5 Female Legal Leaders In Boston to Follow

As of April 2023, women make up 55% of the American workforce. In every industry imaginable, women are making strides and achieving amazing goals in their chosen field — from sports to pharmaceuticals. And the legal industry is no different!

In Boston, female lawyers are achieving excellence and making their mark. From data privacy experts to juice bar owners-turned GCs, here is a list of female legal leaders you need to know about. 

Danielle Sheer, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Commvault

In the decade-plus, since she began practicing law, Danielle Sheer has made massive waves. From leading IPOs to managing M&As, Sheer’s career has spanned the gamut of legal experience.

And she has the accolades to show for it. Named to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40” list of emerging business leaders, Modern Counsel’s “35 Under 35,” and “Maverick of the Year” Stevie award for Women in Business - she’s had quite a few years. 

In addition to serving on the steering committee for TechGC, Sheer is flexing her muscles as data privacy and compliance mastermind who solves complex data privacy and compliance issues. You're missing out if you’re not already following her on LinkedIn.

Heather Stevenson, General Counsel at Red Cell Partners

Most lawyers follow a standard path in their journey to becoming a GC: Cut your teeth as an associate at a law firm for a few years then move in-house to begin the climb to GC. But Heather Stevenson took a hard left mid-way down that path. 

After working as an associate, she left her law firm to open a juice bar. She ran her own business in an unlikely field and loved every minute of it, finally making her way in-house five years later at Boston Globe Media. 

Earlier this year, she was featured in a book, Women in Law, in which she discussed her non-traditional path in the field and challenges the idea that there is only one way to be successful. She shares some of those ideas with her audience on LinkedIn, so follow her for more insights.

Virginia H. Johnson, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Aspen Aerogels

Virginia Johnson has over two decades of legal experience under her belt. Like most other lawyers, she cut her teeth in Big Law in the early 2000s and moved from New York City to Boston where she wasted no time making an impact.

Her “broad-based corporate experience” covers litigation, privacy, and almost everything in between in an assortment of industries: financial institutions, insurance companies, and currently, the energy sector.

It’s clear that feminism is important to her. In addition to being a mentor at the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, Johnson is part of Chief, a network of powerful female executives, and posts to her 2,500+ LinkedIn followers about International Women’s Day (#IWD), and the gender pay gap. 

Madhavi Seth, Corporate Counsel (Privacy, Security, and Risk) at HubSpot

Though Madhavi is based in Chicago, IL, we included her because her employer, HubSpot, is based in Boston. If you’re looking for a well-published and highly-regarded data privacy law expert, follow Madhavi on LinkedIn.

Her expertise in data protection practices shines through her publications in Illinois Bar Journal and American Bar Association’s Landslide Magazine. She shares these with her followers, as well as posts and articles about technology and litigation.

She is an active member of the South Asian Bar Association where she serves as the co-vice president of public relations, and was recently celebrated as their lawyer of the month. 

Meg Cavanaugh, Associate General Counsel at Commvault

Simplifying complex legal processes is no walk in the park. Changing processes that have been entrenched for decades requires uncommon patience and incredibly savvy. This is why you need to know Meg Cavanaugh. 

Cavanaugh has a passion for innovating the legal industry. Her primary avenue? Rewriting the historically dense Terms of Service so that it’s understood by non-lawyers. In her work with Commvault, she leads the commercial legal team and makes deals move faster by streamlining sales agreements. 

Cavanaugh was recently featured in Vanguard Mag, where she talked about this process and gave a lovely shoutout to LinkSquares.

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