Erica L. Brody

As a former Suffolk County prosecutor and now as a civil litigator, Erica L. Brody has spent her career demanding justice for hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse, and accountability for perpetrators and the institutions that tolerate such reprehensible misconduct, including many high-profile cases featured in the media. Erica is acutely sensitive to the barriers to reporting sexual misconduct, the re-traumatization that can occur when disclosing abuse, and the courage and time it can take for people who have been exploited to come forward and share what happened to them. Her clients consistently express appreciation for the way she approaches their cases - with empathy, patience, and compassion.

Erica's unique perspective and experience also benefits the plaintiffs she represents in the employment context, where she is committed to ensuring that everyone, no matter who they are, what they look like, how they identify, or where they come from, have the right to participate fully in a workplace free from sexual harassment and discrimination. When deciding whether to take on a case, Erica is not intimidated by powerful institutions or by the influence of political figures, and she has litigated claims involving religious institutions, multi-million dollar corporations, and powerful government entities. The majority of her practice is focused on eliminating sex and gender disparities in the workplace, and she routinely litigates sexual harassment, race, gender, and pregnancy discrimination, claims to ensure that her clients are given the same dignity and respect in the workplace as their colleagues. She appears regularly in federal and state courts in Massachusetts, as well as before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Erica's trial experience also prepared her to teach "know your rights" training to companies and municipalities - training that is required by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. She has attended MCAD-certified trainings and has educated companies and towns both at the management and employee levels. She understands how courts analyze the legal issues that arise in these cases, and what they look like before a jury, and uses this experience to help provide valuable insight to workers and employers on how to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace, as well as how to conduct fair, thorough, and thoughtful investigations into reports of misconduct. As a former prosecutor and with over a decade of experience trying cases and conducting complex investigations, Erica has the experience to navigate the often sensitive and intensive fact-finding inquiries required in conducting a equitable, prompt, and effective investigation.

Erica is a volunteer lawyer for the 209A Middlesex District Attorney's Office Pro Bono Program, providing free legal representation to victims of domestic violence seeking restraining orders against accused offenders. She serves on the board of the Federal Bar Association civil rights section.

She has also consulted news outlets on the topics of child abuse and domestic violence.

At Boston College Law School, she studied abroad in London at King's College School of Law, where she worked for Cherie Blair in her human rights practice group at Matrix Chambers and at her women's foundation. Following her graduation from law school, Erica spent a year clerking for the Massachusetts Superior Court Justices.