February 2024: Attorney Padolsky successfully defends Police Officer in 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Qualified immunity shields police from wrongful death claim. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that qualified immunity shielded a police officer from a wrongful death claim that alleged he could have prevented a landlord’s fatal shooting of two tenants by arresting him during a domestic disturbance call just before the crime…Read the Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly article click here.

Joseph A. Padolsky, a resident of Winthrop, Massachusetts, is a Principal with Louison, Costello, Condon & Pfaff, LLP, where he focuses on Civil Rights, Government Liability and Insurance Defense Litigation before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Joe has successfully represented many clients before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the District Court for the District of Massachusetts and numerous Trial Courts across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Joe focuses on labor and employment matters, as well as a wide array of civil litigation and criminal defense litigation. He has represented clients before Massachusetts administrative agencies such as the Department of Labor Relations and the Civil Service Commission, and before private alternative dispute resolution bodies such as the American Arbitration Association. Joe aggressively but tactically represents Police Officers and other Civil Service Employees at Appointing Authority level hearings, such as Mayor’s hearings, when disciplinary charges have been levied against them.

Most recently, Joe has obtained a Civil Rights Defense victory on behalf of the City of Attleboro and a number of its Police Officers before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Two arrestees brought multiple Civil Rights claims against the City of Attleboro and a number of Police Officers alleging that they had been falsely arrested and that their vehicle was unlawfully seized. Joe fought aggressively for and won a judgment prior to trial so as to protect his clients from the burden and expense of a lengthy Federal Civil Rights trial. The case citation is listed below in Joe’s representative cases, and the full text of the First Circuit’s opinion can be found here. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has published an article on the case.

Joe has successfully defended cases involving Federal and State constitutional claims, negligence and intentional tort claims, breach of fair duty of representation claims, and criminal matters at the state and federal level. He aggressively defends disciplinary charges and fights to preserve labor rights through statutory and contractual grievance procedures.

Joe is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, and in the Federal Court System at the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

For help with your specific legal issue, please call (617) 439-0305 to speak with Attorney Joseph A. Padolsky or one of our other experienced and skilled Attorneys at Law.

Areas of Practice:

• Administrative Law
• Civil Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Criminal Law
• Employment Law – Employee
• Employment Law – Employer
• Government Agencies & Programs
• Insurance Law
• Labor Law
• Litigation & Appeals
• Personal Injury – Defense
• Personal Injury – Plaintiff
• State, Local & Municipal Law

Education:

• Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, 2010
• J.D.
• University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts, 2007
• B.A.

Representative Cases:Professional Associations and Memberships:

• American Bar Association
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts, November 2010
• United States District Court District of Massachusetts, January 2011
• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, July 2012

Past Employment Positions:

• Louison, Costello, Condon & Pfaff, LLP, Boston, MA, Law Clerk, 2008-2010