Michael is a trial and appellate lawyer whose practice is concentrated on complex litigation, focusing on products liability, consumer protection class actions and multi-district litigation, malpractice, and insurance bad faith. He has represented clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States. He is regarded for his expertise with appellate practice and procedure in the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and has had primary briefing responsibilities on a broad range of cases.
Michael is admitted to practice in all state courts in Oklahoma, Illinois, and New York. He is also admitted to practice in numerous federal courts, including the United States District Courts for the Northern, Western, and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma; the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; the United States District Court for the District of Colorado; the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits; and the United States Supreme Court.
As part of his appellate practice, Michael has successfully protected judgments in appeals in state and federal courts throughout the United States, including appeals to the United States Supreme Court. Many of those appeals involved issues of first impression, and the reported opinions in those cases have established new precedent on a variety of legal issues. In 2020, Michael was honored by the Family Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association for his work in Schnedler v. Lee, a groundbreaking case before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Michael’s achievements as a trial and appellate lawyer have earned him inclusion in Benchmark Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, and Oklahoma Super Lawyers. Michael previously chaired the Oklahoma Bar Association’s appellate practice committee and is an active member in the Council Oak/Johnson-Sontag American Inns of Court.
Michael graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1987 with a B.S. in political science. He graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law, with distinction, in 1991. While in law school, Michael served as a Notes and Comments Editor for the Tulsa Law Journal, and was awarded the Robert C. Butler, Jr., Award for Excellence in Legal Scholarship and Writing.
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