Our History
Collora LLP was founded in 1988 by Thomas E. Dwyer, Jr., Michael A. Collora and Kathy B. Weinman, and was originally dedicated to the service of clients accused of serious or complex criminal offenses.
At the time, Mr. Dwyer had already been a partner in another successful practice since 1980, and he had served as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County from 1972 to 1978, supervising all white collar, organized crime and political corruption investigations and prosecutions in Boston for most of that period. He had also been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for his establishment of a nationally recognized “best practices” program in white collar criminal prosecution.
Mr. Collora had similarly been successful in practice prior to partnering with Mr. Dwyer and Ms. Weinman. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he had headed the U.S. Attorney’s Special Investigation Unit and he successfully prosecuted a wide array of criminal defendants, including those accused of sophisticated and complex white collar crimes for more than 8 years.
Ms. Weinman has been a litigator for over 25 years and began her law practice with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) in Washington, D.C.
The firm’s current managing partner, Jody Newman, was also one of the four original attorneys, then serving as an associate, but later recognized for building a successful employment litigation practice and winning landmark victories in cases involving gender bias, whistle-blowing, and employment discrimination.
From its inception, our firm developed a unique personality and approach to practice. Reflective of its current office design, the firm became distinct from most legal institutions. While we are professionally discreet, we are open, upbeat, contemporary and creative in dealing with our clients. Our lawyers were and are uncluttered in their thinking as well. We do not waste time on the minutia of hundreds of legal capillaries, preferring to go straight for the jugular and a swift resolution.
Our firm has become recognized not only for its highly-skilled courtroom advocates, but for our constant dedication to improving the justice system and to improving legal service for our clients and the general public. Collora has consistently participated in local and national programs for improvement of the bench and bar, including programs sponsored by the local state and federal courts and the American College of Trial Lawyers.
It was also one of the first firms to embrace the concepts of superior client service, providing litigation budgets for clients, working out alternative fee arrangements, and most recently, focusing on service improvement aspirations set forth in the American Corporate Counsel (“ACC”) Value Challenge.
It is little wonder that our clients and our referral sources - to whom we take a reverent view - have favored us for more than 20 years, growing our revenues by more than 25 times what they were in our first year of practice. We appreciate this show of faith in our work, and we strive to grow that trust.
For a sample of some of our memorable successes, click on Our Spotlight Cases, or view the representative "Results” sections of our individual Practice Areas.
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