Judicial Court Associate Justice Kimberly Budd to Speak at GCC on May 14

GREENFIELD — The Franklin County Bar Assoc., in coordination with Greenfield Community College (GCC) and the Berkshire, Hampden, and Hampshire county bar associations, will welcome Judicial Court Associate Justice Kimberly Budd to GCC on Tuesday, May 14.

Budd will speak on the topic of “The Supreme Judicial Court: How It Works, How I Got There, and What I Learned Along the Way.” Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Michael Callen will give an introduction. The event will begin at 10 a.m., with a reception following the speaking program.

The Supreme Judicial Court is the state’s highest appellate court. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices who are each nominated and appointed by the governor following a majority vote in the Governor’s Council.

Budd was appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court by Gov. Charlie Baker. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Georgetown University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. She began her legal career as a law clerk to Chief Justice Joseph Warner of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Budd was a litigation associate at Mintz Levin before serving as an asistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in the Major Crimes and Drug units. After that, she was a university attorney for Harvard University in the General Counsel’s Office. She later served as director of the Community Values program at Harvard Business School.

She was appointed as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2009. In 2016, she served as the regional administrative justice for Middlesex Criminal Business.

“We are excited Justice Budd will be in Franklin County,” said Christine Baronas, executive director of the Franklin County Bar Assoc. “This is an opportunity to learn more about her and the court. Her position on the Supreme Judicial Court makes her visit extremely special to us.”

To RSVP or for more information, contact Franklin County Bar Assoc. at [email protected] or (413) 773-9839.