In a case for a young and public-spirited Native American driver near Petoskey in 2005, he and his client tracked down and presented two bystander witnesses. District Court Judge Richard May listened, and found there was no cause for the officer to pull the vehicle over. The case was over, and his bond returned. The defendant's grateful step-father wrote a letter to the editor of the Petoskey newspaper.

In Charter Township of Ypsilanti v General Motors, General Motors said it would begin production of the Chevrolet Caprice at its Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti Township located in Washtenaw County. GM said the new car would generate jobs. It asked the township for 12-year 50% personal property tax abatements in 1984 and 1988. Then in 1991 the company announced it was moving the work to Texas. The township and the county sued for breach of promise. After trial the court ordered the company not to move the work. Residents were elated, but GM appealed. Acting both as local counsel and as a community organizer, Boal helped stitch together a coalition of 356 unions, community organizations, and individuals in ten states to file a brief on appeal as friends of the court. Ultimately the case lost. The Michigan court of appeals found GM never really made a promise. The company had only expressed "hopes and expectations." The ruling taught everyone a lesson. It motivated Boal's later participation in This Is Our Town, which kept Wal-Mart out of Charlevoix in 2004 without having to go to court.