Michael J. Connolly

A member of the firm’s Casualty Department, Mike primarily handles matters involving premises liability, automobile, and general liability. Mike regularly defends commercial motor vehicle and trucking cases including transportation fleets engaged in interstate trucking, waste hauling, shuttle and bus operators, and rental vehicle fleets. In addition to commercial motor vehicle cases, he also defends commercial businesses and properties on their liability claims, including hotels, resorts and others within the hospitality industry. Mike also represents various public utility organizations within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Mike has handled wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, surface mining accidents, motor vehicle, product liability and underinsured/uninsured (UIM/UM) motorists claims. He routinely serves as monitoring counsel for insurance carriers on excess casualty claims and has presented seminars on the subject of risk management and best practices associated with safety.

An honors graduate of the University of Scranton, Mike then received his juris doctor from Drexel University with distinction in the field of Insurance Law. Mike worked for the Honorable Chester T. Harhut, former President Judge of Lackawanna County and the Lackawanna County District Attorney. Admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Mike is also a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association and Lackawanna County Bar Association. Mike previously worked with the Law School Admission Council as an administrator of the Law School Admission Test for prospective law students, as well as with the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners on the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam.

Within the firm, Mike serves as a member of the Executive Committee Advisory Council, whose purpose is to enhance the communication between the Executive Committee and younger members of the firm's professional ranks, including associates, special counsel and junior shareholders.

Mike was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star for six consecutive years between 2015 and 2020, and since 2024 has been recognized by the Best Lawyers in America for Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants.

Honors & Awards

•The Best Lawyers in America, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2024-2026)
•The Best Lawyers in America, Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants (2025-2026)
•Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star (2015-2020)

Published Works

•'Expert Medical Evidence Mandatory on Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Claims,' Defense Digest, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 2016

Results

Summary Judgment Won in NASCAR Slip and Fall Case

We secured summary judgment in a case where the plaintiff fell down a flight of stairs at a NASCAR race in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, sustaining multiple fractures. The plaintiff alleged that she fell on water that had accumulated from patrons’ coolers dripping through the bleachers onto the staircase below. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims in their entirety due to her failure to adequately establish actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition.

Defense Prevails in Construction Defect Case

We obtained summary judgment on a construction defect claim in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. The court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendant, a homebuilder, in their entirety for the plaintiffs’ failure to adequately prove breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, fraud in the inducement, wrongful conversion and various alleged violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Act.

News

98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

August 20, 2025