Just Released: The Best Lawyers in Spain Featured in Confilegal!

Best Lawyers logo
  • Lawyers
  • Methodology
  • Client Solutions
  • Partnerships
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Log In
  • Lawyers
    • Advanced Search
    • Lawyer of the Year
    • Highlighted Lawyers
    • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Methodology
    • Overview
    • Ones to Watch
    • Editorial Timelines
    • Practice Areas
    • Publicizing Guidelines
    • FAQ
  • Publications
    • Business Edition
    • Regional Editions
    • Partnerships
    • Become a Contributor
  • Legal Insights
    • Featured Articles
    • In the News
    • Advisory Board
    • Meet the Board
    • Press & Events
  • About
    • Global Presence
    • Company History
    • Leadership
  • Client Solutions
  • Partnerships
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Log In Log In
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Log In

Lawyer Profile

Image of Stephen C. Reilly

Stephen C. Reilly

Fitch Law Partners LLP
  • Recognized Since:
    2016
  • Recognized in:
    Commercial Litigation
  • Lawyer Page:
    https://www.fitchlp.com/Attorn...
  • Website:
    https://www.fitchlp.com/
  • Firm's Phone Number:
    (617) 542.5542
  • E-mail:
    scr@fitchlp.com
  • Languages:
    French
  • Location:
    One Beacon Street
    Boston, MA 02108

Prior to joining Fitch Law Partners LLP in January, 1995, Steve Reilly had been with the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr, where he became a junior partner in the litigation department in 1994. Steve graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude in 1986 from Middlebury College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Since 2004, Steve has been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in an annual list published by a Thomson Reuters rating service in Boston Magazine. Only 5% of the lawyers in Massachusetts are awarded that designation.

At Fitch, Steve's practice has focused on general commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on the defense of banks and other financial institutions in tort and contract matters, the defense of electric utilities in complex liability cases, and real estate litigation. Among other clients, Steve has represented Bank of America, Fleet National Bank, the National Grid family of companies (including Massachusetts Electric Company and Granite State Electric Company), Boston Edison Company, Union Camp Chemicals, Ltd., and Walsh Construction Company.Steve has represented several different banks and financial services companies in connection with claims involving, among other things: letters of credit; bank operations and collections; commercial paper and check fraud; wire transfer fraud; safe deposit box litigation; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; the Fair Credit Reporting Act; the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and Regulation E; the Truth In Lending Act, and Regulation Z; and legal process issues, including subpoena compliance, trustee process, attachments, search warrants and restraining orders. 

By way of non-exclusive example, Steve represented the defendant bank in both the trial and appellate courts in Grassi Design Group, Inc., et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., et al., 74 Mass. App. Ct. 456, review denied, 454 Mass. 1108 (2009).  In that case, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the bank in a complex check fraud saga.  The Grassi decision is significant because it marked the first instance in which an appellate court in Massachusetts had ruled on the “same wrongdoer” rule set forth in Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) § 4-406(d)(2) -- a key defense to many check fraud claims.  The Appeals Court also made it clear that, in a check fraud case such as Grassi, the bank’s customer bears the burden of proving that the bank did not exercise “ordinary care” as that term is specifically defined in UCC § 3-103(a)(7). Steve also represented the defendant bank in both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Demelo, et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association, 727 F.3d 117 (1st Cir. 2013).  In that matter, which involved complex allegations of predatory lending and wrongful foreclosure, the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims.  The First Circuit's decision, which turned on he application of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA"), establishes binding precedent for federal courts located in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.

As a member of Fitch's admiralty and maritime practice group, Steve participated in a conference for international club correspondents in September 2013.Steve has appeared in both state and federal trial and appellate courts in Massachusetts. He has represented clients before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and in connection with investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.Steve is the author of Creating a Discovery Plan which appears as Chapter 3 of Massachusetts Discovery Practice (MCLE, Inc. 2002). Portions of that article were re-printed in a leading civil procedure textbook: Subrin, Minow, Brodin and Main, Civil Procedure: Doctrine, Practice, and Context 2nd Ed. (Aspen Publishers, 2004). Steve is also the co-author of Preparing To Take A Deposition, which appears as Chapter 3 of the Massachusetts Deposition Practice Manual, 2nd Ed., 1st Supplement (MCLE, Inc. 2008). He has lectured as a Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education faculty panelist on multiple occasions. Steve is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, and is a member of the bars of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has near native fluency in French.

  • Lawyer Bio
  • Client Comments
  • Firm Details
  • News & Media

Lawyer Bio

Prior to joining Fitch Law Partners LLP in January, 1995, Steve Reilly had been with the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr, where he became a junior partner in the litigation department in 1994. Steve graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude in 1986 from Middlebury College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Since 2004, Steve has been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in an annual list published by a Thomson Reuters rating service in Boston Magazine. Only 5% of the lawyers in Massachusetts are awarded that designation.

At Fitch, Steve's practice has focused on general commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on the defense of banks and other financial institutions in tort and contract matters, the defense of electric utilities in complex liability cases, and real estate litigation. Among other clients, Steve has represented Bank of America, Fleet National Bank, the National Grid family of companies (including Massachusetts Electric Company and Granite State Electric Company), Boston Edison Company, Union Camp Chemicals, Ltd., and Walsh Construction Company.Steve has represented several different banks and financial services companies in connection with claims involving, among other things: letters of credit; bank operations and collections; commercial paper and check fraud; wire transfer fraud; safe deposit box litigation; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; the Fair Credit Reporting Act; the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and Regulation E; the Truth In Lending Act, and Regulation Z; and legal process issues, including subpoena compliance, trustee process, attachments, search warrants and restraining orders. 

