Max D. Stern

Partner

Overview

Max D. Stern has more than 40 years of experience litigating groundbreaking criminal matters and complex civil cases, appearing and arguing at every trial and appellate level, including the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Stern, a partner at the firm, has taught courses in Advanced Criminal Law and the Legal Profession, among others, at Harvard and Northeastern Law Schools. He is the author of articles in both scholarly journals and the popular press. He regularly lectures on various aspects of trial practice.

Mr. Stern is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and was named in 1995 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of the 25 Most Influential Massachusetts Lawyers of the preceding quarter century.

Mr. Stern is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as an editor of the law review. After law school, Mr. Stern served as a clerk to United States Circuit Judge Simon Sobeloff of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Stern is an accomplished photographer. He maintains a photographic website at www.maxsternphoto.com.

Practice Areas

Experience

Partner, Todd & Weld LLP, 2015-present
Partner, Stern Shapiro Weissberg & Garin, LLP, 1973-2014
Staff Attorney, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute/NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., 1970-1973
Law Clerk, Circuit Judge Simon E. Sobeloff, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1969-1970

Credentials

Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School (L.L.B., magna cum laude) Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review
Dartmouth College (A.B.)

Bar Admissions

District of Columbia
Massachusetts
U.S. District Court, Massachusetts
U.S. District Court, Maryland
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Professional Activities

Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, Member, State Committee, 1994-1998
Fellow, American Board of Criminal Lawyers
Member, Boston Bar Association; Member, Executive Committee, Criminal Section, 1985-1988
Member, Massachusetts Bar Association; Vice Chairperson, Section on Criminal Justice, 1977-1978
Member, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Member, Board of Directors, 2007-Present; President, 2011-2013
Member, Boston Bar Council, 1983-1986

Publications/Presentations

"The Right of the Accused to a Public Defense," 18 Harvard Civil Rights -Civil Liberties Law Review 53 1983
Co-Author with D. Hoffman: "Privileged Informers: The Attorney Subpoena Problem and a Proposal for Reform," 136 U.Pa.L.Rev. 1783 June 1988
Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School: Courses in Federal Criminal Litigation, The Legal Profession, Advanced Criminal Law 1983-1990
Fellow, Harvard Center for Criminal Justice, Harvard Law School 1981
Instructor, Northeastern University Law School: Courses in Prisoners' Rights, Equitable Remedies 1977-1979

Honors and Awards

Regularly named since 1987 to Best Lawyers in America for Bet-the-Company Litigation; Civil Rights Law; Criminal Defense: General Practice; Criminal Defense: White Collar
Regularly named since 2005 to Massachusetts Super Lawyers for Criminal Defense: White Collar
Named by Super Lawyers to Top 100 Lawyers in Massachusetts for Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2005-2015
Named by Super Lawyers to Top 100 Lawyers in New England for Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2007-2010 and 2012-2014
Named by Super Lawyers to Top 10 Lawyers in Massachusetts, 2007-2008 and 2010
Accredited with AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell
Named Lawyer of the Year by the Frank G. Murray Inn of Court, 2010
Received Joseph Balliro Award by the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in recognition of a lifelong commitment and dedication to the zealous defense of the accused, 2000
Named one of the 25 Most Influential Massachusetts Lawyers of the Preceding Quarter Century by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 1995
Received American College of Trial Lawyers Award for Courageous Advocacy in recognition of his unswerving and courageous efforts as a trial lawyer to restore integrity to the local criminal justice system, 1992
Accorded special recognition by the Massachusetts Bar Association for his commitment to the highest standards of the criminal defense lawyer and to protecting the rights of the accused, 1991
Recognized for tireless moral courage in advancing human and civil rights by the Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association, 1990
Accorded recognition by the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild for a lifetime commitment to fighting for justice and racial equality, 1990
Received the Edward J. Duggan Private Counsel Award by the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services for zealous advocacy and outstanding legal services to the poor, 1989
Received the Abraham T. Alper Memorial Award, the annual award of the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, in recognition of notable service in the preservation of civil liberties, 1987

In the Community

Member, Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts; Member, Advisory Board, 1979-1983, 1986-1987; General Counsel, 1983-1985
Chairperson, Massachusetts Campaign Against Restoration of the Death Penalty, 1981-1982
Chairperson, Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty, 1983-1992
Deputy Legal Counsel, Democratic State Committee of Massachusetts, 1994-Present
Member, Advisory Committee, MJT Dance Co., Boston, 1995-2000
Member, Advisory Committee, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Martha's Vineyard, 1999-Present
Artist Member, Copley Society of Art