Michael Tracy joined Rudolph Friedmann LLP as a partner in January 2004, continuing a thirty-year career as a trial lawyer with Boston law firms and as a government attorney. He brings to the firm extensive experience in professional liability defense for lawyers, accountants, and health care providers, and in insurance coverage counseling and litigation for carriers. He also practices in the fields of product liability defense for manufacturers and insurers, including toxic tort defense, other civil trial work including business and commercial litigation, contract and employment matters, and white-collar criminal defense. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
In the public sector, Mike was executive director and deputy chief counsel of the Massachusetts Special Commission Concerning State and County Buildings, known as the Ward Commission. The commission's two-year investigation of corruption in public design and construction contracting practices culminated in a series of public hearings on Beacon Hill and a complete legislative overhaul of the Commonwealth's public procurement laws and the creation of the Office of Inspector General. Mike represented the Commission in litigation in the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, and the Superior Court, and was a principal author of its twelve-volume final report.
Mike served for five years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts under former Governor William Weld. As a federal prosecutor, he developed and tried complex criminal cases involving public corruption and fraud against the government. From there he moved to the office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts, where he was Deputy Chief of the Criminal Bureau, supervising fourteen prosecutors as well as police and civilian investigators.
Upon returning to the private sector, Mike developed a trial practice focusing initially on product liability defense and growing to include a wide range of commercial litigation. A mainstay of Mike's practice is the representation of attorneys and accountants in defense of professional liability claims and suits and in professional disciplinary proceedings. He advises insurers on complex coverage issues and litigates them when necessary.
Mike has been active in pro bono activities throughout his legal career, serving for seventeen years on the board of directors of Greater Boston Legal Services and then, by appointment of the Supreme Judicial Court, for ten years as a director of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, of which he was treasurer, vice chairman and chairman.
Honors and Awards
Massachusetts Super Lawyer, Boston Magazine, 2004
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Greater Boston Legal Services, 1974 - 1991
Director and Corporate Secretary
Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, 1991 - 2001
Board of Directors
Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, 1996 - 1998
Chair
Boston Bar Association
Massachusetts Bar Association
American Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association
Professional Liability Underwriting Society
NITA Advocates Association
Harvard Law School Association