John J. Morrissey
“I BECAME AN ATTORNEY TO PROTECT PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES INJURED AS A RESULT OF THE CARELESSNESS OF OTHERS. I HANDLE EVERY CASE PERSONALLY WITH MY TEAM OF PARALEGALS AND EACH OF MY CLIENTS GETS THE BENEFIT OF MY PERSONAL ATTENTION AND EXPERIENCE.”
John J. Morrissey concentrates his practice in the areas of person injury and workers’ compensation claims arising from serious injury and death. He also represents individuals and businesses in commercial and real estate disputes.
Mr. Morrissey has been a trial attorney for over twenty-eight years and has tried cases to conclusion before all the courts of the Commonwealth and before the Department of Industrial Accidents. After practicing for 17 years in a larger firm in downtown Boston, he moved his practice to Braintree to allow him to personally focus on each client ensuring the client gets the benefit of his long experience and close attention that will maximize their recovery. This strategy sets him apart from large firms that staff cases with paralegals and junior attorneys treating their clients like a number on an assembly line. He is very proud of the fact the vast majority of cases he accepts are referrals from other lawyers including his opponents.
PUBLIC SERVICE
Morrissey was appointed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to the Board of Bar Overseers in 2015 and as its Chair in 2018. The Board of Bar Overseers was established by the Supreme Judicial Court as an independent administrative body to investigate complaints against lawyers. The Board consists of twelve members appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court and acts as an administrative tribunal to consider disciplinary charges brought against attorneys practicing in Massachusetts. Since completing his service on the Board, Morrissey is frequently called upon to advise attorneys on ethical issues and to serve as expert in this area.
Morrissey was elected President of the Massachusetts Bar Association in 2019. He currently serves on the Executive Management Board, Co-Chair of the Trial Academy and on the Leadership Academy Steering Committee.
Morrissey was appointed to the Chair of Joint Bar Committee on Judicial Appointments in 2021. Made up of representatives appointed from the state bar associations, the function of the JBC is to independently review, evaluate and report to the Governor on the qualifications of individuals under consideration for judicial appointments to all Courts of the Commonwealth.
Morrissey was appointed by the Hingham Board of Selectman to serve as a Commissioner on the Hingham Conservation Commission in 2014. The Commission is entrusted with the stewardship of over 1000 acres of conservation land and addresses natural resource issues of the town and region. Empowered to administer the State Wetland Protection Act, the Rivers Protection Law and the Town of Hingham Wetlands Protection Bylaw. The Commission reviews all projects that fall within their jurisdiction and after review, issues orders of conditions intended to protect the natural resource interests of the community.
Morrissey has previously served on the Board of Governors of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Committee.
EDUCATION
Morrissey frequently lectures on the law having served as Co-Chair of the MBA Trial Academy, the Steering Committee for the MBA Leadership Academy and moderating programs on trial practice.
Chair
Made up of representatives appointed from the state bar associations, the function of the JBC is to independently review, evaluate and report to the Governor on the qualifications of individuals under consideration for judicial appointments to all Courts of the Commonwealth.
- President (2019- 2020)
- President Elect (2018- 2019)
- Treasurer (2017- 2018)
- Vice President (2016- 2017)
- Secretary (2015- 2016)
- Member Executive Management Board
- Co-Chair MBA Covid Crisis Response Task Force (2020 to present)
- Co-Chair Governance Committee (2017- 2018)
- Chair Budget & Finance Committee (2016- 2017)
- Chair of Membership Committee (2016- 2017)
- Member Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Scholarship Committee (2014- 2019)
- Chair Judicial Administration Section Council (2012- 2014)
- Member Marathon Bombing Victims’ Legal Assistance Program (2013- 2014)
- Member Workplace Safety Task Force (2011- 2015)
- Member House of Delegates, At Large Delegate (2010- 2011)
(2006- 2007) - Member House of Delegates Regional Delegate Suffolk County (2004- 2006)
- Member Crisis In Court Funding Task Force (2009- 2010)
- Member Judicial Administration Section Council (2007- 2014)
- Trustee (2014-2020)
Life Fellow
The Massachusetts Bar Foundation is the philanthropic partner of the Massachusetts Bar Association. Each year the Foundation’s grant program awards approximately 2-3 million dollars to nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts whose programs provide civil legal services to the state’s low- income population or improves the administration of justice in the Commonwealth. I have served on the following grant advisory committees:
- Immigration/ Employment Law (2013)
- Domestic Violence/ Family Law (2011, 2012)
- ADR/Consumer/ Health Law (2010)
- Greater Boston Regional Grants (2007, 2009)
- Member of the Board of Governors (2003- 2015)
- Mentor (2013- 2016)
- Member of the Executive Committee (2008- 2009)
- Chair Workers’ Compensation Committee (2005- 2011)
- Member of Legislation Committee (2005- 2010)
BOSTON MAGAZINE SUPER LAWYER
- Selected as Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2013, 2020)
- Selected New England Super Lawyers (2007- 2021)
- Selected as Massachusetts Super Lawyer (2005- 2006)
Nominated by peers as a result of a survey seeking the best lawyers in their practice areas. After nomination, candidates are evaluated by a search committee based on experience, including verdicts and settlements, honors and awards, lectures and writings and community service activities. Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.
IRISH VOICE
- Selected as “Irish Legal 100” (2016- 2021)
The Irish Legal 100 founded by the Irish Voice newspaper in New York, is an annual compilation of the most distinguished legal professionals in the United States who share one common bond: pride in their Irish roots.
MASSACHUSETTS BAR ASSOCIATION
- Co-Chair of the Trial Academy (2019 to present)
- Member MBA Leadership Academy Steering Committee (2016 to present)
- Moderator: How to Identify Implicit Bias in Jury Selection (2017)
- Faculty: How to Start and Run a Successful Law Firm (2012, 2015)
- Moderator: A View from the Bench Trial Practice (2013)
- Moderator: A View from the Bench Motion Practice (2013)
- Contributor: Traps for the Unwary 6th Edition (2011)
MASSACHUSETTS CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
- Faculty: Advanced Deposition Techniques (2013)
- Taking Depositions Seminar (2012)
- Obtaining and Using Medical Records (2009)
- Introducing & Excluding Evidence at Trial (2007)
MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY
- Conducting Discovery in Construction Site Accident Litigation (2007)
- Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys’ Journal published in Lawyers Weekly Volume 35 Issue 26 February 19, 2007
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, December 1992; United States District Court of Massachusetts April 1993; United State Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, May 1993.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Boston, MA
Juris Doctor May 1992
Honors: American Jurisprudence award in Professional Responsibility
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, Amherst, MA
Bachelor of Arts Political Science May 1989