Overview & Experience
J. Michael Conley, one of the founders of Kenney & Conley, P.C., has dedicated his practice to representing injured victims of negligence and other misconduct, and advancing the rights of Massachusetts injury victims and their families.
Kenney & Conley distinguishes itself from other personal injury law firms in four important areas:
- Complex case expertise. The firm actively takes on difficult, expensive, and complicated cases that smaller or less specialized firms avoid, frequently acting as problem solvers for other attorneys and referring attorneys.
- Proactive advocacy. In an effort to advance victims’ rights, Michael has written or co-authored more than twenty amicus briefs. This extensive volunteer work is aimed at improving tort law for all injured parties. He has coined the phrase, “Helping you before you needed us.”
- Human-centric philosophy. Prioritizing the well-being of families over financial recovery, Michael is careful to manage his cases to avoid adding further unnecessary emotional trauma to victims and surviving family members.
- Legal trailblazers. The firm is known for shaping Massachusetts law.
- The Firefighter’s Rule was overturned, which allows public safety workers to sue negligent third parties.
- The Rescue Doctrine. This was established to hold a party liable for creating a danger to a rescuer who is injured while attempting to help.
- The Natural Accumulation Rule. Michael authored this amicus brief for the Papadopoulos case, which changed the law regarding snow and ice.
Michael is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Martindale-Hubbell recognizes him as an AV® rated attorney, the highest such rating available to any individual lawyer for legal ability and integrity.
He is a frequent writer and lecturer for several organizations, including the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (for which he serves on the Civil Litigation Curriculum Advisory Committee), and the Massachusetts Bar Association. He has volunteered his time to teach or update other lawyers on topics such as automobile liability insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorists’ coverage, premises liability, police and firefighter injuries, trial practice, and the settlement of personal injury cases.
In addition to teaching, Michael attends annual seminars to remain current on the law and the most advanced trial techniques and approaches. He is the Past President of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys (MATA), having served as its President from 2013 to 2014. Before assuming the Presidency, he chaired the Academy’s volunteer 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 served as Editor of the MATA Journal.
Michael is one of many MATA trial lawyers who have demonstrated commitment to community safety by participating with EndDD.org (End Distracted Driving) in bringing Distracted Driving presentations to Massachusetts high school students and other groups.
Michael is also a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, for which he is a member of the MBA’s Appellate Bench Bar Committee and is a member of the MBA’s Civil Litigation Section. He 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, as well as the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (“RSD”) Litigation Group.
Michael grew up and attended school in Cambridge and Newton, Massachusetts. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from 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 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.
Michael has also been 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.
Admission Details
- 1982, Massachusetts
Education
- Law School: Suffolk University, Class of 1982, J.D.
- University: George Washington University, Class of 1978, B.A. Political Science
Associations & Memberships
- American Association for Justice
- Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys
- Massachusetts Bar Association
Honors & Awards
- Fellowship at American College of Trial Lawyers (Fellowship is extended only by invitation, after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality)
- AV Preeminent® Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings (The highest possible rating for an attorney for both ethical standards and legal ability — achieved only after an attorney has been reviewed and recommended by their peers – members of the bar and the judiciary)
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2015 Edition to Present in the practice areas of Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiffs
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 (Membership is extended solely to the select few of the most qualified attorneys from each state who demonstrate superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence, stature and public profile)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers Top 100 (Each year, Super Lawyers recognizes the top lawyers in Massachusetts. These attorneys are selected via peer nomination, independent research and peer evaluation. Those Massachusetts lawyers who receive the highest point totals during the nomination, research and peer review process are further recognized in Massachusetts Super Lawyers Top Lists.)
- Top Attorneys of New England as published in New England Super Lawyers
- Top 100 Attorneys in Massachusetts as published in Boston Magazine
- Best Attorneys in Massachusetts as published in Best Lawyers®
- Recognized by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, as a Top Rated Lawyer in Personal Injury Law and a Top Rated Lawyer in Insurance Law
- Best Lawyers 2020 Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year
- Best Lawyers 2016 Insurance Lawyer of the Year