Founding Partner
Michael J. Maselli is a founding partner of Sanchez Maselli Trial Attorneys and a civil trial lawyer who represents insurers, businesses, government entities, and individuals in New Jersey State and Federal courts — in commercial litigation, professional liability, legal and medical malpractice, products, premises, construction, transportation and gig economy liability, insurance coverage, education law, and employment matters. Michael tries cases, first chair and second chair, in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Emory University and his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey.
Michael has been selected as a New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Star (2016–2025) and is an Associate Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is active in various community organizations, including serving as a Class Agent for the Lawrenceville School, and previously served on the WomenRising Celebration of Service Gala Honorary Committee and as a board member for the Arc of Monmouth Golf Event.
Selected presentations: insurance fraud, no-fault insurance, and artificial intelligence in claims defense.
Trial Experience
Tried the defense of a construction manager through the close of all evidence against a seriously injured laborer suing on theories from negligent hiring, training, and supervision to premises and vicarious liability. Won pre-trial summary judgment removing the co-defendant property owner with prejudice; filed and argued seven motions in limine attacking the economic damages theory, statistical injury-rate evidence, and net-opinion expert testimony; presented the defense engineer by de bene esse videotaped testimony; and cross-examined the plaintiff and his liability and medical experts. The matter settled during trial.
Defended a law firm and its attorneys in a “case within the case” trial of an underlying automobile accident matter, with competing expert testimony on the legal standard of care, accident reconstruction, biomechanics, medical causation, and economic loss. The matter resolved during trial.
Representative Results
Took a serious-injury highway collision suit apart claim by claim: a stipulated dismissal of the design-defect counts with prejudice, then summary judgment holding that a driver using the app only for navigation after her last ride was outside any agency relationship, and that the platform’s compliance with New Jersey’s TNC Safety and Regulatory Act defeated the negligent-contracting theory. All claims against the client were dismissed with prejudice.
Sole author of the briefs winning summary judgment for a nonprofit veterans’ organization: no duty to protect arose because the fight between two patrons was unforeseeable — no prior violence by either man, no incident history at the premises, and no security expert report from any party. The complaint and all remaining cross-claims were dismissed with prejudice.
A slip-and-fall on an unpaved footpath turned on one word — “walkways.” Briefed the successful cross-motion establishing that the path fell outside the contractual scope of work: a contractor cannot be found negligent for failing to perform work it was never hired to do. Complaint and all cross-claims dismissed with prejudice.
Ended a premises case against a national warehouse retailer through successive motions under R. 4:23-5(a)(1), R. 4:21A-4(f), and R. 4:23-5(a)(2) after the plaintiff defaulted on discovery, deposition, and mandatory arbitration.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every matter turns on its own facts. More firm results →
Methodologies. The Best Lawyers list is issued by BL Rankings, LLC; a description of the selection methodology can be found at bestlawyers.com/About/MethodologyBasic.aspx. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters; a description of the selection methodology can be found at superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html. The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings list is issued by Martindale-Hubbell; a description of the selection methodology can be found at martindale.com/ratings-and-reviews. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
