Hon. Mary Thomas Sullivan (Ret.) was appointed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court by Governor Deval Patrick in 2011 and served until her retirement in 2023.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Justice Sullivan graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1975 and served as Assistant Director of Girls’ Services in the Department of Youth Services before attending Northeastern University School of Law, from which she graduated in 1981.

After obtaining her JD, Justice Sullivan served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Shane Devine of the United District Court of New Hampshire from 1981 to 1983. She then joined Segal Roitman LLP, where she practiced labor, employment, and employee benefits law. During these years she also served as a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission, a member of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Apprenticeship Counsel, as Chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, and as Co-Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section. She also served as Trustee of the Public Library of Brookline.

As an Access to Justice Fellow, Justice Sullivan will partner with the Flaschner Judicial Institute, a private nonprofit organization providing education to judges in the Commonwealth. Justice Sullivan previously served as Chair of the Institute and, as a Fellow, will assist with two new book projects focused on attorneys’ fees and prisoners’ rights. These books, like all Flaschner publications, will be made available to both judges and attorneys.