MBF to Honor Harvey Weiner, Esq. with 2025 President’s Award at Eastern MA Reception
The Massachusetts Bar Foundation (MBF) President’s Award honors those who exemplify the Foundation’s commitment to advancing equal access to justice. 2025 award recipient Harvey Weiner, Esq. will be recognized this fall for his steadfast participation in the access to justice community and dedication to pro bono service. Weiner will receive the award at the MBF’s Eastern MA Grantee Reception on October 16 at the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Weiner, Senior Counsel at Peabody & Arnold, has devoted more than five decades to both his legal career and his community. A graduate of Harvard College, Columbia Law School and the London School of Economics, he joined the firm in 1970 and served as a partner from 1976 to 2017.
Weiner’s wide-ranging civil litigation practice has spanned professional liability, insurance, employment, and business matters. He has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels and has appeared before the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers. He also has significant experience in arbitration and mediation, including certification as a mediator with a focus on veterans.
For over 25 years, Weiner has been a tireless supporter of veteran’s legal needs. “Once I became an MBF Fellow, I realized that the veterans’ community was legally underserved and vowed to help pro bono,” he said. Weiner did just that. His involvement in the veterans’ community includes championing Veterans Legal Services, initiating a “Wills for Veterans” program, mentoring veteran law students, and joining the leadership team of Veterans Mediation, where he helps train veterans in conflict resolution.
Weiner currently serves on the Committee on Admission and Practice for the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the leadership committee of the Boston Bar Association’s Veterans and Servicemembers Forum. He recently finished a term as Chair of the National Veteran and Military Law Section of the Federal Bar Association.
A Vietnam veteran himself, Weiner also credits his own military service for inspiring his many years of advocacy. “This is somewhat in response to the lack of support my wife and I felt when I was in and returned from Vietnam,” said Weiner.
Weiner’s passion for justice extends far beyond veterans’ issues. Early in life, he witnessed inequities that shaped his commitment to underserved communities.
“When I was a rising college junior in 1962, I went on a cross-country summer road-trip,” he recalled. “At Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, I came across a small cement single-spigot drinking fountain. On one side of the fountain, it said ‘white’ and had a large stone step to step on. On the other side of the same water fountain, it said ‘negro’ and there was not a stone step to stand on. I never forgot this, became active politically, and went on the 1963 March on Washington with the NAACP.”
Weiner’s commitment to social justice extended through law school where he helped to represent indigent clients through the New York Legal Aid Society. After law school, he worked in Spanish Harlem for Mobilization for Youth Legal Services, part of President Lyndon Johnson’s anti-poverty initiative. Weiner provided mobile legal services for those who could not otherwise afford them.
His involvement with the MBF has been another cornerstone of his service. A longtime Fellow of the Foundation, he was on the MBF board for eleven years, holding the offices of Treasurer, Vice President, and President. “A great benefit of being involved with the MBF is the great people I have met – staff, trustees, officers, fellows, and grantees; the latter of whom, unlike myself, are really the ones in the trenches on a daily basis to help equalize the administration of justice.”
Now 83, Weiner remains actively engaged in the legal community. He views this award not just as personal recognition, but also as a call to action for his peers. “I feel so lucky to have been able to do much of this in my 70s and early 80s. To receive this award now, I hope will help motivate other attorneys of a similar age to do more than just the four Gs – golfing, gardening, grandparenting, and going to the doctor. Senior attorneys, who have both time and expertise, can still help to repair the world!”
The MBF is proud to honor Harvey Weiner for his exceptional public service and unwavering commitment to our philanthropic community. Join us in celebrating his contributions to expanding access to justice on October 16.