Lawyer Overview

J. Michael Conley, one of the founders of Kenney & Conley, P.C., has dedicated his professional career to advancing the rights of Massachusetts injury victims and their families. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Michael grew up and attended school in Cambridge and Newton, Massachusetts.  He received his Bachelors degree in Political Science from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he played baseball for four years.  Thereafter, Michael graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School, where he served as a writer and Literary Editor of the Law Review.  In 1982 he joined the firm of Murphy, Lamere & Murphy in Braintree, Massachusetts, where he practiced in the areas of municipal labor law, employment law and civil litigation. 

In 1985 Michael helped found Kenney, Conley, Sullivan & Smith, P.C. to pursue his interest in civil litigation and trial work on behalf of individuals rather than corporations and government institutions. 

At Kenney & Conley, P.C., Michael concentrates his practice on representing injured victims of negligence and other misconduct.  He is a frequent writer and lecturer for a number of organizations, including the Massachusetts Bar Association, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. and the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.  He has volunteered his time in educational programs to teach or update other lawyers on topics such as automobile liability insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorists' coverage, police and firefighter injuries, trial practice, and settlement of personal injury cases.  Michael has served as an arbitrator in personal injury cases and insurance coverage cases, and frequently volunteers to judge students in trial practice and moot court competitions.

Michael is a member of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee for the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys. He chairs the Academy's Amicus Curiae Committee which prepares and files with the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court "friend of the court" briefs supporting victims' rights. He also serves as Editor of the MATA Journal. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association for which he serves on MBA's Appellate Bench Bar Committee and is a member of MBA's Civil Litigation Section. Michael is also a member of the American Association for Justice, and is a member of AAJ's Products Liability Section, Insurance Law Section, Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section.

Michael is also active at home in Easton, Massachusetts. He has been a volunteer coach in youth recreational and travel baseball and recreational and travel basketball. He has provided pro bono legal services to various local non-profit organizations. He is a past President of Easton Babe Ruth League and a past Chair of The Foundation for Excellence in Education in Easton (F.E.E.E.), a non-profit organization that raises funds for the benefit of the students in the Easton Public Schools.

Areas of Practice

• Commercial Insurance Law
• Motor Vehicle Insurance Law
• Litigation & Appeals
• Personal Injury -- Plaintiff
• Animal Bites -- Plaintiff
• Assault & Battery -- Plaintiff
• Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff
• Premises Liability -- Plaintiff
• Railroad Accidents - Plaintiff
• Slip and Fall - Plaintiff
• Wrongful Death - Plaintiff
• Products Liability Law

Representative Cases

• Hopkins v. Medeiros, 48 Mass. App. Ct. 600 (Appeals Court 2000)
• Roe v. Lawn, 418 Mass. 66 (Supreme Judicial Court 1994)
• Howcroft v. City of Peabody, 51 Mass. App. Ct. 57 (Appeals Court 2001)
• MacLean v. Hingham Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 51 Mass. App. Ct. 87 (Appeals Court 2001)
• Preferred Mut. Ins. Co. v. Gamache, 426 Mass. 93 (Supreme Judicial Court 1997)
• UTICA Mut. Ins. Co. v. Fontneau, 70 Mass. App. Ct. 553 (Appeals Court 2007)

West Practice Categories

Commercial Insurance, Motor Vehicle, Federal Trial Practice, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Animal Bites -- Plaintiff, Assault & Battery -- Plaintiff, Defamation & Privacy -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff, Premises Liability -- Plaintiff, Railroad Accidents -- Plaintiff, Slip and Fall -- Plaintiff, Wrongful Death -- Plaintiff, Products Liability Law, Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Machinery & Tools, Recreational Products

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts, 1982
• U.S. District Court, 1982

Professional Associations and Memberships

• American College of Trial Lawyers (Fellow)
• Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys (Governor, Amicus Curia Chair, Journal Editor)
• Massachusetts Bar Association (Chair Appellate Bench - Bar Committee)
• American Association for Justice (Section Memberships: Insurance, Products Liability, Automobile)

Honors and Awards

• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, 2005
• Selected for publication in Massachusetts Super Lawyers 2007, 2008 and 2009

Classes and Seminars

• Litigation Liability Insurance Claims -- Claimants' Perspective, MCLE 2006, 2008, 2009
• Handling Construction Site Injury Cases: From Intake to Trial, MATA Webinar, October 2009
• Automobile Insurance Update, MCLE, 1993 - 2009
• Plaintiff's View - Presentation and Mock Arbitration of Low Impact/Traumatic Brain Injury Case, Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers, 2006
• Settling Personal Injury Cases, MATA, 2004
• 2004 Auto Seminar "Expanding Your Horizons" Recent Developments in Auto Insurance Law, MATA, 2004
• Winning Through Settlement - Bodily Injury Claims, MCLE, 2002
• Personal Injury Law Update, MATA, 2003
• How to Settle Personal Injury Cases, MCLE, 1996 - 1999
• Handling Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Cases, MBA, 2000 - 2005
• Police and Fire Injury Claims, MBA
• Civil Litigation Law - Taking it to the Limit: Contact with Opponent's Current and Former Employees, MBA, 2005

Education

• Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, 1982
  J.D.
  Honors: cum laude
  
  Law Review: Suffolk University Law Review, 1980 - 1982
• The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 1978
  B.A.
  Major: Political Science

Published Works

• 'Tis the Season: A snow-and-ice case primer, MATA Journal, December 2007
• Editor's Note on Non-delegable Duties in Construction Litigation, MATA Journal, February, 2007
• Homeowner's Insurance Coverage for Vehicle-related Injuries, MATA Journal, Spring, 2004
• Valuation and Settlement of Bodily Injury Cases (Chapter of "Winning Through Settlement" co-authored with Peter M. McElroy, Esq.), MCLE, 2001
• The Demise of Thaler and the Search for Secondary Coverage, MBA, 1999
• Homeowner's Insurance and Motor Vehicle Accidents, MBA, 1999
• Recent Developments Affecting Auto Liability Insurance Coverage, MCLE, 2007
• Recent Developments Affecting Auto Liability Insurance Coverage 2003 - 2004, MCLE
• Representing Injured Public Safety Personnel - Massachusetts Police and Firefighter Injury Overview, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys Journal, Fall 2008
• Insurance Coverage Litigation Issues from the Claimant's Perspective, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. 2006
• Afarian Brief offers comments on Statute of Repose, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys Journal, Autumn 2007
• Other uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage issues of note, Prepared for Massuchusetts Bar Institute Continuing Legal Education, 2000

Address

100 Grandview Road
128 South Bldg.
Suite 218
Braintree, MA 02184-2686

Phones

(781) 767-7353
(866) 433-9758 (Toll Free)

Faxes

(781) 843-4216

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.kenneyconley.com