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Eugene L. O'Flaherty is a real estate and corporate attorney in Sullivan's Boston office and also works closely with Sullivan's finance and tax practices.
Prior to joining the firm, Eugene served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston where he was the chief legal officer for former Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who was appointed President Biden’s Secretary of Labor in 2021. From 2014 to early 2021, Eugene was responsible for managing an office of 60 attorneys, paralegals and administrative staff and serving as a senior cabinet advisor to the Mayor, providing high-quality and effective legal advice and representation on all legal matters involving the Mayor, Boston City Council, all City Departments and Boards & Commissions.
Before working for the City of Boston, Eugene served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for seventeen years. He began practicing law in 1994 and was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1996, where he served on the Education Committee and as Vice-Chairman of the Banks and Banking Committee before being appointed to serve as the House Judiciary Chair in 2002.
During his twelve-year tenure at the helm of the Judiciary Committee, Eugene was responsible for the drafting, implementation, review and strategizing associated with the largest number of legislative proposals before the Massachusetts Legislature. For his public service efforts, Eugene was honored for excellence by the Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Massachusetts Legal Assistance, Children's Trust Fund, Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Animal Rescue League among other organizations.
In addition to his legislative duties, Eugene served as a member of the House Leadership Team for more than a decade and under three successive Speakers of the House and played a pivotal role in advising, advocating for and polling the 160-member House on a wide variety of legislative issues.
Notably, Eugene spearheaded the sister city agreement between Boston and Belfast, Northern Ireland which results in annual exchanges and visits by elected officials and members of the business community. He also organized the Friendship Four Hockey Tournament that annually brings four American university teams to compete in Belfast for the BelPot Trophy during the Thanksgiving holiday. The tournament has been acknowledged as crucial in continuing initiatives to support the peace process there.
Irish Pastoral Center Man of the Year (2014)
The Equal Justice Coalition Champion of Justice Award
Simon Cook, in his role as ITFA's Head of Education, will jointly moderate a Q&A on “The next generation: Three emerging leaders, three ideas”, together with Charlie O'Mulloy, chair of ITFA’s Emerging Leader Committee and Associate Banker at EBRD, at ITFA’s 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia on September 9. The Q&A will follow the presentations made by the finalists of the 2026 ITFA Emerging Leader
Geoffrey Wynne will participate in a panel discussion at ITFA's 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference alongside Ailsa McNeil, Director at Texel, and Hernan Mayol, Board Member and Representative of ITFA Americas and Chair of ITFA’s Latin America Regional Committee (LARC). The session, titled “Financing the future: From defence to critical raw materials,” will be moderated by Clarissa Dann, Editorial Director at Deutsche Bank AG. The session will explore how trade
Sullivan & Worcester was featured in Law360 Real Estate Authority's "NYC Real Estate Week In Review," which highlighted the largest New York City real estate transactions recorded during the week. The publication recognized Sullivan's representation of Fattal Hotel Group in its acquisition of the Blakely Hotel, a Manhattan hospitality property located at 136 West 55th Street. The approximately $38.5 million transaction was among the week's largest deals to hit public records.
