LINDA EVANS, Associate E-mail: levans@TheEmploymentLawyers.com Linda Evans, professor emeritus of sociology, has practiced law since 1990.  As a law student, she received the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellent Achievement in Employment Discrimination Law and the Law Review Alumni Association Award for Best Student Note.  Prior to joining Rodgers, Powers & Schwartz LLP, Linda was an associate with the general practice firm, Lewis, Lewis, Clift & Ferraro in Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1997, she joined the Boston Law Office of Kevin G. Powers, concentrating in employment discrimination law. Linda has been selected as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in 2011, 2010, 2005, and 2004.   CLIENT REPRESENTATION Linda represents clients in cases filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, State Courts, the Federal District Court, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. She has served as co-secretary of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association and has been a member of the Labor and Employment sections of the Massachusetts and the Boston Bar Associations. Linda prevailed in the appeals of summary judgment decisions, in Henderson v. Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse of Braintree (race discrimination), and Cachopa v. Town of Stoughton, Goulston and Pascarelli (intentional interference with an advantageous employment relationship).  Linda, along with Kevin G. Powers and Robert Mantell, obtained the first recognition by a Massachusetts appellate court, in Cappucci v. Boston University, that an employee who reasonably believes his or her employer is engaging in racial profiling is protected by Massachusetts’ anti-discrimination statute, M.G.L. c. 151B (retaliation for opposing discrimination and intentional interference with an advantageous economic relationship).  Linda wrote the brief for the plaintiff in a case of first impression, Melody v. M.B.T.A., in which a single justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court rejected the employer’s argument that Massachusetts Rule of Civil Procedure 35 authorizes a vocational counselor to conduct a physical or mental examination of the plaintiff (disability discrimination).  Along with Elizabeth Rodgers, Linda successfully obtained the first decision in a Massachusetts state court, under M.G.L. c. 151B, allowing a claim of discrimination based on the employee’s association with an individual in a protected category to go to trial (discrimination based on pregnancy). Linda has authored or coauthored the prevailing opposition briefs in a number of summary judgment challenges, including Plante v. Hinkley, Allen & Snyder LLP (competence to sign a separation agreement with a release; Bartell v. Town of East Bridgewater and Levine (whistleblower); Francis v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (race discrimination); Mercer v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (disability, failure to accommodate, and retaliation); Gauthier v. Town of Dracut (whistleblower); Callahan v. Center for Technology Commercialization, Inc. (wrongful termination in violation of public policy); Degan v. Goldwell of New England, Inc. (disability discrimination and Family Medical Leave Act); and Scrima v. Gay and City of Somerville (1st amendment and wrongful termination). Linda prevailed with a motion filed in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding in Pennsylvania, In re: The Hyman Companies for the Court to “Abstain from Hearing [Plaintiff Ansel’s] State Law Claim” (retaliation in violation of the Massachusetts wage statute. PUBLICATIONS Linda has authored or coauthored: “Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law – G.L. c. 149. §§ 148-150,” Massachusetts Employment Law (2008, 2006, & 2003); “Non-Compete Agreements: A Proposal for Fairness and Predictability,” 2 Employee Rights Quarterly 1 (2001); “Age Discrimination in the Legal Profession,” MBA Section Report (April 2001); Annual Supplements to the Law of Corporate Groups (1993-2001); A Multi-Disciplinary View of the New Generation of Sexual Harassment Policies and Procedures (1998); and “Ellen Ash Peters and the Uniform Commercial Code,” 21 Connecticut Law Review 743 (1988). Linda’s other publications include: Aging and Public Policy (1985); The Politics of Aging (1982); Social Problems: The Contemporary Debates (1985, 1981, 1977 & 1974); Strategies Against Poverty in America (1975); and articles on aging, inequality, and federal tax reform (1978-1988). BACKGROUND Linda received her B.A. in economics and sociology from Mount Holyoke College, her M.A. and Ph.D., with highest distinction, in sociology from Boston College, and her J.D. cum laude, from the University of Connecticut School of Law. A longstanding advocate of reducing inequalities in the United States, Linda worked on the landmark Connecticut discrimination/school desegregation case, Sheff v. O’Neill, which required a state plan to reduce segregation and attendant inequalities between urban and suburban school districts. She has taught the Sociology of the Legal Profession at Boston College and sociology and criminology courses at Boston University and Northeastern University, respectively. PASSIONS/INTERESTS Linda’s passions/interests include jogging, tennis, personal training, ancient Rome, Rome today, operas, detective mysteries, sunshine, summertime, and good food.