About Patricia M.
Patricia M. Flannery earned a B.A. in political science from Boston College in 1979 and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1988. Her academic path combined traditional classroom study with practical exposure to trial work, a pattern that would mark the early years of her legal career.
While still in law school she worked in several courtroom environments. She served as a law clerk to Judge Lawrence D. Shubow at the Brookline District Court in 1986. In 1987 she held internships at Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and at the Boston firm Sherin & Lodgen. During her final year of law school she was a 3:03 student practitioner for the Committee for Public Counsel Students. Those positions placed her in both public-interest settings and private practice, giving her direct experience with client representation and courtroom procedure.
She entered private practice in 1988 and has been associated with Thornton Law Office LLP since that time. Records show her role as a practicing lawyer beginning in 1988 at that firm. Over the years she has maintained admissions to practice in Massachusetts and to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Her early work at the district court level and her student-practitioner role indicate a grounding in trial practice and in handling client matters under court supervision.
Colleagues and public records reflect steady involvement in the legal community. She became involved in professional associations beginning in 1988 and has maintained membership since then. That continuity suggests long-term engagement with the bar and with the professional networks that support courtroom practice. Her mix of public and private sector experience gives her a perspective that crosses different types of client needs and court settings.
Today she continues her practice at Thornton Law Office LLP. She has worked in both trial and appellate contexts, appearing in Massachusetts courts and before the First Circuit. Her career shows a progression from clerking and internships into sustained practice at a single firm. Her current practice concentrates on cases arising in Massachusetts and matters that reach the federal appellate level.
