Michael is an insurance lawyer, primarily a litigator defending insurance companies, reinsurers, and insured parties from a wide range of claims that threaten clients’ businesses. He is also a counselor, law school professor, and litigator in areas beyond insurance.
Michael represents insurers in state and federal courts as well as in arbitrations across the country, litigating insurance disputes concerning business practices, bad faith, insurance coverage, reinsurance, premium calculations, and allocation among policies. As a general litigator, he has tried cases concerning utility and energy infrastructure construction, securities class actions, and merger and acquisition claims. Leading insurance industry trade groups have engaged Michael to represent them on matters of industry-wide importance before trial and appellate courts. He has tried numerous cases through final verdict.
For example, Michael recently defended an insurance company in a nationwide class-action suit targeting its business practices; achieved a seven-figure victory for a defendant in a reinsurance arbitration; and helped create a new insurance company and obtained the required approvals for it to operate.
In his role as counselor, Michael advises insurers on policy construction, coverage, compliance, and regulatory issues and often represents stock, mutual, and captive insurers on their dealings with state regulators, including proceedings concerning rates, applications for acquisition of control, and market conduct exams. He also counsels insurance companies on a variety of data security and privacy issues and defends companies facing potential data breach liability. He has represented clients in connection with internal investigations and responses to government inquiries and subpoenas, including federal and state inquiries into forced placed insurance, contingent commissions/broker compensation, and finite reinsurance transactions.
