Boyle has stated that he "was born Irish", and does not consider himself to be a "White North American".[3] He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Chicago in 1971.[4] He earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976 and Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Harvard University in 1983.[4] Boyle practiced tax and international tax law with Bingham, Dana & Gould.[2]