Michael Cahalane is Cetrulo LLP’s Co-Managing Partner and is based in the Boston office. He concentrates his practice in products liability, pharmaceutical litigation, toxic torts, asbestos litigation, premises litigation, mass torts, commercial disputes, and litigation management. Mike regularly litigates cases filed in Massachusetts Superior Court and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. His clients include both Fortune 500 companies and small family-run businesses in a wide variety of industrial and commercial sectors including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy, aviation and aerospace, building materials, industrial equipment and piping, automotive, and retail/distribution. Mike also has experience representing both landlords and tenants in housing disputes and eviction matters.
Additionally, Mike serves on multiple National Coordinating Counsel teams managing mass tort litigation in jurisdictions across the country. In this capacity, he directs all aspects of the client’s defense including discovery strategy, preparation and defense of corporate representative witnesses, motion practice, trial preparation, and settlement negotiations. Mike has experience counseling corporate clients regarding compliance with cyber-security issues and protection of sensitive data. He also has experience advising clients regarding litigation risk, including during the due diligence phase of proposed acquisitions.
Mike is a graduate of Boston College and Northeastern University School of Law. During his tenure in law school, he worked as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Ralph D. Gants. Mike is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Best Lawyer in America, a Massachusetts Super Lawyer and a Top Lawyer by Boston Magazine. In 2018, Mike obtained the designation of Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) after completing studies at the Litigation Management Institute at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Mike performs charitable work through the Boston Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Rian Immigrant Center. He is also a Hearing Officer at the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers.
Education
- J.D., Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts, 2005
- B.A., Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 2002
Admissions
Memberships
- Federal Bar Association, Massachusetts Chapter, Board of Directors
- Federal Bar Association, Corporate and Association Counsel Division, Vice Chair of Membership
- Boston Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute
- New Hampshire Bar Association
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
- Association of Defense Trial Attorneys
- International Association of Defense Counsel, In-House and Law Firm Management Committee, Vice Chair of Programs and Projects
Community Involvement
- Hearing Officer, Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers
- Panel Counsel, Volunteer Lawyers Project, Boston Bar Association
- Board of Directors, Rian Immigrant Center (formerly Irish International Immigrant Center)
- Trenwick America Reinsurance Corporation and Unum Life Insurance Company of America v. IRC, Inc. et al., 764 F.Supp.2d 274 (D. Mass. 2011)
Authorships
- The Contours of the Cosmetic PFAS Litigation: Highlights and Shadows of Forever Chemicals, Federal Bar Association, The Federal Lawyer Magazine (July/August 2022)
- The GDPR, SCCs, BCRs, and Schrems: Deciphering the Data Privacy Alphabet Soup, Federal Bar Association, The Federal Lawyer Magazine, May/June 2022
- Stuck in the Middle: The Case for a National Innocent Seller Defense to Protect Retailers and Distributers, Federal Bar Association, The Federal Lawyer Magazine, November/December 2021.
- OSHA in the Time of COVID-19: A Call for Enforceable Standards for the Sake of Employees and Employers, The Federal Lawyer, November/December 2020.
- Bargaining, Bottom Lines, and BATNA: Re-Learning the Skill of Negotiation, The Federal Lawyer Magazine, July/August 2020.
- Stripped Bare: The Supreme Court’s Decision in Air & Liquid Systems v. DeVries Signals the End for the Bare-Metal Defense, Federal Bar Association, The Federal Lawyer Magazine, September/October 2019.
- Dust in the Wind: Can Missouri’s $4 Billion Talc Verdict Survive Fourteenth Amendment Scrutiny?, Federal Bar Association, The Federal Lawyer Magazine, May/June 2019.
- Protecting the “House”: Secrets for a Successful Defense Team, For The Defense Magazine, January 2018.
- A Tale of Two Tort Regimes: Medical Monitoring Claims in New York and Massachusetts, Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, MassDLA Newsletter, November 2015.
- Mercury Rising? The Impact of Michigan v. EPA on Industry and the Environment, Federal Bar Association, Corporate Articles, Summer 2015.
- Past Is Prologue: Still No Service for Cell Phone Radiation Litigation, For The Defense Magazine, December 2011.
- Contributing Author, Product Liability Case Law Update, Presented at 2010 DRI Product Liability Conference, April 2010.
Presentations, Classes & Seminars Taught
- Conflict Resolution: Negotiation Skills, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Adjunct Professor
- Occupational Laws & Compliance, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, Distance Learning Program, Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Private Sector Overview, Northeastern University School of Law, Office of Co-op and Career Development, Webinar (September 2024)
- Pleurodesis Litigation, DRI Talc Litigation Seminar, Washington D.C. (August 2023)
- Succession Planning: Practical and Ethical Considerations to Ensure the Future Success of Your Legal Organization, International Association of Defense Counsel, Webinar (November 2022)
- Private Sector Overview, Northeastern University School of Law, Office of Co-op and Career Development, Webinar (October 2022)
- Insurance Roundtable: Litigation Perspectives, Expectations and Trends, Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, Las Vegas, Nevada (June 2022)
- Defending Lung Cancer Cases: Finding the Smoking Gun, Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, Webinar (June 2021)
- Civil Litigation in the COVID Era, Northeastern University School of Law, Webinar (January 2021)
- Closing the Deal: Bargaining Strategies for Best Results in Asbestos Litigation, DRI Webinar (September 2020)
- The “Reverse Reptile”: The Defense, Pitfalls, and Alternatives, Defense Lawyers Asbestos Symposium, Boston, Massachusetts (November 2019)
- The Reptile Questions: Examples and Suggested Responses, Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana (June 2019)
- Cybersecurity: What Every In-House Counsel Needs to Know (and Outside Counsel Should Tell Them), Federal Bar Association, Online Webinar, Moderator (January 2018)
- The Discovery Side Show: How to Keep the Litigation Spotlight on the Main Event, Claims Litigation Management (CLM), Online Webinar, (April 2019)
- Secrets for a Successful Defense Team, Asbestos Medicine Seminar, Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2017)
- Risks, Trends and Best Practices in Cybersecurity and Data Protection, Boston, Massachusetts (September 2017)
- National Counsel Roundtable: Expectations of Counsel, Defense Asbestos Litigation Seminar, Las Vegas, Nevada (June 2016)
- Masterminding Your Litigation Strategy, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, Massachusetts (February 2016)
- Best Lawyers in America, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Massachusetts Super Lawyer, 2021-2024
- Boston Magazine Top Lawyers, 2021, 2022
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
- Martindale-Hubbell® AV-Preeminent™ Peer Rated
- Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP), Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2018