Mike’s practice focuses on creditors’ rights litigation and he manages the firm's commercial recoveries litigation practice group. Mike is well-versed in the following areas:
- advocacy, investigations and litigation involving the Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General Offices;
- complex commercial litigation;
- strategic litigation management and alternative fee arrangements;
- representing creditors in bankruptcy proceedings and enforcement actions
- commercial disputes with suppliers
Formerly a trial attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, Mike prosecuted violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act, such as unfair methods of competition, monopolization and attempted monopolization matters. He has significant experience in cases involving claims of anticompetitive behavior in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Mike worked in the only group at the Federal Trade Commission with responsibility for civil non-merger enforcement and is well versed in the federal agency considerations applied to governmental investigations and enforcement actions.
Prior to the Federal Trade Commission, Mike was an Assistant Attorney General at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office where he developed extensive litigation, trial and appellate experience as lead counsel in over 30 trials, hearings and appellate arguments, several involving highly-publicized litigation. Mike served as counsel to Missouri elected officials and state agencies, including the Secretary of State, the Supervisor of Liquor Control and the Real Estate Commission. Mike also managed a consumer fraud unit and reported directly to the Attorney General on consumer protection policy, investigations and enforcement.
Presentations
ACC NCR: Bankruptcy & Collections: Best Practices in Times of Economic Uncertainty, Association of Corporate Counsel CLE, June 14, 2023 (with Mark Moedritzer).
ACC NCR Navigating The New Normal: Legal Considerations For Businesses in the Endemic Era, Association of Corporate Counsel North Carolina Webinar, September 2022 (with Carrie McAtee and Paul Williams).
Leveling the Playing Field in Asymmetric Litigation: Extracting Electronically Stored Information from Requesting Parties and Associated Ethical Obligations, Webinar, National Capital Region and Colorado Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, June 11, 2019 (with Patrick Oot).
Legal Recoveries: Best Practices for Revenue Generation by the Law Department, Association of Corporate Counsel Mid-America Chapter (Kansas City, Missouri), December 2016.
Measuring the Effectiveness and Value of Your Litigation Spend, Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting (Los Angeles, California), October 2013.
United States and South American Bankruptcy Trends, Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation (Hong Kong, China), January 2012.
Publications
Third-Party Subpoenas: Reversing a Cost Center in the Law Department (with Elizabeth Atlee, Farrah Pepper and Patrick Oot), ACC Docket, January/February 2017.
Multimedia
BIZLIT | TODAY, Commercial Recovery Podcast, American Lawyer Media, June 30, 2023.
Civic Duty and Military Service
Mike was appointed in 2011 for a six-year term by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to the Board of Governors for Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.
Mike served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1991 to 2012 in Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Infantry and Transportation units. During his final assignment he served as the Deputy Regional Defense Counsel for a New England-based unit of Army defense lawyers. In this role he was second in command of a unit of 58 army lawyers and paralegals in 13 states. Mike graduated from the Command and General Staff College, the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Airborne School and the Judge Advocate Corps Officer Basic Course. He received multiple awards such as the Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Teaching Experience
Mike was an adjunct instructor at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. (2002-2005). He taught trial practice to law students as part of a mock trial competition.