Maria J. Cedeno Cassinelli, Esq.

Maria J. Cedeno Cassinelli is Senior Counsel at Nisar Law Group, where she represents employees in complex workplace disputes involving wage theft, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and worker misclassification. She advocates for workers in state and federal courts, arbitration proceedings, and administrative agencies, helping clients navigate challenging employment disputes and enforce their workplace rights.

Maria brings more than a decade of litigation experience, most of it dedicated to labor and employment law. She has handled hundreds of employment matters from initial case evaluation through discovery, motion practice, settlement negotiations, and trial. Her experience spans individual, collective, and class actions, as well as arbitrations and administrative proceedings involving some of the most significant workplace rights issues facing employees today.

An experienced litigator and trial attorney, Maria has played key roles in trial teams throughout her career, including serving as second chair at trial, examining witnesses, taking testimony, managing complex evidentiary records, and preparing cases for courtroom presentation. She has extensive experience conducting and defending depositions, litigating contested motions, and developing innovative legal strategies in high-stakes employment matters.

Before joining Nisar Law Group, Maria built a diverse employment litigation practice representing workers in complex wage-and-hour, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination, and worker misclassification matters. She has extensive experience handling cases from inception through resolution, including investigations, discovery, motion practice, settlement negotiations, arbitrations, and trial. Throughout her career, she has independently managed substantial caseloads, served on trial teams in high-stakes employment disputes, and represented employees in matters ranging from individual claims to large-scale litigation involving thousands of workers.

Prior to concentrating her practice on employment law, Maria gained experience in international law and arbitration, including an internship with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in Vienna.

Fluent in English and Spanish, Maria is passionate about expanding access to justice for diverse and underserved communities. Her ability to communicate directly with clients in their native language helps foster trust, strengthen advocacy, and ensure workers fully understand and can effectively assert their legal rights.

Maria earned her B.A. in Politics from New York University and her J.D. from New England Law | Boston, and holds graduate degrees in International Law and Business and in Mediation and Conflict Resolution. She is admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.