9/09/03—Boston College Law School is pleased to announce that Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly (JD ’70) will speak at the school on September 30, 2003. The subject of the Attorney General’s discussion will be his report on the clergy sexual abuse scandal, released in July (read report).

“We’re very glad to have Tom Reilly back at Boston College Law School,” said BC Law Dean John H. Garvey. “He has had a tremendously successful legal career and has served the Commonwealth well, fighting in particular for the rights and protection of children. He is a role model for law students who are preparing to serve the public interest.”

A.G. Reilly’s July report did not find enough irrefutable evidence for criminal charges against church officials, but outlined exactly what was uncovered during the comprehensive, 16-month investigation by his office and by a grand jury he convened to study the abuse scandal. The report also suggested changes that should be put into place to prevent future abuse.

Since taking office in January 1999 as the state’s 43rd attorney general, Tom Reilly has worked diligently to promote public safety and security and to protect the state’s consumers. He has fought on behalf of the public interest in the areas of energy, education and school safety, health care, high-tech, environmental protection, civil rights, and issues affecting women and the state’s seniors.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Attorney General Reilly quickly committed the resources of his office to the protection and safety of Massachusetts citizens. He has taken a leadership role in coordinating all levels of law enforcement in the state and pledged to do all he could to ensure that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force would succeed here. Attorney General Reilly also has proposed new laws that would give law enforcement officials the tools they need to protect the public from the new and different threats.
Attorney General Reilly has been a consistent voice for the need for reform in the state’s health care system. When the state’s largest HMO, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, encountered financial difficulty, Attorney General Reilly moved swiftly to maintain coverage and care for the plan’s more than one million members and ensured payments to health care providers, while moving to allow Harvard Pilgrim to re-enter the state’s competitive health care market. He also has been a statewide leader on energy issues, fighting to ensure that promises for Massachusetts consumers under the state’s deregulation law are realized.

Attorney General Reilly graduated from American International College in 1964 and Boston College Law School in 1970. He was elected Attorney General on November 4, 1998. He and his wife Ruth have three daughters and four granddaughters.

Reilly will speak in the Law School’s East Wing building, room 115, beginning at 3:30 p.m.