Meet Mary Egan Boland

Senior Counsel

A pioneer and example to women in the practice of law, Mary was one of six women in her Law School class at Boston College in 1965. She was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship to the National Institute of Politics, and she was assigned to the office of the Governor of Utah. She returned to Springfield after completing her Fellowship and joined the Firm.

Prior to transition to Senior Counsel status with the Firm, Mary’s practice centered on estate planning and administration, commercial real estate, and nonprofits. She became heavily involved in representation of Mercy Hospital in Springfield and in health care law and was invited to join the Boards of some of Springfield’s oldest and largest institutions. She was a longtime member of the boards of Springfield Institution for Savings (later TD Banknorth), the Springfield Library and Museums Association, and Mercy Hospital.

In 1972, Mary was elected to the Springfield City Council and the following year was elected as President of the City Council. She “retired” from politics in 1973 upon her marriage to the Hon. Edward P. Boland, Member of Congress.

While raising their family, Mary continued to be active at the Firm and in the community. From 1975 to 1979, she was a member of the Springfield Civic Center Commission and began a thirty-year association as a Trustee of the MassMutual Life Insurance Company Investment Funds. In 1999, she was appointed by the Governor to the Massachusetts Educational Finance Agency.

Mary continues her lifelong interest in education funding through the Edward P. Boland Scholarship Committee, which to date has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to residents of the 2nd Congressional District of Massachusetts, which the Congressman represented for over 36 years.

One of Mary’s four children, Kathleen Boland Stevens, graduated from Boston College Law School, following in Mary’s footsteps. Kathleen’s law school class was over fifty percent women – a far cry from the five percent in Mary’s class.

The Firm and its clients still benefit from Mary’s advice and counsel, as she generously remains available to provide mentorship and advice to its attorneys. Mary recommends that new inquiries for corporate and transactional legal matters be directed to Kate Day (kad@efclaw.com), Stefan Sjoberg (srs@efclaw.com), or Matti Tacy (mct@efclaw.com). Matters related to real estate may be directed to Timothy J. Ryan (tjr@efclaw.com), Stefan Sjoberg (srs@efclaw.com), or Rachel T. Woods (rtw@efclaw.com), and matters concerning estate planning or administration may be sent to Michael J. Capozza (mjc@efclaw.com).

Mary was on the ground floor of proving that building a prominent law practice and raising a family are not mutually exclusive paths. Many of the Firm’s lawyers, and the Firm itself, continue to benefit from her example in that regard to this day. The Firm is extremely proud of Mary’s accomplishments and her inspiration to successive generations of accomplished lawyers at the Firm and in the greater community.