Our Legal Team

Attorneys Carolyn Hunt and Jill Havens met 15+ years ago while attending Northeastern School of Law.  They were both involved in social justice causes in law school and both graduated with a desire to help people and fight for worker’s rights.  After over a decade working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Carolyn finally joined Jill’s law practice – the Law Office of Jill Havens –  in 2022 to form a new law firm focused on securing justice for workers. And thus was the Workplace Justice Law Group formed.

With a combined 25+ years of experience, attorneys Carolyn Hunt and Jill Havens have the knowledge, skill and experience to tackle all manner of employment law claims on behalf of employees (and former employees).  We work with clients in regards to unemployment issues, discrimination cases, sexual harassment cases, wage and hour claims, whistleblower claims, retaliation cases, severance agreement reviews, negotiating exit strategies from work, independent contractor misclassification issues, FMLA and Mass PFML and other leaves of absence, negotiating employment contracts, ADA and workplace accommodations, and wrongful termination.

We are not only knowledgeable attorneys in all areas of employment law and labor law – we have something that no other law firm has….. two attorneys who both worked within the Massachusetts Unemployment system.  Because we both worked as lawyers for the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), we know the unemployment system inside and out. Our unique experience and knowledge of unemployment issues in Massachusetts sets us apart from other employment lawyers. We have a proven record of securing thousands of dollars in benefits for hundreds of clients, by representing claimants in unemployment hearings, and sometimes via only an hour or two of a strategy session with one of us. 

We serve clients in every corner of Massachusetts – from Berkshire County to Worcester County to Barnstable County and everywhere in between.

Jill Havens, Esq.
Partner
jill@workplacejusticelaw.com
(617) 870-3737

Attorney Jill Havens is a founding partner of Workplace Justice Law Group. Attorney Havens has been working for workers rights for decades, beginning with her work organizing and unionizing graduate student employees in the 1990s, and most recently as a solo practitioner running the Law Office of Jill Havens, where she specialized in employment law and labor law, including unemployment issues. Attorney Havens has served in many roles as an employee advocate even before going to law school – working for labor unions for over a decade. She has also worked on behalf of worker rights as a lawyer in public and private practice. She was a staff attorney at the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assitance’s Board of Review, gaining valuable insights into the process and logic behind successful unemployment appeals, which she has shared with countless clients during her ten+ years as an lawyer helping clients win their unemployment appeals. 

 

She has taught attorneys-in-training as an Adjunct Professor at Northeastern University School of Law’s poverty law clinic. Attorney Havens has also presented several continuing legal education classes on the topic of unemployment insurance for Massachusetts lawyers, and presented webinars for Massachusetts employees concerning unemployment insurance issues during the pandemic. She serves as a consultant and advisor for the Mass. Volunteer Lawyers Project on unemployment and employment law issues

 

Attorney Havens has a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law and is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts.  She also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology/Anthropology from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. She currently is a board member of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association (“MELA”) and is the chair of MELA’s unemployment committee.

Carolyn Hunt, Esq.
Partner
carolyn@workplacejusticelaw.com
(857) 600-0446

Attorney Carolyn Hunt is a founding partner of Workplace Justice Law Group LLC.  She is a Massachusetts employment law attorney and litigator. Attorney Hunt represents clients in many types of employment law situations and matters, specializing in unemployment benefits. She also works with clients on workplace discrimination issues, leave requests and denials, whistleblower claims, retaliation claims, and wage and hour matters. She also assists clients with severance negotiations and reviews employment contracts and severance agreements.

She has deep expertise with Massachusetts unemployment claims and issues. Attorney Hunt worked for 11 years in different roles for the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, most recently as an Assistant Chief Counsel in DUA’s Legal Department for seven years. She also worked as an adjudicator in the Determinations Department, as a hearing officer in the Hearings Department, and as a staff attorney at the Board of Review. She has seen virtually every type of unemployment situation that exists at each level of the process and has argued hundreds of unemployment cases in the Massachusetts District Courts. She is now happily using her knowledge of unemployment law and familiarity with the DUA to help our clients navigate the unemployment system and understand its requirements so that they can avoid costly mistakes and frustrating delays and get the unemployment benefits they need and deserve. 

Attorney Hunt graduated from Northeastern University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree. She also holds a Masters Degree in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University in International Relations. She is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and New York.