Michael is a partner in the firm's Litigation section. He specializes in civil litigation and trials representing national and regional corporations, closely-held businesses and certain governmental clients. He has obtained favorable jury and non-jury verdicts on behalf of corporate and governmental defendants in numerous trials over the course of his 27 year legal career. He is Chair of the Government Investigations and Enforcement practice group. Michael has successfully represented corporate and governmental clients in complex commercial, consumer, employment, section 1983, derivative, and shareholder litigation in state and federal courts throughout Alabama and the Southeast. In addition, he has represented national and regional broker-dealer firms in TRO and preliminary injunction proceedings in state and federal courts involving covenants not-to-compete and trade secret litigation.
In 2003, he was appointed by a federal judge in the Northern District of Alabama and state court judge in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama as chair of the federal and state court Steering Committees responsible for coordinating all federal and state court pre-trial proceedings in over 150 consolidated cases involving allegations of security fraud against an NYSE listed company. These consolidated cases involved : 1) securities fraud claims; 2) derivative claims; 3) ERISA claims; and 4) D & O Insurance coverage claims.
Michael is a former Alabama State Bar Examiner (Pleading & Practice, 1998-2002), and a current member of the State Bar's Character and Fitness Committee. He served on the Alabama Ethics Commission from September 2005 until May 2011, and served as the Commission's Chairman from 2009-2010.
Michael received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1980, and received his Juris Doctorate degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1984, where he was a member of the Cumberland Law Review. Prior to joining the legal department at BellSouth Corporation (now known as AT&T), he clerked for the Honorable U.W. Clemon, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama from 1984-1985.
Michael is a Martindale-Hubbell featured AV Peer Review Rated Lawyer and was recognized by Alabama Super Lawyers in 2011 and 2012 for Business Litigation.
Memberships & Bar Associations
American Bar Association
Alabama State Bar
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
National Bar Association, Executive Committee, Commercial Law Section 2007-2011)
Birmingham Bar Association