Biography

Holly M. Polglase is a shareholder in the Boston office of Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy Professional Corporation. Ms. Polglase practices civil litigation with an emphasis in the defense and trial of complex product liability, pharmaceutical, medical device, toxic tort, negligence, commercial and employment matters. She is a cum laude graduate of Assumption College and also a cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where she was Comment Editor of the Law Review. Following law school, she was a law clerk at the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Ms. Polglase has handled and tried cases for various clients throughout New England. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to the trial of product liability and other complex matters in the state and federal courts. She is the author of numerous publications, including "Enforcing Protective Orders: Getting Them Is Only Part of the Job," which appeared in the Defense Counsel Journal; "Recourse for Spoliation of the Product," published in Volume V of Automotive Engineering and Litigation; "Comparative Fault in a Crashworthiness Case," published in the April 2002 issue of For the Defense.

She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine as well as in the United States Supreme Court and the federal courts in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island. She is a past chair of the American Bar Association's Products, General Liability and Consumer Law Committee of TIPS and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, International Association of Defense Counsel and Defense Research Institute. She serves as President-Elect of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers' Association and is a past President of the Federal Bar Association, Massachusetts Chapter.

Curriculum Vitae

Professional:

Shareholder. Trial counsel, Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy, a nationally recognized law firm dedicated to the litigation of complex, high stakes cases throughout the United States. Ms. Polglase practices civil litigation with an emphasis in the defense and trial of complex product liability, commercial and employment matters.

Education:

1985		B.A., cum laude, Assumption College
1988		J.D., cum laude, Suffolk University Law School

Bar Admissions:

1988		Massachusetts
1989		Maine; New Hampshire; U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; and U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
1990		U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire
1992		U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
1996		Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Vermont
1997		Rhode Island
2000		U.S. District Court, District of Maine
2002		U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
2004		U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island

Publications and Presentations:

Co-Chair, Recent Developments in Civil Litigation, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers' Association Annual Meeting and Spring Seminar (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)

Taking It Up on Appeal - When, Where and How: A Primer on Massachusetts Appellate Praactice in the State Courts, MCLE, The Defense of Civil Lawsuits (September 18, 2002).

Admissibility: Comparative Fault in a Crashworthiness Case, For the Defense, Holly M. Polglase and John A.K. Grunert (April 2002).

Admissibility of Expert Testimony under Daubert's Progeny and the New Rules of Evidence, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Product Liability Megaconference III (June 20-23, 2001).

Co-Chair, Emerging Issues in Motor Vehicle Product Liability Litigation, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section (1998, 1999, 2000).

Cross Examination of a Plaintiff's Economist in a Personal Injury Case, Suffolk University Law School, Proving or Disputing Damages - Second Annual Personal Injury Law Conference (April 30, 1998).

Chair, Emerging Issues in Employment Discrimination Litigation, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section (October 22-23, 1998).

Handling Home Improvement Contractor Claims from the Plaintiff's Perspective, MCLE Home Improvement Contractor Claims (February 26, 1998).

Employment Torts, Defense Research Institute, Employment Law Basics (B. Neff, ed. 1997).

Panelist - Pre-Trial Settlement - An Interactive Program, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Seventh Annual Convention (October 16-17 1997).

Moderator - Direct and Cross Examination of Expert Witness and Live Jury Deliberation, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Emerging Issues in Automobile Product Liability Litigation (March 20-21, 1997).

Handling the Intentional Interference with Employment Contract Case, For the Defense (November, 1995).

Discovery Issues Pertaining to Compliance with Product Safety Standards, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Product Liability Mega-Conference (October 26-27, 1995).

Discovery before Automatic Disclosure: A Brief History, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Annual Meeting Program - The New Discovery Practice Under Rule 26: New Rules, Same Game? (August 7, 1995)

Limiting Damages in Chapter 93A Actions for Personal Injuries, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Proving Damages in Personal Injury Cases, (April 19, 1995).

Handling Age Discrimination Cases, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, Discrimination in the Workplace (December 9, 1994).

Recourse for Spoliation of the Product, in 5 Automotive Engineering and Litigation (G. Peters ed., Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1993).

Product Liability: The Current State of the Art - 1993 in Review, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, Charting the Changes: Recent Developments in Defense Practice (December 3, 1993).

The Use of Computer Simulations in Automobile Products Liability Cases, ABA National Institute, Emerging Issues in Motor Vehicle Product Liability Litigation, James M. Campbell and Holly M. Polglase, (April 1-2, 1993).

Resolving Discovery Disputes in Federal Court, Massachusetts Bar Association (March 10, 1993).

Implications of Corporate Criminal Liability on the Corporation Its Officers, Directors and Employees, DRI Defense Practice Seminar, Corporate Criminal and Tort Liability: The Expanding Criminalization of Business Conduct, Richard P. Campbell, Thomas J. Schlesinger, Holly M. Polglase and Michelle I. Schaffer (December 10-11, 1992).

Emotional Distress Claims, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, Evaluating, Limiting and Preventing Damage Claims (May 15, 1992).

The Product Liability Defendant's Recourse for Spoliation of the Product, 1992 ABA National Institute on Emerging Issues in Automobile Product Liability Litigation (April 10, 1992).

Connecticut Chapter, in Products Liability Defenses, James M. Campbell and Holly M. Polglase, (D. Ream ed., 1992).

Enforcing Protective Orders: Getting Them is Only Half the Job, 58 Def. Couns. J. 318, Richard P. Campbell and Holly M. Polglase (1991).

Protective Orders: A Compendium of Current Practice Issues, Richard P. Campbell and Holly M. Polglase (1991).

Comment, First Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Federal Preventive Detention, 21 Suffolk U.L. Rev. 890 (1987).

Professional Offices and Appointments:

American Bar Association

Chair, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Products, General Liability and Consumer Law Committee, 2000-2001

ABA TIPS Women and Minority Involvement Committee, 1997-1999

Bulgarian Consumer Protection Project, ABA Central and East European Law Initiative, 1992

Defense Research Institute

Co-Chair, DRI Product Liability Committee, Hand and Power Tool Sub-Litigation Group 1998-Present

Federal Bar Association

President, Massachusetts Chapter, 2004-2005

International Association of Defense Counsel

Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association

President-Elect, 2009-Present

Member, Board of Directors, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, 2000-Present

Massachusetts Bar Foundation

Fellow

Description of Practice:

Product Liability: Complex product liability defense, including pharmaceutical, medical device and toxic tort cases.

Product Liability: Complex product liability defense, including pharmaceutical, medical device and toxic tort cases.

Negligence

Employment: Representation of defendants in numerous work-related actions including wrongful termination, racial, sex and handicap discrimination and sexual harassment.