate the policies they enforce. The article examines why consistent enforcement matters, how to conduct impartial investigations when leadership is involved, and the reputational consequences of failing to hold HR leaders accountable.

Payal Salsburg Moderated MCLE 11th Annual Appellate Practice Conference Panel of Judges

Payal Salsburg co-chaired the 11th annual MCLE Appellate Practice Conference in December.

A premier yearly event for appellate practitioners, the conference featured a full-day, concentrated focus on the appellate process. This year, the conference covered exciting changes happening in appellate practice, including developments in criminal law and civil law, new judges, new clerk of court, and more. Each topic was timely and geared toward helping attorneys become better appellate litigators.

As part of the programming, Payal moderated a panel of the newest judges of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, including Assoc. Justice Jennifer Allen, Assoc. Justice Gloria Tan, and Assoc. Justice Chauncey Wood. The justices provided feedback on good appellate briefs and oral arguments, as well as their experiences as the newest justices on the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Brendan Cox Discusses Defending Cases Amid Science Distrust in Recent Law360 Article

Brendan Cox was quoted in a recent Law360 article, “What To Do When Jurors Don’t ‘Trust the Science.'”

The article discusses declining trust in science and regulatory agencies and how that complicates jury trials. Recent stats show that attorneys report that regulatory approval, which once carried significant weight with jurors, no longer has the same impact.

Cox addresses how scientific skepticism particularly affects defense attorneys. He shares that in the criminal defense context, juries that are less likely to accept scientific evidence as an open-and-shut case may be a boon to attorneys working within the context of a “reasonable doubt” standard. He states: “I think 15 years ago, 20 years ago, if you had DNA, if you had fingerprints, that carries the day because there is an assumption that educated, smart, scientific people did the base research and then did the specific analysis for that particular matter, and science is science.” He continues: “At a very high level, there has been a sea change in how juries view scientific information.”