Anne Dalena handles a wide range of complex insurance litigation on behalf of insurers, including defending coverage matters, product liability, asbestos and general commercial litigation. She has significant trial and pre-trial experience in insurance coverage litigation, commercial litigation, product liability defense and asbestos defense. Anne has overseen insurance coverage and litigation matters on behalf of Fortune 500 companies.

Anne’s practice also includes employment law litigation. She defends employers in state and federal courts in cases involving claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, retaliation, whistleblowing, wage-and-hour noncompliance, misappropriation of trade secrets, and enforcement of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements.
 

After practicing law for more than seven years, Anne worked in legal recruiting, establishing an office of her company in Morristown, NJ, and later serving as vice president of the company. She returned to the practice of law in 2010.

    Education

    • Seton Hall University School of Law (J.D., 1990)
      • cum laude; survey editor, Law Review
    • Moravian College (B.A., 1987)
      • cum laude

    Bar Admissions

    • New Jersey

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

    Awards & Honors

    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2024-2026
    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® Women in Law, 2025
    • 2021, 2023 Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Insurance, The Best Lawyers in America©
    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in areas of Insurance Law and Litigation - Insurance, 2016 - 2023

Anne M. Dalena

Dalena Wins Summary Judgment Victory on Contractual Defense and Indemnification for Property Owner

Anne M. Dalena (Of Counsel-Madison, NJ) obtained summary judgment in the Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division, Essex County, on behalf of a property owner client. The plaintiff in this personal injury action, a tenant in an apartment building owned by our client, allegedly slipped and fell on ice in the parking lot, sustaining a trimalleolar ankle fracture. After the plaintiff amended the complaint to add the snow removal contractor, Anne tendered the property owner’s defense to the contractor pursuant to the parties’ agreement requiring the contractor to defend, indemnify, and name the property owner as an additional insured. When the contractor failed to respond to the tender despite repeated follow-ups, Anne moved for summary judgment on the property owner’s crossclaims seeking defense, indemnification, and reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs. The Court granted Wilson Elser’s motion in full, holding that the contractor was contractually obligated to defend and indemnify the property owner and to reimburse our client for defense fees and costs incurred from the date of tender.

Anne M. Dalena

Dalena and Billek Obtain Affirmance of Summary Judgment in Legal Malpractice Case

Anne Dalena (Of Counsel-Madison, NJ) and Maxwell Billek (Partner-Madison, NJ) represented a prominent New Jersey employment law firm that defended the plaintiff in an employment discrimination case against a shipping and supply chain management company. Plaintiff alleged that his former lawyer failed him in several respects, including failing to be fully familiar with the record and failing to file a proper opposition to the summary judgement motion filed by his employer. After the deposition of the plaintiff's legal malpractice expert, Anne and Max moved for summary judgment on the basis that the expert could not state within a reasonable degree of certainty how the result would have been any different if the attorney had been more familiar with the record or had written a better opposition to the summary judgment motion. Accordingly, the trial judge barred the expert from testifying under the "net opinion" rule, and granted summary judgment for our client lawyer. The Appellate Division affirmed.

Anne M. Dalena and Maxwell L. Billek

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