Michael is an experienced advocate and advisor, with over 20 years’ experience helping clients litigate their most significant disputes.
Michael has represented financial institutions, trading conglomerates, pharmaceutical companies, media companies, broker-dealers, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has litigated high-stakes commercial disputes involving, among other things, securities (including derivatives, structured debt, and other financial instruments), complex contracts, business torts, intellectual property, fiduciary duty, antitrust, civil RICO, and product liability.
Recently, after only seven weeks on the case, Michael and his team won a three-week-long federal jury trial on behalf of a novelty ice cream company against its manufacturer. Michael handled the direct and cross examinations of the parties’ experts, whose testimony led the jury to find that the defendant manufacturer breached its contract. At his previous firm, he also prosecuted novel class actions against major corporations including Boeing, Southwest Airlines, and Facebook.
Michael also has represented institutional plaintiffs, including the FDIC as Receiver, in disputes against Wall Street banks over residential mortgage-backed securities. Working closely with in-house counsel at the FDIC, Michael led related cases in three jurisdictions, where he helped secure recoveries of well over $1 billion. He also represented a Federal Home Loan Bank in similar litigation, helping to recover hundreds of millions of dollars.
Michael began his career at a major international firm, where he was trained to the highest standards and represented clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes, sometimes as defendant and sometimes as plaintiff. As a result of his diverse experience, Michael often can offer unique insights into the motivations and tactics of his adversaries.
Michael is an adept courtroom performer, and his facility with language allows him to explain complex concepts in terms accessible to judges and juries. At the same time, his personable nature regularly results in productive relationships with opposing counsel, which can sometimes eliminate wasteful, ancillary litigation and facilitate quicker resolution of disputes.
Outside the office, Michael is a devoted husband and father whose interests include investing, nature, and the performance arts.
The matters discussed above include representations at previous employers.