Practice Overview

Joseph L. Sulman is an employment law and civil rights specialist, representing clients in Greater Boston and throughout Massachusetts. He regularly takes cases to trial, both in federal and state court, and at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. He argues appeals before First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Mr. Sulman’s cases and his legal expertise have been featured in news stories on CNN, Fox News, ABC, Good Morning America, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and other news outlets.

Mr. Sulman’s practice focuses on representing individuals whose rights have been violated. He pursues claims of employment discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, school bullying, whistle-blower actions, and independent contractor misclassification. A strong advocate for public safety workers, Mr. Sulman proudly represents police officers and firefighters in appeals before the Civil Service Commission, in addition to the employment discrimination and civil rights work that Mr. Sulman provides on behalf of such workers. Mr. Sulman also provides counseling to employers on personnel-related policies and practices.

Mr. Sulman regularly advocates for his clients in precedent setting cases and does not shy away from taking cases that seek to break new legal ground. Some of his recently reported decisions are: Fraelick v. PerkettPR, 83 Mass. App. Ct. 698 (2013); Pugsley v. Police Dept. of Boston, 472 Mass. 367 (2015); Angiuoni v. Town of Billerica, 999 F. Supp. 2d 318 (D. Mass. 2014); Kosilek v. Spencer, 740 F.3d 733 (2014); Chery v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 98 F. Supp. 3d 179 (D. Mass. 2015). Two of his recent victories at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination are available for reading on the Representative Cases page.

Mr. Sulman attended Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated cum laude, and he was formerly associated with Dechert LLP and Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Sulman worked as a journalist for the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Massachusetts, where he covered the police beat and politics.