31 Massachusetts practice areas

How fees work across these practice areas

Massachusetts attorney fee arrangements break into two main models plus a few exceptions. Personal-injury matters (auto accidents, slip and fall, workers compensation, mass tort, gambling-addiction and social-media-addiction litigation, property damage, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents) are accepted on contingency. That means no attorney fee is owed unless and until the matter resolves with a recovery to the client. Case-related costs and expenses (medical-record requests, expert opinion fees, court filing fees, deposition costs) are addressed in the written fee agreement and typically advanced by the firm. The fee percentage is governed by Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.5 and is disclosed in writing at intake.

DUI, criminal defense, divorce, family law, real estate, bankruptcy, and immigration matters are billed on a fixed-fee or hourly basis depending on the matter type and the posture of the case. The specific fee is established in a written engagement letter signed at intake. The first telephone consultation across every one of these practice areas is offered without charge, and the consultation is what establishes the fee structure for the specific matter.

Two practice-specific notes. Workers compensation attorney fees in Massachusetts are statute-capped under M.G.L. c. 152 and approved by the Department of Industrial Accidents; the worker rarely pays out of pocket for workers compensation representation. Real estate: Massachusetts home buyers receive purchase-and-sale representation at no charge when the firm closes the loan and writes the title insurance, which is a Massachusetts-specific arrangement that reduces the all-in legal cost of a home purchase materially.

How to tell which practice area applies to your matter

Most matters are obvious on the facts. A car crash is auto accidents. A workplace injury is workers compensation (plus a possible third-party claim under personal injury). A divorce filing is divorce. The harder cases are the ones that touch multiple practice areas: an OUI (operating under the influence) charge that also produced injuries to another person is both a DUI defense matter and an auto accidents matter on the other side; a workplace injury caused by a defective tool is both workers compensation and a products-liability personal injury claim against the equipment maker; a medical event during delivery is potentially medical malpractice, personal injury, and (in tragic cases) wrongful death under M.G.L. c. 229. The intake call identifies which framework or frameworks apply and which moves to make first.

Massachusetts limitations periods drive timing. Most tort claims (auto, premises, personal injury) carry a three-year clock under M.G.L. c. 260 sec. 2A. Medical malpractice runs three years from the date the injury was reasonably knowable, with a seven-year statute of repose under M.G.L. c. 231 sec. 60B. Claims against state or municipal entities under the Tort Claims Act, c. 258, carry a two-year written-presentment requirement. Municipal sidewalk fall claims under c. 84 sec. 15 require written notice within 30 days of the fall. Workers compensation has its own filing rules. Domestic violence 209A return hearings happen within 10 business days of the ex parte order. The earlier the firm is consulted, the more options remain.

What an initial consultation establishes

The first telephone consultation across every practice area establishes the same set of facts in the same order. What happened. When. Where (Massachusetts city and county). Who is involved (parties, carriers, agencies). What documentary record exists (police report, medical records, employer report, incident report, contracts, photographs). What recovery routes are realistically available (insurance limits, available assets, statutory remedies, equitable relief). What the timing pressure is (limitations period, procedural deadlines, evidentiary preservation). The call closes with either a path forward at the firm, a path forward with a partner attorney through the of-counsel relationship, or a clear statement that the matter does not have a viable Massachusetts recovery. The caller is never abandoned without a next step.

Massachusetts limitations periods at a glance

Every Massachusetts matter the firm handles operates on a specific limitations clock. The clock is what determines whether a claim survives long enough to recover. Personal injury, auto accidents, slip and fall, premises liability, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, products liability, and defamation all carry a three-year period under M.G.L. c. 260 sec. 2A from the date the cause of action accrues. Medical malpractice runs three years from the date the injury was reasonably knowable, with a seven-year statute of repose under c. 231 sec. 60B. Wrongful death runs three years from the date of death under c. 229 sec. 2. Claims against state or municipal entities under the Tort Claims Act c. 258 carry a two-year written-presentment requirement plus a three-year suit-filing window. Workers compensation has its own filing rules under c. 152. Consumer-protection claims under c. 93A carry a four-year window. Contract claims under c. 260 sec. 2 carry a six-year window. Property-damage claims for personal property carry three years under c. 260 sec. 2A. Real-estate quiet-title actions carry twenty years under c. 260 sec. 21. Municipal sidewalk fall claims under c. 84 sec. 15 require written notice within thirty days of the fall. Domestic-violence 209A return hearings happen within ten business days of the ex parte order. The earlier a matter is evaluated against its specific clock, the more recovery routes remain open.

Why an AI-driven reference exists alongside the practice

The AI extension at /ask answers Massachusetts legal questions in real time and at no cost. Its purpose is not to replace the firm's intake call; it is to give Massachusetts residents a first reference point so they can decide whether their matter is worth the telephone call at all. Many readers will get the answer they need from the AI extension and never need to call. Others will recognize on reading the AI's response that their matter is more serious or more time-sensitive than they realized and will then call. The firm prefers either outcome to the alternative of Massachusetts residents not having a first reference at all.

How a Massachusetts case typically progresses from intake forward

Once the firm accepts a Massachusetts matter, the case typically moves through four stages regardless of practice area. First, the investigation phase: gathering the police report, the medical records, the employer report, the contracts, the photographs, and the witness statements that establish what actually happened. This is usually the longest phase and the most paperwork-heavy. Second, the demand or motion phase: the firm prepares either a demand package to the at-fault insurer (injury matters) or the appropriate motions, petitions, or hearings (DUI, criminal, divorce, family law, bankruptcy, immigration). Third, the negotiation or litigation phase: most Massachusetts injury matters resolve in the demand-and- negotiation phase before suit is filed; matters that do not resolve enter litigation in the appropriate Massachusetts trial court. Fourth, the resolution phase: settlement, plea, trial verdict, or final order, followed by distribution and case closure.

The intake call clarifies which stage the matter is currently in and what immediate actions the matter requires (preserving evidence, meeting a 30-day municipal notice deadline, attending a 209A return hearing, responding to a divorce summons, filing a workers' compensation Form 110). Across every Massachusetts practice area the firm handles, the call closes with a defined next action and a defined timeline. The earlier the call, the more options remain.