Lon Povich

A trusted advisor to government officials, boards of directors, and senior management, Lon has extensive experience practicing law in both the public and private sectors. Lon’s past experience as Chief Legal Counsel to  Governor Charlie Baker and Deputy Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Weld, as well as General Counsel roles at both Fortune 250 retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club and a global strategy consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, and as a stint as a former federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in Boston provide him with a unique perspective on how to approach difficult legal challenges that his clients face. Lon’s current practice is focused on matters involving state and local governments, litigation, and internal investigations.

While in the Baker administration Lon was a senior advisor to the Governor on legal, policy, and operational matters related to all aspects of Massachusetts state government. He led the Governor’s team dealing with issues relating to criminal justice reform; and was the primary liaison to the judiciary, to the Attorney General’s office and the other Constitutional Officers, and to legal teams in the Commonwealth’s secretariates and independent agencies. Lon assisted Governor Baker in more than 130 judicial appointments, including five of the seven seats on the Supreme Judicial Court. After he left the Governor’s Office in 2019, Lon returned to state service in 2020 to serve as General Counsel of the COVID Command Center.

Lon is active in the community, in addition to MassINC, he currently serves on the boards of UTEC (an entity serving criminally involved youth), the Massachusetts Court Management Advisory Board, and the Jewish Community Relations Council. Earlier in his career, he spent eight years as a director of MassHousing, the state’s low-income housing finance agency, and another five years on the Governor’s Judicial Nominating Commission, nominated first by Governor Mitt Romney and re-nominated by Governor Deval Patrick. Lon has also served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Food Bank and Greater Boston Legal Services, been elected a member of the Council of the Boston Bar Association, and been involved in a number of local organizations in Wellesley, MA where he lives with his wife Ilissa, and their dog Archie.

Lon graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.