MBF Welcomes New Trustees at 2025 Annual Meeting
The Massachusetts Bar Foundation's (MBF) Annual Meeting brings the MBF community together to celebrate the Foundation‘s achievements and elect members of the Board of Trustees. Following this year's meeting on March 11, the MBF is pleased to announce the election of four new Trustees to its Board: Hon. Jennifer C. Boal of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, James J. Duane III, Esq. of Peabody & Arnold, Robert S. Molloy, Esq. of Destination XL Group, Inc., and Hon. Valerie A. Yarashus of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
The MBF is excited to introduce these individuals, each of whom brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Board.
Judge Jennifer Boal has served as a United States Magistrate Judge in Boston since 2010, including a term as Chief Magistrate from 2014 to 2017. A graduate of Cornell Law School, she previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for both the District of Massachusetts and the Eastern District of New York, gaining extensive experience in criminal and civil litigation. Judge Boal has been a generous supporter of the MBF since joining the Society of Fellows in 2016.
Judge Valerie Yarashus was appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court in 2018 and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. A former President of both the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Judge Yarashus practiced as a trial lawyer for over 25 years before being appointed to the Superior Court. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she has been an MBF Fellow since 1995.
Judges Boal and Yarashus have both served as mentors for the MBF’s Chief Justice Gants Judicial Scholarship Program. The Massachusetts Bar Foundation looks forward to the perspectives they will bring to the Board as members of the bench, a crucial component of the Board’s structure.
Filling two seats from the bar are James J. Duane III, Esq. of Peabody & Arnold and Robert S. Molloy, Esq. of Destination XL Group, Inc.
James Duane of Peabody & Arnold is a full-time mediator and arbitrator with over 40 years of experience as a civil litigator. An MBF Fellow since 2002, he has handled complex cases involving insurance and bad faith, professional liability, medical malpractice, and more. Duane, a graduate of Harvard Law School, is a panelist on the American Arbitration Association National Roster of Commercial Arbitrators. He also mediates for Mediation Works, Inc. in Boston and Cape Cod Dispute Resolution Center.
Of his election to the board, Duane said, “I am honored to join the Massachusetts Bar Foundation Board of Trustees where I hope to help further the mission of the Foundation. I am especially looking forward to learning about the good work done by the Foundation’s grantee organizations as they provide access to justice.”
Robert Molloy has served as General Counsel and Secretary of Destination XL Group, Inc since 2008. A graduate of Boston University School of Law, he previously worked as Assistant General Counsel at Staples, Inc. for eight years and as a trial lawyer at Cooley, Manion, Moore & Jones, P.C. Molloy received the MBF’s President’s Award in 2016 for his dedication to the Society of Fellows and consistent participation in grant review, of which he has been a volunteer since 2008.
“In November, I attended the 60th Anniversary Gala for the MBF and was so impressed to hear all that the MBF has accomplished since its inception,” Molloy said. “To then be elected as a Trustee is truly an honor. I am most looking forward to learning as much as I can so that I can be a positive contributor to the MBF’s mission of ensuring equal access to justice.”
The MBF is thrilled to welcome these new Trustees to the Board and is confident their distinct backgrounds will greatly enrich the work and mission of the Foundation to increase justice for all.