Michael Colgan represents a broad range of clients, from nationwide corporations to local businesses, in employment and labor law matters at the agency, state, and federal levels. His practice focuses on the defense of claims related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, defamation, and contract disputes. In addition to advising clients on best practices for employment policies, severance agreements, and contracts, Michael prides himself on helping clients navigate the ever-evolving employment and labor law landscape to achieve their goals through settlement, mediation, arbitration, or litigation.

Before joining Wilson Elser, Michael was a law clerk at a boutique Texas litigation firm, where he gained valuable experience assisting with general litigation and employment disputes. During law school, he served as a judicial intern in the 455th Civil District Court in Travis County, Texas.

Areas of Focus

Employment & Labor
Michael has successfully handled widely publicized discrimination and harassment cases brought against prominent educational institutions and medical care providers.

Commercial Litigation
In the commercial litigation area, Michael has represented franchisee clients in extensive multi-state litigation regarding breach of warranty, breach of contract, discrimination, and unfair business practices claims.

    Education

    • University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 2024)
      • Administrative Editor, Texas Review of Law & Politics
      • Secretary, First Generation Law Students
    • St. Joseph's University, New York – Long Island (B.A., cum laude with departmental honors, 2020)

    Bar Admissions

    • New York

    Court Admissions

    • Supreme Court of New York

    Professional Affiliations

    • Suffolk County Bar Association
    • Nassau County Bar Association

Michael Colgan

Wright, Subick & Colgan Win Full Dismissal in Tenure Fight

Nancy V. Wright (Partner-New York, NY), Saige Subick (Of Counsel-New York, NY), and Michael Colgan (Associate-New York, NY) secured a complete victory for our client, a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. In a hard-fought, multi-witness disciplinary proceeding arbitrated under N.Y. Education Law § 2587 and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), against the employee’s union. Our client brought this action against an IT analyst, who had been with the client since 2007, who repeatedly refused to perform assigned tasks, engaged in loud and argumentative behavior in the workplace, consistently abused the time and attendance policy, and, most seriously, made a direct threat of gun violence against a supervisor following the denial of a work-from-home request. The team presented extensive evidence and multiple witness testimony demonstrating a pattern of performance deficiencies and support of the gross misconduct and insubordination charges. The team organized five years of performance documentation into an exhibit outlining that the employee had been counseled and submitted a concise, fact-driven 40-page post-hearing summation brief that, among other arguments, showed the threat of violence as per se terminable misconduct, rendering all other charges surplusage. After a four-day evidentiary hearing spread across five months, the Hearing Officer issued a Report & Recommendation that agreed with the Wilson Elser team on virtually all points. The arbitrator found “gross misconduct” and “just cause” for termination under § 2587 and Article 28.28 of the CBA. The Union’s demand for reinstatement with back pay was denied in its entirety. 

Nancy V. Wright, Saige A. Subick and Michael Colgan

Privacy Settings
Your Privacy Choices
We value your privacy. Under privacy laws in your jurisdiction, you have the right to control how your personal information is used, including the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You may also limit the use of your sensitive personal information.

Below, you can review and adjust your cookie and data sharing preferences. For more information about how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

Your Rights and Choices

Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: You may opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for advertising and analytics purposes by turning off Advertising & Targeting Cookies. We will honor your choice and will not sell or share your personal information for these purposes unless you enable these cookies again. Wilson Elser does not sell or share personal information in any other manner.

Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: If we collect sensitive personal information, you may limit its use to only what is necessary to provide requested services by adjusting your preferences here. Please contact privacy@wilsonelser.com with any questions.

Global Privacy Control: We honor browser-based opt-out signals, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC). If we detect such a signal, your opt-out preference will be automatically applied.
These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions made by you, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They may be set through our site by us or our analytics partners to understand your interests and deliver more relevant content to you. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site