Litigation · Employment · Boston
When it has to be won, not just argued
Harlow & Vance is a twelve-lawyer litigation boutique in Back Bay. We take fewer cases than large firms, and we try them. Executives, employees and founders hire us when the outcome will shape what comes next.
- Recovered for clients since 2009
- $412M
- Recovered for clients since 2009
- Of matters resolved on terms clients chose
- 87%
- Of matters resolved on terms clients chose
- Jury and bench trials taken to verdict
- 61
- Jury and bench trials taken to verdict
- Practising together in Boston
- 17 yrs
- Practising together in Boston
Practice areas
Focused by design
We do four things, and we do them in court as often as at the table.
- 01
Executive employment
Severance negotiations, equity and bonus disputes, non-competes and termination for cause, for senior leaders and founders.
- Executives
- Founders
- 02
Discrimination & retaliation
Claims under Title VII, the ADA and Massachusetts Chapter 151B, from MCAD filing through jury trial.
- Employees
- Contingency
- 03
Commercial litigation
Contract, partnership and shareholder disputes for closely held companies, in the Business Litigation Session and federal court.
- Companies
- 04
Wage & hour
Unpaid overtime, misclassification and Massachusetts Wage Act claims, including treble damages and class actions.
- Class actions
- Contingency
Our approach
Prepared for trial from the first meeting
Most disputes settle. The ones that settle well are the ones where the other side believes you will go to trial and win. So we build every matter as if it will be heard by a jury, and we tell clients the truth about their odds from day one.
Every client works directly with a partner. You will not be handed to a rotating team of associates, and you will always know who is drafting, who is arguing and what it costs.
We would rather tell you a hard truth in the first hour than a comfortable one in the last.
Partners
The people who will stand up for you
Eleanor Harlow
Founding partner, litigation
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Massachusetts. Thirty-four jury trials.
Marcus Vance
Founding partner, employment
Represents executives in severance and equity disputes. Harvard Law, 2003.
Priya Raman
Partner, discrimination & wage claims
Led the firm's largest Wage Act class recovery. Former MCAD staff attorney.
Thomas Whitcombe
Partner, commercial disputes
Shareholder and partnership disputes in the Business Litigation Session.
Clients
In their words
“Marcus negotiated a separation package worth more than twice the first offer, and did it without a single public filing. Calm, exact and completely in control.”
“Eleanor told me in our first meeting that my case was strong but would take two years. She was right on both counts. The verdict changed my life.”
“We were being squeezed out of a company we co-founded. Thomas had an injunction in place within ten days.”
Insights
Notes from practice
Plain-language guidance on the employment and litigation questions we hear most.
Executive employment · Sep 30, 2026
Before you sign a severance agreement
The first offer is rarely the final one. Six things to check, and the leverage most departing employees do not realise they have.
Restrictive covenants · Aug 19, 2026
Is your non-compete enforceable in Massachusetts?
Since 2018, Massachusetts has some of the strictest rules on non-competes in the country. Here is how to tell whether yours holds up.
Employee rights · Jul 8, 2026
How to document workplace retaliation
If you raised a concern and things changed afterwards, the record you keep now can make or break a claim later.
Tell us what happened
Confidential consultations within 48 hours. If we are not the right firm, we will tell you who is.