Molly Depew will present “Basics of Estate and Trust Administration” at the American Bar Association (ABA)’s Skills Training for Estate Planners, a virtual conference taking place September 17–18 and sponsored by the ABA Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section. The program offers a streamlined, practice-focused introduction to estate planning for attorneys building skills in trusts and estates. Ideal for young lawyers and those transitioning into the field, the course provides
Hiring a new employee is typically a moment of optimism—and sometimes, the relationship really does go wonderfully for its entire length and ultimately ends on good terms. But when that hope is treated as an assumption, companies make themselves vulnerable. If a client-facing employee does not have a non-solicitation agreement, a business’s customers could be poached. A new employee, hired because of their great industry relationships, might actually have an
The U.S. Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (the “Housing Act”) and presented it to President Trump on June 29, 2026. At midnight on July 10, 2026, the Housing Act became law because the President did not return it to Congress within ten days (Sundays excepted). The Housing Act includes a wide range of housing reforms designed with the goal of making housing more available and affordable. This alert
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced on July 7, 2026, the creation of the Retail Fraud Working Group, a new initiative within the Division of Enforcement designed to identify and combat fraud targeting main street investors. The announcement formalizes a priority that SEC Enforcement Director David Woodcock previewed in his May 13, 2026, remarks to the Managed Funds Association Legal & Compliance Conference, reflecting the current Commission’s broader
On July 16, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed a new rule, Regulation E-Delivery, that would expand the ability of issuers, including registered investment companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers, to use electronic delivery (“e-delivery”) to satisfy information delivery requirements under the federal securities law. If adopted as proposed, Regulation E-Delivery would broadly address the e-delivery of “covered information” by “covered entities” to “covered recipients” (each as described further
Sullivan & Worcester represented Fattal Hotel Group, owner and operator of 329 hotels across 22 countries and based in Tel Aviv, in its acquisition and financing of The Blakely Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The acquisition marks the client's first hotel investment in the United States and is a milestone in its evolution from a leading European hospitality operator into a global hotel group. The acquisition was completed on July 7,
Ryan Rosenblatt was quoted in Law360's article, "Upon Review: The 2026 World Cup's Biggest Legal Stories," which examines the legal, regulatory and policy disputes that emerged during the 2026 World Cup, including issues involving FIFA's disciplinary decisions, immigration challenges, public art protections and the legal dispute surrounding Gillette Stadium's hosting of World Cup matches. Discussing the agreement reached between FIFA's affiliate Boston 2026 and the Town of Foxborough over security fees
Simon Cook, in his role as ITFA's Head of Education, will jointly moderate a Q&A on “The next generation: Three emerging leaders, three ideas”, together with Charlie O'Mulloy, chair of ITFA’s Emerging Leader Committee and Associate Banker at EBRD, at ITFA’s 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia on September 9. The Q&A will follow the presentations made by the finalists of the 2026 ITFA Emerging Leader
Geoffrey Wynne will participate in a panel discussion at ITFA's 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference alongside Ailsa McNeil, Director at Texel, and Hernan Mayol, Board Member and Representative of ITFA Americas and Chair of ITFA’s Latin America Regional Committee (LARC). The session, titled “Financing the future: From defence to critical raw materials,” will be moderated by Clarissa Dann, Editorial Director at Deutsche Bank AG. The session will explore how trade
Sullivan & Worcester was featured in Law360 Real Estate Authority's "NYC Real Estate Week In Review," which highlighted the largest New York City real estate transactions recorded during the week. The publication recognized Sullivan's representation of Fattal Hotel Group in its acquisition of the Blakely Hotel, a Manhattan hospitality property located at 136 West 55th Street. The approximately $38.5 million transaction was among the week's largest deals to hit public records.
Molly Depew will present “Basics of Estate and Trust Administration” at the American Bar Association (ABA)’s Skills Training for Estate Planners, a virtual conference taking place September 17–18 and sponsored by the ABA Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section. The program offers a streamlined, practice-focused introduction to estate planning for attorneys building skills in trusts and estates. Ideal for young lawyers and those transitioning into the field, the course provides
Hiring a new employee is typically a moment of optimism—and sometimes, the relationship really does go wonderfully for its entire length and ultimately ends on good terms. But when that hope is treated as an assumption, companies make themselves vulnerable. If a client-facing employee does not have a non-solicitation agreement, a business’s customers could be poached. A new employee, hired because of their great industry relationships, might actually have an
The U.S. Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (the “Housing Act”) and presented it to President Trump on June 29, 2026. At midnight on July 10, 2026, the Housing Act became law because the President did not return it to Congress within ten days (Sundays excepted). The Housing Act includes a wide range of housing reforms designed with the goal of making housing more available and affordable. This alert
