Hon. Elizabeth Butler (Ret.) brings to JAMS years of experience both as a trial judge and trial attorney. In her thirteen years as a Massachusetts Superior Court judge, she presided over a broad range of civil and criminal cases. Sitting in civil sessions throughout the Boston area as well as in Worcester, she handled jury and non-jury matters involving commercial disputes, closely held corporations, personal injury resulting in death or catastrophic injuries, medical malpractice, products liability, employment, pollution liability, insurance coverage, and administrative appeals. As a lawyer in private practice, she tried numerous jury cases involving personal injury, and in particular, medical malpractice. She also represented clients in insurance and other commercial disputes.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- While on the bench, Judge Butler fostered an atmosphere conducive to settlement by reaching out to attorneys about settlement options throughout all pretrial phases of litigation.
- More recently, she has mediated cases involving medical malpractice, sexual harassment, and personal injury.
Representative Matters
Representative matters in which Judge Butler mediated, consulted, or adjudicated included the following:
- Consumer and business protection litigation: consultant in a nationwide litigation involving numerous international companies
- Employment discrimination: treatment of public employee
- Medical malpractice: potentially high profile case with significant injuries settled prior to institution of lawsuit
- Products liability: quadriplegia in young person resulting from sports accident
- Sexual harassment: suit against public official