Richard M. Zielinski
Director
Boston
rzielinski@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 4029Richard M. Zielinski
Director, Boston
rzielinski@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 4029Related Expertise
Richard Zielinski is a nationally recognized “bet the company” trial attorney, best known for his defense of large law firms in high stakes legal malpractice cases and for general commercial litigation. Clients especially value his strategic instincts and his on-your-feet courtroom skills and presence.
Richard is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), the highest professional honor a trial lawyer can receive, and was a member of the inaugural Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame class, in recognition of his many achievements and contributions to the legal profession.
The lawyer other lawyers trust
The highest endorsement of Richard’s expertise comes from Am Law 100 and 200 firms, which consistently rely on him to handle malpractice claims, disciplinary proceedings, and sensitive intra-firm disputes.
A leading business and mass torts litigator
Major corporations also regularly retain Richard in complex business disputes, class actions, and mass torts cases. He has broad and deep trial experience in cases involving the financing and construction of major office towers, breach of contract, partnership disputes, unfair competition, lender liability, and claims under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 93A), as well as product liability and mass tort litigation in the pharmaceutical, electrical products, and tobacco sectors.
A passion for teaching
Richard's commitment to the law extends well beyond the courtroom and into the classroom. He has served for decades as a faculty member in the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop, created and chaired numerous groundbreaking CLE seminars, and led a nationwide initiative through the ACTL to provide trial advocacy training to public interest lawyers.
Related Representative Matters
An Am Law 100 law firm. Prevailed in two separate arbitration trials involving legal malpractice claims.
Developers of the largest office complex in Boston in a $300M+ dispute with their lender. The lender sought to avoid its funding commitment due to an economic downturn, claiming the developer had been rendered “insolvent.” A federal court judge disagreed and granted summary judgment from the bench.
A Massachusetts-based public company under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C § 227. Assisted client to successfully defeat class certification in a putative class action case. The trial court ruled that the plaintiff could not maintain a nationwide class action under the TCPA in a Massachusetts state court. The decision was affirmed on appeal.
A group of world renowned physicians and scientists, in various civil and criminal proceedings relating to the arthritis drug, Vioxx.
A Birmingham, Alabama valve manufacturer, in a $300M+ case arising out of a catastrophic explosion at a petrochemical processing plant located near Houston, Texas.
Rogers Communications, Canada’s largest wireless communications company, in an action seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract in connection with unsuccessful negotiations to license the plaintiff’s wireless technology. The case was dismissed based on the successful invocation of a contractual forum selection clause.
A major tobacco company in hundreds of products liability cases, including individual and class actions and the Medicaid reimbursement actions, brought by various state attorneys general in the mid-1990s.
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Accolades
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Hall of Fame, 2023
- Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, Massachusetts, Band 1
- Best Lawyers, Boston Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year," (2015, 2019, 2021, 2023-2025)
- Best Lawyers, Boston Product Liability Litigation - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year," (2012 and 2014)
- Best Lawyers, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year," (2013)
- Best Lawyers, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation Defendants (2005-2026), Professional Malpractice - Defendants (2024-2026)
- Boston Magazine Top Lawyers, Professional Malpractice Non-Medical Defense, 2022, 2023-2024
- Lawdragon, Leading 500 Litigators in America, 2022, 2024-2026
- The National Law Journal, Litigation Trailblazer, 2019
- Massachusetts Continuing Legal Educations (MCLE), Scholar-Mentor Award, 2016
- Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rated AV Preeminent TM
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2004-2024
- Top 100 in Massachusetts and New England, 2007-2016, 2021-2022 (MA)
- Top 10 in Massachusetts, 2010
Affiliations
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers (1998-present)
- Chair, Massachusetts State Committee (2007-2009)
- Chair, Teaching Trial and Appellate Advocacy (2003-2005)
- Chair, National Trial Competition Committee (2023-2025)
- Member, Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers (1999-2002)
- Trustee, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (2007-2016)
- Member, Boston Bar Association (1980-present)
- Council Member (1997-2000)
- Past Chair, Professional Liability Committee
- Co-Chair, Administration of Justice Section (2001-2003)
- Co-Chair, John and Abigail Adams Gala (2018)
Admissions
- Massachusetts
- District of Columbia
- New York
Education
Harvard Law School ( J.D. , cum laude , 1980 )
Colgate University ( B.A. , summa cum laude , 1977 )