Growing up, Attorney Amelia J. Holstrom watched her parents, who were both members of management at different companies, make difficult decisions that involved employees. When she decided to go to law school, Amelia knew that she wanted to be involved in litigation, but she wasn’t sure exactly what type of litigation. In her second year, she took a labor law class, which has helped shape the course of her career ever since. The class reminded Amelia about the difficulties businesses and members of management face when making decisions about employees and the laws that impact those decisions. Now, her practice focuses on litigation avoidance, employment litigation, and labor law and relations. Amelia has developed a practice in which she prides herself on helping her clients make difficult employment decisions within their legal obligations in an effort to help them limit legal liability. And, when someone does file a lawsuit against one of her clients, she is an experienced litigator prepared to defend her client. When people think about businesses, they tend to forget they are run by ordinary individuals who have to make difficult decisions on a daily basis.

Sometimes those decisions involve employees. My goal is to help my clients avoid legal liability. As part of that process, I advise them on what the law requires and help them avoid any missteps. Litigation can be a burdensome, time consuming, and contentious process. While I am always prepared to handle litigation on behalf of my clients, I prefer that an issue never gets that far. It is in my clients’ best interests to handle the situation appropriately from the beginning and avoid the lawsuit all together.

Amelia’s legal and professional skills and community involvement have been recognized many times by outside organizations. She was selected by BusinessWest as a 40 Under Forty honoree. She was also awarded the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Community Service Award and named as an Up & Coming Lawyer Honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for its Excellence in the Law Event. Amelia currently serves as a board member for Clinical and Support Options, Inc. and served on the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts board for six years, and is now a member of its development committee. She is also an ad hoc member of the Personnel Committee for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and was formerly on the Board of Directors for Friends of the Homeless, where she served as the clerk. For four years (2018–2021), Super Lawyers named her to its Rising Stars list, an exclusive honor recognizing no more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in Massachusetts.