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Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh

Associate
About

Michael Walsh enjoys digging in to solve complex problems, whether to navigate a dispute with a client's adversary or to address an issue surfaced from within a client's organization. He leverages experience from working with clients in various sectors and insight from five years of service as a law clerk and staff attorney for federal judges and courts of appeal. He strives to deliver highest-quality work product and maintain a steadying, good-humored presence in challenging situations.

Bar admissionsMassachusetts
CourtsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

EXPERIENCE

  • Representing a company in connection with a deferred prosecution agreement related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
  • Ericom Software, Inc. v. Peterson (N.D. Ill.): Represented Ericom in action alleging trade secret misappropriation and other claims against client’s former Chief Product Officer and his new employer.
  • Conducted an internal investigation and responded to a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to an exploited zero-day vulnerability.
  • Chowdhury v. VEON Ltd. (S.D.N.Y.): Secured dismissal based on lack of personal jurisdiction in an action concerning electromagnetic spectrum bands in Bangladesh.
  • Represented current and former officers and employees of companies in connection with investigations of those companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.
  • Worked with financial and cybersecurity forensics experts to investigate issues raised by whistleblowers, coordinating with a client's auditor to prevent impact to the client's public-filing schedule.
  • Assisted directors of a company in investigating and resolving issues raised by senior employees.
  • Liaised between a client and outside counsel from two other firms in evaluating the client's remediation of compliance issues uncovered by internal investigations.
Education
  • J.D., The University of Chicago, 2008
    with honors
    Order of the Coif
    Staff Member, The University of Chicago Law Review
    Champion, Edward W. Hinton Moot Court Competition
    Research Assistant, Hon. Richard A. Posner
    Staff Member, Employment Discrimination Project of the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic
  • M.C.S., Computer Science, University of Illinois, 2006
  • B.S., Theater, Northwestern University, 1999

Pro Bono

  • Representing a veteran in connection with an application for combat-related special compensation.
  • Staffed and captained shifts for voting hotline.
  • Conducted research and analyzed data concerning civil forfeiture on behalf of an organization advocating for fair courts.
  • Prepared successful clemency petitions for five federal prisoners, including one client who had been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
  • Assisted a federal prisoner in obtaining a sentence reduction based on retroactively applicable changes to sentencing guidelines.
  • Collaborated with multiple firms and organizations to obtain a $20 million settlement for victims of labor trafficking.

Clerk Experience

  • Law Clerk, Hon. Richard R. Clifton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • Law Clerk, Hon. Alan C. Kay, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
  • Staff Attorney, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • Staff Attorney, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • Judicial Intern, Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Prior Experience

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Michael was a litigation associate at two other leading law firms for seven years. He worked on matters including:

  • A trial concerning trade secrets and other intellectual property issues related to virtual reality;
  • A dispute between the founders of an autonomous-vehicle company and a party who claimed an equity interest in the company;
  • An internal investigation and response to government subpoenas related to a company's sales and promotional practices;
  • Shareholder litigation against a Massachusetts technology company leading to a favorable opinion by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concerning directors’ fiduciary duties; and
  • A defense of a biotechnology company against a former employee who alleged violations of federal and state whistleblower protections related to purported kickback and off-label marketing schemes.

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