In leading Mass. Bar Association, Hopkinton's Thomas Bond seeks to add diversity

HOPKINTON — Thomas Bond grew up in a working class family — his father was a Teamster and his mother was a cafeteria worker.

So when Bond, of Hopkinton, graduated from Suffolk Law School in 1985, he wanted to work with working-class people. He began specializing in maritime law and workplace injuries.

“I like representing working-class people because that’s my background,” said Bond, 61. “People don’t come in to my office to see me wearing bowties and Sperrys. They come in wearing work boots or fishing boats.”

Bond, who heads the Kaplan/Bond Law Group in Boston, was recently elected the new president of the Massachusetts Bar Association. His yearlong term began Wednesday.

“It’s a lot of work and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I wish I could put my practice on hold and just do MBA stuff, because it’s fun. When you are in the Mass. Bar Association, you work with defense counsels, and it’s the first time it’s not an adversarial relationship, like you have when you’re in court. It’s nice to be able to work together.”

Bond grew up in Charlton, graduating from Shepherd Hill Regional High School before going to Northeastern University and finally Suffolk Law School.

After having children, Bond and his family decided to find a home somewhere between Boston and Charlton so he could be closer to his parents. They settled in Hopkinton in 1994 because of the reputation of its school system, with Bond saying that reputation proved to be true.

“The public school system here is excellent,” he said. “The kids who went to private schools in the Boston area have no advantage in their education compared to the kids who went through the Hopkinton school system.”

Throughout his career, Bond has been involved in dozens of cases that he either argued or written briefs for in for numerous courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court where the court reversed a lower court’s decision that the dredge used to dig the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston was a not considered a vessel.

As head of the MBA, Bond said he wants to continue to try to diversify the group, while working to give the tools necessary for those in minority groups to move up in their careers.

“There’s a concern we don’t have enough diverse people in the pipeline,” he said. "This year we will have a leadership academy — we pick people who have been practicing law for less than 10 years and they attend seminars on public speaking, running a law business, giving them the skills necessary to advance in their career.”

Bond said he has appointed four women to the executive management board, including three women of color, and said a peer-to-peer mentoring panel that groups together a high schooler from an underprivileged community with a college student, a law student and a practicing lawyer, has seen success getting younger people into law programs.

““When they see people who look like them succeeding, they believe it, too,” said Bond. “Navigating the legal world when you don’t have a mentor is really difficult.”

Bond said he looks forward to the next year, leading the MBA and its 12,000 members.

“If you’re a lawyer in Massachusetts, there is no better home for you than the Massachusetts Bar Association, regardless of who you are, where you’re from or what kind of law you practice,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with and being a resource to all communities. We need the depth and breadth of what diverse people can bring to our organization, and I feel strongly that their voices, perspectives and experiences will make our organization stronger.”

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.