By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Second Assistant House Majority Leader Rep. Garrett Bradley, a senior member of House Speaker Robert DeLeo's leadership team, will resign from the Legislature at the end of July to take a "more senior role" at his Boston law firm, the Hingham Democrat confirmed Monday afternoon.

Bradley intends to remain in the House through the close of formal sessions on July 31 before stepping down. His decision will open up a South Shore House seat, one that he's held for nearly 16 years, about a month before primaries are scheduled to take place.

"I would never not put one hundred percent into this job and I can see over the balance of this year and into the coming years I wouldn't have the time to do this job the way it should be done. It's bittersweet for me," Bradley told the News Service.

The coastal district Bradley represents covers Cohasset, Hull, five Hingham precincts and one precinct in Scituate.

His intention to resign was first reported Monday afternoon by the Boston Globe. Bradley said a "great opportunity" at Thornton Law Firm, where he is an attorney, presented itself within the past six weeks and would require extensive travel out of the state and the country.

On the firm's website, Bradley, a Boston College Law School graduate, lists his practice areas as complex financial fraud, whistleblower litigation and class action litigation.

Prior to his announcement, Bradley planned to seek a ninth term to the Third Plymouth District seat. He is the only candidate on the ballot from either party, according to the Secretary of State's office.

A spokesman for elections overseer Secretary of State William Galvin said June 8 was the deadline for candidates to withdraw their names from the Sept. 8 primary ballot. Other potential candidates for the seat can mount write-in primary campaigns. If Bradley wins the Democratic primary, he would have until Sept. 13 to withdraw his name from the general election ballot. An executive committee formed by the Democratic State Committee would then have the option to nominate a replacement candidate by Wednesday, Sept. 14.

In a press release, Bradley, whose wife Heather Bradley is a district court judge, cited a desire to spend more time with his three children, including his older daughter who is applying to attend college.

"I have made this difficult decision to leave this job that I truly love," Bradley wrote in the press release. "I do so hoping never to close the door on a future opportunity to serve the people of this great state."

[Michael Norton contributed reporting]