Michael A. Cifelli is an accomplished litigation and trial attorney with more than three decades of experience representing private businesses, public entities, and government agencies in complex civil matters.
His practice spans commercial litigation, insurance coverage disputes, labor and employment issues, regulatory compliance, and constitutional and civil rights claims.
He is widely recognized for his strategic judgment, meticulous preparation, and ability to guide clients through high-stakes litigation from inception through trial and appeal.
His work includes contract drafting and review, employment and regulatory compliance counseling, risk assessment, vendor dispute resolution, and comprehensive litigation services involving commercial claims, insurance matters, employee disputes, and general liability actions.
He represents both private and public entities in State Tort Claims Act and federal civil rights litigation, and routinely manages matters through mediation, arbitration, trial, and appellate practice.
Previously, Mr. Cifelli served as Of Counsel at several respected New Jersey law firms, including Hardin, Kundla, McKeon & Poletto, P.A.; Florio Kenny Raval, LLP; and Scarinci & Hollenbeck, LLC.
In these roles, he litigated complex state and federal cases involving insurance coverage, commercial disputes, municipal and educational liability, employment claims, civil rights actions, and constitutional issues.
He has extensive experience conducting depositions, engaging in dispositive motion practice, handling settlement negotiations, and trying cases to verdict. He has also supervised and mentored junior attorneys throughout his career.
Mr. Cifelli began his legal career as a Judicial Clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey and subsequently served as Assistant County Counsel for Hudson County, where he litigated contract, regulatory, employment, and civil rights matters and presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
His background also includes work in land use, zoning, and planning, as well as teaching paralegal studies as an adjunct professor at Hudson County Community College.
In addition to his private practice, Mr. Cifelli has a long record of public service. He currently serves as Municipal Attorney for the Borough of East Newark, where he oversees all legal affairs, advises elected officials, drafts ordinances and resolutions, and represents the municipality in litigation.
He has also served as Municipal Prosecutor for East Newark and the Town of Harrison, handling criminal and traffic matters including DWI cases, and providing legal guidance to local law enforcement.
He has been a Municipal Prosecutor for 25 years and continues in that role. In this role, Mr. Cifelli has litigated over a thousand DWI and criminal matters to completion and has earned a reputation for integrity, proficiency and efficiency.
The State of New Jersey is requiring all municipalities to use a new Alcotest machine for DWI arrests, of which Mr. Cifelli is knowledgeable in advance of their implementation.
His civic involvement includes more than 15 years as a member - and now Chairman - of the Chatham Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment, as well as prior service as a Commissioner of the Harrison Housing Authority.
Mr. Cifelli’s litigation experience is reflected in a series of published decisions in the New Jersey Supreme Court, Appellate Division, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
His cases have contributed to developments in municipal liability, civil rights, insurance coverage, and governmental immunity.
Mr. Cifelli earned his J.D. from New York Law School, where he served on the Executive Board of the Moot Court Association and was a national competition winner and recipient of the National Order of Barristers honor.
He received his B.A. in English from Seton Hall University.
He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.