Anthony R. Zelle
Since 1986, Tony Zelle has developed a litigation practice focused on the representation of national and international insurance company clients. He has a wide range of experience litigating, arbitrating and appraising disputes arising out of liability, property insurance, and specialty lines policies. He is the immediate past Chair of the Insurance Law Committee of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), where he has developed more than a dozen two and three day programs on insurance coverage and bad faith. He compiled and edited DRI’s 50-state compendium on The Law of Insurance Bad Faith and served on the editorial board of the Professional Liability Compendium.
Mr. Zelle is well-recognized in the Massachusetts trial and appellate courts and represented insurers involved in two of the most publicized matters in Boston over the past decade: the Archdiocese of Boston's sex abuse scandal and the “Big Dig” construction fiasco. He has been honored by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly both for results deemed annually as “Top Ten Most Important Defense Verdicts” and “Top Ten Jury verdicts.” In 2012, Mr. Zelle tried six cases and argued in both the Supreme Judicial Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Zelle’s national reputation in defending insurance coverage and insurance bad faith claims has been recognized in the National Corporate Counsel Edition of “Super Lawyers,” where he is listed as preeminent in the field of insurance coverage. He has handled matters in trial courts throughout the United States and has appeared in the appellate courts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio and the First, Second, and Third Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Mr. Zelle founded Zelle McDonough LLP in 2005 to enable him to improve upon the representation of insurers in difficult coverage and bad faith litigation that he provided in his prior practice with large law firms. The firm’s 12 attorneys have a vast depth and breadth of experience resolving disputes between insurers, insured’s and third-party claimants. While there are more than one hundred published opinions reflecting his firm’s success in dispute resolution through trials and appeals, Mr. Zelle recognizes that far more often, successful resolution requires avoiding the ultimate risk-reward scenario presented at trial. Litigation risk assessment is critical to the development of a cogent resolution plan. It begins with the initial assignment of a matter and is continually reassessed to ensure that client expectations are fully met. The firm’s goal is simple: Effective Representation. Efficient Resolution.TM
After he was graduated from Boston College Law School, Mr. Zelle began practicing with Robins, Zelle, Larson & Kaplan. In 1988, he opened the Boston office of Zelle & Larson. He practiced with Robinson & Cole from 1999 to 2005.
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