Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Leigh Woodruff has been named a Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a leading legal newspaper in New England that recognizes the varied accomplishments of several attorneys each year with a feature article spotlighting each honoree’s career.
Woodruff’s article highlights her social justice work from 2018-2024 as Litigation Director for Community Legal Aid (CLA), a civil aid provider for low-income and elderly residents in Massachusetts. At CLA, Woodruff trained and supervised over 100 lawyers to bring civil rights cases in state and federal courts. In one case featured in the article, Woodruff obtained a preliminary injunction that forced a state agency to resume making weekly unemployment insurance payments to thousands of workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic, after the agency had suddenly halted payments without providing workers either notice or a hearing. The entire case settled in 2024, after Woodruff and her colleagues negotiated systemic changes in unemployment claim practices that will protect workers’ due process rights in the future.
Before taking the helm of CLA’s litigation practice, Woodruff spent 17 years representing commercial clients in trials and appeals nationwide. That nationwide practice led Woodruff to gain admission to the bar in California, New York, Hawai’i, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and federal courts including the United States Supreme Court. Woodruff commented, “Working at large national firms early in my career gave me access to top training and mentoring with top litigators. That was a privilege. As Litigation Director at legal aid, I had an opportunity to bring similar training and mentoring to legal aid lawyers who often lack access to such resources.” Woodruff also teaches practice-oriented evening courses in Trial Advocacy and Appellate Advocacy at a law school that trains many lawyers who later work in underserved communities in rural Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.
Woodruff joined GRSM in 2024, where she maintains a national practice representing clients in intellectual property, antitrust, construction, professional liability, and other matters. Woodruff commented, “I was drawn to GRSM in part because the firm prioritizes service through initiatives and pro bono efforts that make positive impacts in our communities today and contribute toward achieving a more sustainable, inclusive, and just future.” In addition to providing top-quality representation to her commercial clients, Woodruff aspires to connect GRSM with civil legal aid entities to create pro bono partnerships that will amplify legal aid’s impact litigation capacity.
Woodruff’s social justice work highlights the firm’s commitment to supporting individuals and groups with critical legal needs and collaborating with our corporate clients on pro bono initiatives. Every member of the firm is encouraged to participate in pro bono work as part of their professional obligation to increase access to justice.
Read the full list of honorees in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Subscription may be required.