Prior to co-founding Hassett | Donnelly, Gerard worked in the insurance industry as an adjuster and investigator. He regularly handles high-exposure matters on behalf of insurers, TPAs, businesses and individuals. Gerard’s practice areas include Civil Litigation, Municipal Liability, Civil Rights Defense, Construction Litigation, Product Liability and Workers’ Compensation.
Gerard has extensive experience defending towns, cities, schools, police departments and other public entities in c. 258 actions, negligence matters, civil rights and employment disputes. He has a long record of defense verdicts and dismissals throughout Massachusetts state and federal courts, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA). Moreover, he has defended local and national businesses in asbestos and class action litigation.
In addition to successful jury trials, Gerard has an extensive record of favorable summary judgment motions and dismissals arising from the novel and evolving legal issues surrounding the defense of public employers such as presentment, discretionary function, public duty rule and various immunities and statutory caps. He has successfully defended a number of well-known non-profit, charitable and religious organizations in high-profile actions across the Commonwealth, often facilitating favorable resolutions over protracted and costly litigation.
Education
- Western New England College School of Law, J.D.
- Worcester State College, B.A.
Admissions
Memberships
- Massachusetts Bar Association
- Worcester County Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (MassDLA)
- Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS)
- MA Appeals Court Determines Town Not Original Cause of Recess Collision
- Appeals Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Police Department in Wrongful Death Claim
- Two Defense Verdicts in Separate Injury Actions Involving the Same Plaintiff
- Defense Verdict / Slip and Fall on Exterior Stairway
- Summary Judgment for General Contractor / Sewer Defects Alleged in Hotel Construction
- Defense Verdict in Slip and Fall / Plaintiff’s Photos Prove Useful to Defense
- Defense Verdict in Bathtub Slip and Fall
- Defense Verdict in Social Host / Assault & Battery Case
- Dismissal of Civil Rights / Malicious Prosecution Action Filed Against Town, Police Officers
- Summary Judgment for Defendant Construction Contractor
- Motion to Dismiss Granted – Negligence / Misrepresentation / Improper Drainage
- Motion to Dismiss Granted – False Arrest
- Motion to Dismiss Granted – No Trespass Order
- Wrongful Termination Suit Settled
- Death of a Child
- Child Falls From Window
- Mind the Gap
- Gerard has been named to The Best Lawyers in America list for “Lawyer of the Year” for Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (2025)
- Gerard has been named to The Best Lawyers in America list for Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (2019-2025)
- Gerard has been included in the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list in the area of Civil Litigation: Defense (2015-2024)