Michael J. Mazurczak

Maz has been at Melick & Porter his entire legal career. He began as a Law Clerk in the summer of 1988 and joined the firm as an Associate in the fall of 1989.

Maz has extensive experience in complex civil litigation matters, representing clients in both federal and state courts for over 30 years. A significant portion of his practice involves employment law and includes providing major national corporations with oversight and defense of their employment litigation. Much of that entails early and quick evaluation and resolution of claims or lawsuits by private mediation. He also defends companies on housing discrimination, sexual harassment, and a wide variety of wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation claims.

Maz also represents national youth organizations and private schools throughout New England on negligence claims involving sexual abuse. Maz has handled, defended, and tried dozens of cases involving premises liability, liquor liability, construction litigation, gasoline contamination, oil spills, asbestos, product liability, and other complex litigation.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Maz obtained both his B.A. and J.D. from Marquette University. During law school, he served as the Executive Editor of both the Marquette Law Review and the Journal of the National Sports Law Institute. He published a Comment in the Marquette Law Review on Rule 11 sanctions in the Seventh Circuit. He also published an article in the Illinois Bar Journal on obscenity law. While in law school, Maz interned for Judge John L. Coffey of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. At graduation, Maz was honored with the Dean's Award for Outstanding Service to the Law School and Profession.

Maz continues to be an active contributor to legal scholarship. He is a frequent author in the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association newsletter. Maz is also a frequent speaker for national insurance companies and insurance trade associations on topics such as early mediation, employment litigation, toxic torts, and defense of sexual abuse cases. He has also lectured for the national Non-Profit Risk Management Institute in Washington, D.C.

Maz is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only national trial lawyer honorary society, was also elected a Member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel after an extensive peer review selection process. Maz has been consistently recognized by Massachusetts, New England, and national Super Lawyers which are annual listings of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. He has been recognized as a 2022 Best Lawyers for his work in Litigation - Insurance and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants.

Maz volunteers at Justice Bridge, mentoring recent law school graduates who are providing legal representation to individuals of modest means. He is also an avid college and professional sports fan and loves his Green Bay Packers and Boston Red Sox.

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts
• New York
• First Circuit Court of Appeals

Education

• Marquette Law School, J.D. (1989)
• Marquette University, B.A., Philosophy (1986)

Awards and Honors

• Litigation Counsel of America (Senior Fellow)
• National Super Lawyers
• New England Super Lawyers
• Massachusetts Super Lawyer
• AV Preeminent
• The Best Lawyers in America^®  (Litigation - Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants)

Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
• Defense Research Institute
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (Member)
• International Association of Defense Counsel
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• National Association of Professional Employer Organizations
• National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association
• New York State Bar Association
• Professional Liability Underwriting Society
• The Risk Management Society
• Themis Advocates Group
• Trucking Industry Defense Association

Community Involvement

• Justice Bridge
• St. Francis House

Notable Cases

• Amoah v. McKinney and Smith Transport, 875 F.3d 60 (2017) (trucking accident)
• Fletcher v. Littleton, 68 Mass.App.Ct. 22 (2007) (wrongful death)
• Hammerberg v. Boy Scouts of America, Corp., et al., 33 Mass.L.Rptr. 54 (Mass Supr. Ct. 2015) (negligent hiring, summary judgment)
• Panagakos v. Walsh, et al. 434 Mass. 353 (2001) (social host liability, duty to adult guest)
• Woodward v. Emulex Corp., 714 F.3d 632 (1st Cir. 2013) (age discrimination)