Significant Matters

Business, Commercial and 93A Litigation 

• Representation of defendants and plaintiffs, in numerous summary judgment hearings, trials and appeals.
• Successfully overturned on appeal on behalf of defendant a multi-million dollar 93A judgment where the 93A claim failed to satisfy a technical 93A requirement.
• Defended a business seller against claims of misrepresenting the value of the assets being sold, but obtained a favorable settlement after defeating a preliminary attachment motion by the buyer.
• Defended a major Boston area real estate developer against $50 million in claims of creditors and successfully steered creditors’ efforts to attach property away from the developer’s liquid assets resulting in a favorable settlement.
• Obtained dismissal of a suit by a business buyer against the seller where the buyer claimed misrepresentation and nondisclosure but fabricated future lost profits evidence, setting a new precedent in Massachusetts
• Successfully negotiated on behalf of a plaintiff where the defendant ended up settling a 93A claim by paying triple damages and attorney's fees.

Banking and Financial Services Litigation

• Representation of banks, mutual fund companies, and securities transfer agents in defense of substantial claims.
• Representation of foreclosing lenders and law firms in defense of class claims asserting that the lenders and law firms, since the lenders bought the loans from securitized mortgage pools, lacked sufficient proof of a chain of custody of the loan to themselves and therefore lacked authority to foreclose.
• Representation of a bank which sold an underground gasoline tank farm at foreclosure against a claim that the bank was obligated under Chapter 93A to disclose what it knew about leaking tanks at the tank farm site.
• Representation of major Boston banks in defense of claims that the banks had mishandled the check collection process and were allegedly liable for forged endorsements, having warning of fiduciary fraud, delayed international check collections, and many others.
• Representation of banks and lenders in connection with loan recoveries and loan workouts, including pre-judgment attachment of property.
• Obtained a summary judgment in favor of a major securities transfer agent against a $25 million claim of a securities certificate holder.

Insurance Bad Faith Litigation

• Represented insurers against substantial bad faith/93A unfair settlement practices claims involving major construction projects in the Boson area.
• Engaged as an expert on behalf of insurers defending bad faith/93A unfair settlement practices claims.
• The chapter on prosecution and defense of bad faith/93A unfair settlement  practices in his book entitled The Law of Chapter 93A is a leading research tool on this subject in Massachusetts.

Trademark Litigation, Including Licensing Disputes, and Patent Disputes

• Representation of licensors and global brands in international trademark litigation and international arbitration.
• Successfully overturned injunctions in foreign countries compelling licensors to maintain contact rights of terminated licensees.
• Pursued violation of trademark claims against holdover licensees and unapproved sub-licensees.
• Representation in connection with false advertising claims under the Lanham Act and State Little FTC Acts.
• Representation in connection with claims of patent infringement, obviousness, inequitable procurement, false declaration of invention, on sale bar, and declaratory judgment.

Honors & Distinctions

• AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell , highest rating given to attorneys.
• Selected as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, an honor that recognizes him as a leader in the legal community.
• Named a Special Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts, 1997-1998.

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Boston Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association, Committee on Business Torts
• Member, American Bar Association, Committee on Insurance Litigation
• Member, American Bar Association, Committee on Trademark and Patent Litigation

Community & Civic Activity

• Current Board Chair, Catholic Charities of Greater Boston.
• Member, Fundraising Committee of the Trustees - Archdiocese of Boston

News

• 30 AP&S Attorneys Named to New England Super Lawyers 2009
• Michael Gilleran Presents at Real Estate Broker Disputes Seminar

Publications & Seminars

• Book: The Law of Chapter 93A, the fully revised second edition was published in December 2007, by Thomson West; the first edition was published in 1989, with annual updates thereafter until the new 2007 edition.
• Presentation, at the request of Mass. Lawyers Weekly: “What is the Standard under 93A?” June 2008.
• Chapter: “Obtaining Pretrial Security”, Mass. Superior Ct. Civil Practice Manual, Mass. Continuing Legal Ed., 2d edition 2008.
• Size Matters in Patent Recklessness Claims”, IP Law and Business, January 2008.
• “After Seagate: The New Standard for Patent Willful Infringement Claims,” IP Law 360, October 5, 2007
• "Enhanced Remedies for Intellectual Property Claims under State Law," Intellectual Property Today, October 2007.
• "Parallel Foreign Litigation – Breaking Through the Presumption Limiting Anti-suit Injunctions against Foreign Litigation," American Bar Association Commercial and Business Litigation Newsletter, Fall 2005.
• "Parallel Litigation Where there is an Arbitration Clause," American Bar Association Commercial and Business Litigation Newsletter, Fall 2005.
• Presentation, at the request of the Boston Bar Association: “The Current Standard under Chapter 93A”; per Mike's request Justice Sosman, of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, spoke jointly with Mike; March 2005.
• "Has the SJC Announced a New 93A Liability Test?" Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, June 7 2004.
• "Chapter 93A Law Continues to Expand Liability," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, October 27 2003.
• " Massachusetts Prejudgment Security Devices: Attachment, Trustee Process, and Reach and Apply," Massachusetts Law Review, December 1984.