Monica Shah is a partner at Boston-based firm Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP, where she focuses her litigation practice on criminal defense, employment law, and Title IX matters. Her broad criminal defense practice includes trial and appellate matters in state and federal courts in a variety of cases ranging from drug conspiracy, sexual assault and other violent crimes, and fraud and other white collar matters. She also serves as a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) member representing indigent criminal defendants in federal court. In her civil practice, she advocates for employees facing discrimination, sexual harassment, wage and hour, and other workplace violations, and represents both students and faculty in university Title IX and disciplinary matters.
Monica has been widely recognized for her legal advocacy. She was selected as a “Top Woman of Law” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and has been repeatedly listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyer lists. She performs pro bono work and serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Lawyers for Civil Rights, which advocates for communities of color and immigrants to fight discrimination through legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. She also serves as co-chair of the Amicus Committee of the Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association, which regularly submits amicus briefs to the highest state and federal appellate courts in Massachusetts to ensure that workers’ voices are heard on critical issues of employment law.
Prior to moving to Boston, Monica was a fellow and attorney at Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP, a New York-based civil rights firm focused on police misconduct and wrongful conviction cases. She clerked for the Honorable Allyne R. Ross of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she served as Articles Editor of the Columbia Law Review.
“I’m thrilled to join the CLBB Advisory Board. As a criminal defense attorney, I face an uphill battle every day advocating for my clients, many of whom have had difficult childhoods, are from marginalized communities, and who have experienced violence, substance abuse, or mental health issues in their lives. CLBB supports critical research on neuroscience issues related to the criminal responsibility and sentencing issues that lawyers must be knowledgeable about to effectively advocate for their clients.”
