Alan S. Pierce

Alan S. Pierce

  • Attorney

Contact

Practice Areas

  • Workers' Compensation
  • Personal Injury
  • Social Security Disability

Education

  • Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts
    • J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence - 00/1974
  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
    • B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 00/1969

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts, 1974
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit, 1980
  • U.S. Federal Courts, 1975
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1984
  • U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts

Professional Associations

  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Member, 1976
  • Massachusetts Academy Trial Attorneys, Member, 1989
  • Salem Bar Association, Member, 1986
  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Chair, Workers Compensation Subcommittee, 1988 to 1989
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, member of Workers' Compensation Committee (1992 - Present)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, Chairperson (1999-2002)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, Member Board of Governors (1999-Present)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, Chairperson Education Committee (2002-2003)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, Secretary (2002-2003)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, State Legislation co-chair (2003-2004)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, President- Elect (2003-2004)
  • Mass. Academy of Trial Attorneys, President (2004-2005)
  • Mass. Bar Association; chairperson of Workers' Compensation Section (1987 - 1989)
  • Mass. Bar Association, Member House of Delegates (2004-2006)
  • Mass. Bar Association, Member Executive Management Board (2005-2006)
  • American Association for Justice, member of Workers' Compensation Section
  • American Bar Association- Workers Compensation Committee
  • Essex County Bar Association, Vice Chairman 2007-2008, Board of Directors (2004-present)
  • Member, Workers' Injury Law and Advocacy Group
  • Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, appointed by Governor William Weld (1995 - 1998)
  • Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, re-appointed by Governor A. Paul Cellucci (1998 - 2003)
  • Board of Directors, Consumer Justice Institute (2002-present)
  • Board of Advisors, Workers' Comp RX (2005-2008)
  • Lawyers' Committee Mass Coalition for Occupational Health

Published Works

  • Massachusetts Workers' Compensation and the Law, P.E.S.I., 1986
  • Selected Issues Massachusetts Workers' Compensation, P.E.S.I., 1988
  • Workers' Compensation in Massachusetts, National Business Institute, 1989
  • Top Ten List as to Why Injured Workers Retain Attorneys (with apologies to David Letterman), Journal Of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (fall 2002)
  • Benefit Boosters: How To Increase Your Client's Workers' Compensation Rate, Journal of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys (fall 2002)
  • The Impartial Medical Exam-Ten Years of Experience, Journal of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (2002)
  • The Exclusive Remedy Doctrine, Journal of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Co. (2002)
  • The IME - What's In An Acronym, The Journal of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (1998)
  • Liens Under the Workers' Compensation Act, N.E. Law Institute (1983)
  • Direct and Cross Examination of Psychiatric Witness, Mass. Continuing Legal Education (1984)
  • Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Law (contributor), Professional Education Systems, Inc. (1986)
  • Massachusetts Workers' Compensation and the Law (contributor), Professional Education Systems, Inc. (1987)
  • Third Party Actions Under Section 15, Mass. Continuing Legal Education (1987)
  • Traps for the Unwary (contributor), Massachusetts Bar Association (1988)
  • The Employer's Role in Workers' Compensation Claims (Walking Through the Maze), Nat'l Business Institute (1988)
  • Workers' Compensation, Selected Issues (contributor), Mass. Continuing Legal Education (1989)
  • Selected Topics & Issues in Workers' Compensation Law (contributor), Professional Education Systems (1990)
  • The Experts View the Issues (contributor), Mass. Continuing Legal Education (1992)
  • Summary of 1991 Workers' Compensation Reform Act, Professional Education Systems (1994)
  • Psychiatric Disability Claims, Professional Education Systems (1995)
  • Compensation 'Boosters' Claims Under §§35B, 35C, 51, 51A, Professional Education Systems (1996)
  • Workers' Compensation Reform, a 5-Year Retrospective, Professional Education Systems (1997)
  • The IME - A Legal Prespective, 17th Annual Workers' Compensation Symposium (1997)
  • Direct and Cross Examination of Medical Expert Witness, 17th Annual Workers' Compensation Symposium (1997)
  • Increasing Your Client's Compensation Rate, Mass. Continuing Legal Education (1997)
  • Recent Development in Workers' Compensation Law, Professional Education Systems (1998)
  • Examining Medical Experts, The Journal of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (1998)
  • Average Weekly Wage Issues, Mass Continuing Legal Education (1999)
  • The Massachusetts IME-Not Worth Emulating, The Journal of Workers Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (2000)
  • From The Courts - Developing Case Law from Across The Country. Published quarterly by The Journal of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (2000-present)
  • Beyond Daubert:Admissability of Scientific Evidence, SEAK,Inc. (2002)
  • Point/Counterpoint: The Future of Workers' Compensation Reform, Mass.Continuing Legal Education (2002)
  • Cause Of Action To Recover Workers' Compensation Benefits Under 'Personal Comfort Doctrine' Or During Athletic, Recreational Or Social Activities. 22 Causes of Action 2d 163, Thomson West Publishing Co. (2003)
  • Exclusive Remedy Revisited, The Journal of Workers' Compensation, Standard Publishing Corp. (Fall 2005)
  • Contributor to analysis of medical issues in Workers' Compensation claims published by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (1993)
  • Editorial Advisor for Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Law, Standard Publishing Company (1998)
  • New England Workers' Compensation Educational Conference, Newport R.I. (1999, 2000)
  • Editorial board, The Journal of Workers' Compensation (l999 to present)

Representative Cases

  • Kemp's Case 12 Mass App. Ct 964 (1981)
  • Kemp's Case 306 Mass 730 (1982)
  • Firemans Fund Ins Co. v. Commonwealth 18 Mass. App. Ct. 129 (1984)
  • Phillips' Case 41 Mass. App. Ct. 612 (1996)
  • Letteney's Case 429 Mass. 280 (1999)
  • Ryan's Case 447 Mass. 1111 (2006)

Honors

  • Fellow - College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers - American Bar Association - inducted March 2007
  • Named to America's Best Lawyers
  • Named to America's Premier Lawyers, Fortune Magazine, November, 2006
  • Named Super Lawyer for Workers' Compensation, Boston Magazine, November
  • Recipient of the President's Special Recognition Award- Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys

Classes & Seminars

  • Host: "Workers' Comp Matters", Legal Talk Network
  • Speaker on Workers' Compensation issues for Risk Management Society, Harvard School of Public Health, MCLE, Professional Education Systems, National Business Institute
  • Instructor in medical/legal issues for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, San Francisco (1993)
  • New Orleans (1994)
  • Speaker at national Workers' Compensation conference, Las Vegas (2001)
  • ATLA convention Atlanta, Georgia (2002)
  • Panelist, SEAK National Workers' Compensation Conference Hyannis (2002,2003)
  • Panelist, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Conference, Chicago (2008)

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore; President(2005-present)

Past Positions

  • Law Offices of Pierce, Schneider & Ricci, P.A. Boston, Salem and Wakefield, MA, 1985 to 1993
  • Law Office of Murphy & Beane Boston, MA, 1976 to 1985
  • Law Office of James D. Casey Boston, MA, 1974 to 1976
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Lynn, MA, 1969 to 1974