By way of non-exclusive example, Steve represented the defendant bank in both the trial and appellate courts in Grassi Design Group, Inc., et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., et al., 74 Mass. App. Ct. 456, review denied, 454 Mass. 1108 (2009).  In that case, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the bank in a complex check fraud saga.  The Grassi decision is significant because it marked the first instance in which an appellate court in Massachusetts had ruled on the “same wrongdoer” rule set forth in Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) § 4-406(d)(2) -- a key defense to many check fraud claims.  The Appeals Court also made it clear that, in a check fraud case such as Grassi, the bank’s customer bears the burden of proving that the bank did not exercise “ordinary care” as that term is specifically defined in UCC § 3-103(a)(7). Steve also represented the defendant bank in both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Demelo, et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association, 727 F.3d 117 (1st Cir. 2013).  In that matter, which involved complex allegations of predatory lending and wrongful foreclosure, the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims.  The First Circuit's decision, which turned on he application of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA"), establishes binding precedent for federal courts located in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.

As a member of Fitch's admiralty and maritime practice group, Steve participated in a conference for international club correspondents in September 2013.Steve has appeared in both state and federal trial and appellate courts in Massachusetts. He has represented clients before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and in connection with investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.Steve is the author of Creating a Discovery Plan which appears as Chapter 3 of Massachusetts Discovery Practice (MCLE, Inc. 2002). Portions of that article were re-printed in a leading civil procedure textbook: Subrin, Minow, Brodin and Main, Civil Procedure: Doctrine, Practice, and Context 2nd Ed. (Aspen Publishers, 2004). Steve is also the co-author of Preparing To Take A Deposition, which appears as Chapter 3 of the Massachusetts Deposition Practice Manual, 2nd Ed., 1st Supplement (MCLE, Inc. 2008). He has lectured as a Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education faculty panelist on multiple occasions. Steve is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, and is a member of the bars of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has near native fluency in French.

Read more on firm website
  • Education
  • Award List

Education:

  • Middlebury College, B.A. summa cum laude, graduated 1986

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Commercial Litigation
 

Lawyer Client Comments

Firm Details

Image for Fitch Law Partners LLP View Firm Profile
Fitch Law Partners LLP
https://www.fitchlp.com/
 
Headquarters
One Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 542.5542
3 Office Locations
in 1 Country

United States

United States

Massachusetts

Massachusetts

Wellesley Hills, MA

110 Cedar Street, Suite 250

Wellesley Hills, MA 02481

United States

(617) 542.5542

Get Directions

Rhode Island

Rhode Island

Providence, RI

56 Pine Street

Providence, RI 02903

United States

(401) 521.6500

Get Directions

News & Media

Featured Publications

Cover for our New England publication
 
Contact Stephen C. Reilly
If you would like this lawyer to contact you directly in regards to a legal matter, please fill in the relative information below. The lawyer will then be sent your inquiry.
* Denotes Required Fields
Error Sending Message!
Your message was sent successfully!
 
Legal Disclaimer: Any information sent to Best Lawyers® or referred to a lawyer listed in Best Lawyers® via Internet e-mail or through the Best Lawyers® Web site is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis. Communication with Best Lawyers® or an Lawyer listed in Best Lawyers® via Internet e-mail through this site does not constitute or create a lawyer-client relationship. Best Lawyers® does not necessarily endorse, and is not responsible for, any third-party content that may be accessed through this website.
Add Comment
In making your comments, please do not refer to a pending legal matter.
(*) Required Fields
There was an error during saving, please try again.
If you continue to get this message, please contact us at info@bestlawyers.com or 803.648.0300 for assistance.
Please complete the captcha then submit.
Your comment was saved successfully!
Thank you for your feedback.
  • Client Solutions
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Legal Insights
  • Contact Us
Lawyers 
  • Lawyers of the Year
  • Highlighted Lawyers
  • Nominate a Lawyer
  • Find a Lawyer
Methodology
  • Overview
  • Ones to Watch
  • Editorial Timelines
  • Practice Areas
  • Publicizing Guidelines
  • FAQ
Publications
  • Business Editions
  • Regional Editions
  • Partnerships
  • Become a Contributor
Legal Insights
  • Featured Articles
  • In the News
  • Advisory Board
  • Meet the Board
  • Press & Events
  • Best Law Firms
  • Subscribe
About
  • Global Presence
  • Founders
  • Company History
  • Leadership
  • Press Releases
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
Client Solutions
  • Specialized Research
  • Marketing Guidance
  • Log In
  • Store
Best Lawyers Best Lawyers logo +1-803-648-0300
801 Broad Street, Suite 950 Augusta, GA 30901
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Lawyer Directory
  • Best Law Firms

© 2010-2019 Best Lawyers — All Rights Reserved.

BL Icon

LEGAL INSIGHTS

by Best Lawyers®



Get the latest insights on the news, trends, and people that shape the global legal field with our weekly email digest.

Please enter a valid email address.

You have already subscribed.





PRIVACY POLICY

Thank you for subscribing.