Goodwin’s Regina Pisa and Wayne Budd have been selected as members of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame for 2024. Reserved for Massachusetts attorneys who have practiced law for at least 30 years, induction into the Hall of Fame is based on career achievements, contributions to the bar and the development of Massachusetts law, and endeavors to improve the standard of justice in Massachusetts.
Chair Emeritus of Goodwin and a partner in the firm’s Financial Services group, Pisa was the first woman to lead an Am Law 100 law firm when she was selected for the role of Chair and Managing Partner in 1998. Throughout her career, Pisa has been a trailblazing figure whose accomplishments have had a transformational impact at Goodwin and across the legal industry. Under her strategic, forward-thinking leadership mandate, Goodwin transformed from a regional law firm to a leading national firm and then a global firm.
Pisa continues to use her over 35 years of experience to advise clients in the financial services industry and represent well-known banks and investment companies. She is a former director of Citizens Financial Group, and her merger and acquisition work with financial institutions has earned her and the firm a place among the nation’s top bank M&A practices. A highly respected writer, speaker, and thought leader in the profession, former Governor Paul Cellucci appointed Pisa to be a member of the Supreme Judicial Court Nominating Committee, where she selected justices to sit on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Beyond her professional excellence, Pisa is widely regarded as a pioneer in advancing opportunities for women in the legal, business, and academic communities. Understanding early in her career the benefits for organizations and industries that leverage women’s leadership, she has utilized her platform to facilitate mentorship, business development training, and work/life balance for women at Goodwin and in the legal industry.
Having previously served as a partner at Goodwin, Budd is senior counsel in the firm’s Litigation group and a diversity, equity and inclusion champion in the legal and business communities. He has held a series of high-ranking positions both in the public and private sectors through which he has broken down barriers and opened doors for diverse professionals. Prior to rejoining Goodwin in 2004, Budd was Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel at John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., and previously served as Group President – New England of the Bell Atlantic Corporation (now Verizon Communications).
Before entering the private sector, Budd was Associate Attorney General of the United States, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, where he oversaw the Civil Rights, Environmental, Tax, Civil and Antitrust divisions at the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons. He was the first Black lawyer to serve as a US Attorney for a New England state (Massachusetts), and he also served as a member of the US Sentencing Commission, to which he was appointed by President Bill Clinton. Among other leadership positions, Budd served as President of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and he was the first Black attorney to lead a state bar association when he became President of the Massachusetts Bar in 1979.
Due to Budd’s lasting impact on the advancement of diversity in the legal industry, Goodwin established the Wayne A. Budd Diversity Scholarship in 2017 as part of the firm’s 1L Diversity Fellowship program. Named in honor of Budd, the scholarship offered meaningful opportunities to talented law students who have successfully overcome challenges in the pursuit of their legal careers.