About Paul J. Toland, Esq.

Founder and Managing Attorney

Paul J. Toland is the founder and managing attorney of Toland Law, LLC, a Boston law firm concentrating in immigration law and criminal defense. He has been an active practicing attorney in Massachusetts since 2012, and he has built the firm around a single conviction: immigrants and people accused of crimes deserve an advocate who knows both systems, because in Massachusetts those two systems collide every day.

A personal connection to the work

Paul was raised by a Colombian mother and an American father. Growing up in a bilingual, bicultural household gave him a deep understanding of the immigrant experience at a young age, along with a genuine love for this country and what it offers people who come here to build a life. That upbringing is why Toland Law exists in its current form. Paul’s mission is to help as many immigrants as possible succeed in their journey to the United States, whether that means defending their rights before the Immigration Court, USCIS, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the federal courts, or U.S. consulates abroad.

Trial experience that started on the other side

Paul began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney at the Worcester District Attorney’s Office, where he served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for roughly three years and completed more than 100 trials. Prosecuting cases taught him how the government builds a case: what evidence prosecutors rely on, where their cases are weakest, and how charging decisions actually get made.

That experience now works for the defense. After leaving the DA’s office, Paul joined two private law firms, defending clients in the District and Superior Courts on a wide range of criminal charges while building his immigration practice. Today he brings a former prosecutor’s eye to every criminal case Toland Law handles, from OUI and drug charges to the most serious felony allegations.

Where criminal defense meets immigration law

For a non-citizen, a criminal case is never just a criminal case. A conviction that a citizen might absorb as a setback can mean deportation, permanent inadmissibility, or a destroyed application for status. Paul is one of the few Massachusetts attorneys who practices seriously on both sides of that line, and it shows in the firm’s results: he has vacated dozens of criminal convictions for immigrant clients, protecting them from deportation and clearing the way to legal status in the United States.

This dual perspective changes how cases get handled from day one. Before any plea is considered in a criminal matter, Paul evaluates the immigration consequences. Before any immigration application is filed, he screens for criminal history issues that could sink it. Clients get one coordinated strategy instead of two attorneys working blind to each other’s cases.

Education and admissions

Paul graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in political science, where he also pursued his lifelong passion for baseball. He earned his law degree from the Massachusetts School of Law in Andover in 2012 and passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam that same year.

He is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and admitted to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

• Massachusetts School of Law, J.D., 2012
• University of Rochester, B.A., Political Science
• Massachusetts Bar
• U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

An award-winning practice built on client trust

Toland Law has grown into one of Massachusetts’ most trusted immigration and criminal defense firms, with more than 440 Google reviews and a 4.9 star rating from the clients the firm has served. Paul leads a team that includes attorneys Juan C. Congote and Abrafi Osei-Kofi, whose own immigrant backgrounds from Colombia and Ghana mirror the clients the firm serves.

Clients who work with Paul describe the same experience: direct answers, honest assessments, and a lawyer who is reachable when it matters. He built the firm to be a place where people facing the most frightening moments of their lives, an arrest, a detained family member, a deportation notice, can get frank, practical advice in a language they understand.

Talk to Paul’s team today

If you are facing criminal charges in Massachusetts, dealing with an immigration problem, or both at once, contact Toland Law for a free consultation. Call (857) 347-3701 or reach us through our contact page. Hablamos Español.