Michael P. Connolly

Michael Connolly is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department.

He represents owners and managers of family-owned businesses and closely-held businesses in connection with disputes between business owners under LLC operating agreements, shareholder agreements, and partnership agreements; claims against directors and officers concerning company management and operations; and other internal disputes concerning business valuations, corporate distributions, and access to company information.

Michael also has an active business litigation practice. He represents businesses in commercial disputes involving contracts and trade practices, including business asset purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases, financing and franchise agreements, and disputes concerning trademarks, trade secrets, and other confidential business information.

Michael is also the Editor of Murtha Cullina's Family Business Perspectives Blog. 

Presentations:

• Common Causes and Outcomes in Family-Owned Business Legal Disputes:, Family Firm Institute Annual Meeting, October 2018
• Representing the Family-Owned Business (Ethically): ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting, September 2018
• Fiduciary Duties in Action: Advising Small to Mid-Sized Business Fiduciaries in Drafting, Decision-Making and Disputes, ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting, April 2017
• ADR in Action: How Arbitration and Mediation Clauses Work on Paper and in Practice:  ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting, Presenter and Co-chair, April, 2016
• Business Divorce from Prenup to Breakup, ABA Webinar, April 2015 and April 2014, Moderator and Presenter; also presented at ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting, August 2013
• Small Client, Big Problems: Identifying Potential Criminal Issues and Preventing Them From Becoming Criminal Prosecutions, ABA Business Law Section Fall Meeting, Moderator, November, 2014

• Private Company Owner Disputes
• Probate and Trust Dispute Resolution
• Business Litigation
• Family Business
• Privately Owned Businesses
• Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights
• Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality
• Litigation

• Family Firm Institute, New England Chapter, President 2014-2015 Term
• American Bar Association
  - Middle Market and Small Business Committee, Chair of the Family-Owned Business Subcommittee
  - Member of Business Divorce Subcommittee

• Law Clerk to the Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court

• December 2016 - Contributing Author, "Litigating the Business Divorce" Treatise, Bloomberg BNA
• April 10, 2015 - "Cell-tower partners found liable for fiduciary breach," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

• December 22, 2015 - Information Security and Privacy News: Critical Cybersecurity Policies and Practices After the Settlement Order in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp.
• October 27, 2015 - Information Security and Privacy Group News: The Increased Risks of Not Protecting Customer Information in Data Breaches
• Inspection of Corporate Records in Massachusetts: What Shareholders and Corporations Should Know

• September 10, 2019 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: When Terminating Officers in the Family-Owned Business, Follow the By-Laws
• August 20, 2019 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Should Your Family-Owned Business Include a Forum Selection Clause in its Agreements?
• March 1, 2019 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Can the Division of Family-Owned Business Interests Held in Trusts or Estates be Submitted to Arbitration?
• February 7, 2019 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Is it Defamation to Call a Co-Owner of the Family Business a Thief?
• December 6, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Can Your Transfer of Family-Owned Business Stock or Assets be Avoided as a Fraudulent Transfer?
• November 15, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Watch Out For Claims Of Economic Duress After Purchasing Shares In A Family-Owned Business
• September 26, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Court Orders Family-Owned Business to Hold Annual Shareholder Meeting
• September 10, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Son's Lawsuit to Dissolve Family Business Based Upon Relatives' “Vendetta” Against Him Allowed To Proceed
• May 4, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Do Shareholders Need to Make a Demand Upon the Board of Directors Before Filing Suit on a Family-Owned Corporation's Behalf?
• March 21, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Should an Estate or Trust Operate a Decedent's Family-Owned Business?
• March 7, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Beware of Successor Liability Claims in Connection with Family-Owned Businesses
• February 14, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Watch the Calendar When Considering Claims in Connection With a Family-Owned Business
• January 8, 2018 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Court Ruling Highlights The “Perils Of Going Into Business With Family Members”
• November 29, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Is A Non-Compete Agreement In Connection With The Purchase And Sale Of A Family-Owned Business Enforceable?
• October 20, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Watch Out For Minority Shareholder Oppression Claims After Admitting Non-Family Shareholders To The Family-Owned Business
• August 8, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Definitions in Shareholder Agreements Matter When Transferring Family-Owned Business Stock
• July 31, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Do You Have a Reasonable Expectation of Receiving Dividends if You Acquired Your Shares in a Family-Owned Corporation Through Gift or Inheritance?
• July 13, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Will Your Family-Owned LLC Be Required to Pay the Fair Value of a Withdrawing Member's Interest?
• May 10, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Do You Have an Enforceable Contract for the Sale of Family-Owned Business Interests or Just an Agreement to Agree?
• April 27, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: If You Expect to Work in the Family-Owned Business for Life, Be Sure to Get It in Writing
• April 18, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Corporate Formalities Matter in the Transfer of Shares of Family-Owned Businesses
• March 15, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Are you paying your children too much to work in the family business? The IRS might think so.
• March 1, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Carefully Consider the Scope of Releases When Settling Claims between Family-Business Owners
• February 21, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Do You Need to Do Business with Your Co-Owner's Children? It Depends on the Language of Your Agreements.
• February 9, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Watch out for Fraud in Family-Business Purchase Agreements
• February 2, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Who is Authorized to Bind Your Family Business to Contracts?
• January 24, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: What corporate records do family businesses need to provide to their shareholders?
• January 19, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Should You Arbitrate Your Family Business Disputes?
• January 12, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Beware of Conflicting Interest Transactions in Family Business Management
• January 10, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Do “Corporate Formalities” Matter in Family Businesses?
• January 9, 2017 - FamilyBusinessPerspectives.com: Welcome to Murtha Cullina's Family Business Perspectives Blog
• December 18, 2015 - Michael P. Connolly Writes Article on Potential Conflicting Fiduciary Duties for Business Law Today
• Judicial Dissolution of Corporations, LLCs and LPs - One State's Recent Experiences
• An Overview of Owner Access to LLC and Corporation Records

• November 15, 2017 - Michael Connolly Presenting on Family-Owned Businesses at Family Firm Institute New England Chapter Meeting
• September 15, 2017 - Michael Connolly Chairing Family-Owned Businesses Subcommittee Meeting at ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting
• April 17, 2017 - Michael Connolly Speaking at ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting on Fiduciary Duties for Businesses
• April 7, 2017 - Michael Connolly Presenting 'Fiduciary Duties in Action: Advising Small to Mid-Sized Business Fiduciaries in Drafting, Decision-Making and Disputes" at ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting
• April 7, 2016 - Michael Connolly Presenting on Arbitration and Mediation Clauses at American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting

• Massachusetts
• U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

• New England School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1997)
• Boston College (B.A., 1993)