Chief Justice for Administration & Management Robert A Mulligan today announced the appointments of Attorney Joseph D. Steinfield of Boston as a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Attorney John J. Carroll, Jr. of Lincoln as an alternate member to the Commission. The six-year appointments are effective on November 1, 2008. Mr. Steinfield succeeds Attorney Gael Mahony, whose term expires on October 31, 2008.

          “Attorneys Joe Steinfield and John Carroll bring a depth of knowledge and tremendous range of Trial Court experience to the important work of the Commission, which will benefit from their understanding of issues, wisdom, fairness and sound judgment,” said Chief Justice Mulligan.

          A partner in the Boston law firm of Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye LLP, Mr. Steinfield specializes in business and First Amendment litigation. He has represented individual and business plaintiffs, including many Fortune 500 companies, in complex litigation matters. Mr. Steinfield has argued many appeals in both state and federal courts. In 2000, he was named as special counsel by the New Hampshire State Legislature for the House Judiciary Committee for a special investigation involving several Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He also served as Special Prosecutor. Mr Steinfield has extensive Alternative Dispute Resolution experience as counsel and as mediator and arbiter. He founded and chaired the American College of Trial Lawyers Massachusetts Superior Court Mediation Program.

          Throughout his career, Mr Steinfield has been active in numerous legal and community organizations. Among his associations, he is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the American Law Institute. He holds memberships in the American, Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations. Mr. Steinfield teaches a First Amendment seminar at Boston College. In 2003, he served as Chair of the Clients’ Security Board. He was a member of the hearing committee of the Board of Bar Overseers from 1997 to 2002. He is presently a member of the Supreme Judicial Court’s Judiciary-Media Committee. He is a founding member of the Law Clerks’ Society of the Supreme Judicial Court. Mr. Steinfield is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School. He joined Hill & Barlow in 1965, and was a partner in that firm until it closed in 2002.

          Mr. Carroll, who has been a trial lawyer since 1974, is a partner in the Boston firm of Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow, P.C. Before joining the firm, he was a defense attorney at Parker, Coulter, Daley & White in Boston for five years. Mr. Carroll has extensive experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution and has been a member of the American Arbitration Association for many years. He is a member of the Executive Committee and House of Delegates of the Massachusetts Bar Association and a Holmes Fellow of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation. He is a past member of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys in which he served on the Board of Governors. Mr. Carroll also served as a Hearing Officer for the Board of Bar Overseers for six years. He is on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Legal Services, and handles pro bono cases for the Boston Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project. Mr. Carroll served as a U. S. Navy Lieutenant for four years after graduating from Boston College. He was in the Active Reserve from 1972 to 1976. Mr. Carroll graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1974.

          Chief Justice Mulligan expressed his appreciation of Attorney Gael Mahony’s eight years of service as a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. Mr. Mahony was first appointed to the Commission in 2000 to fill the remainder of a member’s term and then was reappointed in 2002. Mr. Mahony has been a partner at Holland and Knight of Boston.

          “Gael Mahony has served as a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct with great distinction for eight years,” said Chief Justice Mulligan. “With his broad legal experience and skills, he has served the public interest well. I appreciate his tremendous dedication to this important job.”

          According to G. L. c.211C, §1, the Chief Justice for Administration & Management of the Trial Court appoints three lawyers and alternate lawyers, as necessary, to the Commission on Judicial Conduct. Established in 1978, the Commission on Judicial Conduct investigates allegations of misconduct by judges.