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Practices

Biography

Michael is a litigator whose practice focuses on complex white-collar criminal and commercial matters. He has substantial experience assisting clients at all stages of litigation and has served as second chair in both civil and criminal trials, including a six-week federal criminal jury trial. He has conducted both direct and cross-examinations of witnesses at trial.

Michael also has extensive experience in civil motion practice. He helped obtain a complete victory on summary judgment in a quarter-billion-dollar incentive grant dispute and secured a similar summary judgment win for a nationally known insurance company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He has further aided clients in responding to, and defending against, subpoenas seeking documents and trial testimony.

He is a former law clerk to the Honorable Zahid N. Quraishi, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, and the Honorable Walter F. Timpone, Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. During his clerkship with Judge Quraishi, he also assisted Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson and District Judge Michael A. Shipp with dispositive motions to further serve the court during the judicial vacancy crisis.

Michael’s publications have been cited by the Delaware Chancery Court and the New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division, and in the journal, Critical Criminology. He maintains an active pro bono practice, which has included drafting an amicus curiae brief to the New Jersey Supreme Court for the Innocence Project, representing a recanting witness in his interview with the Government, and serving as guardian ad litem for a minor litigant. He also supports LGBTQ+ inclusion and visibility, having served on his prior law firm’s Diversity Committee.

Other Info About Michael

Education

Law School

Seton Hall University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude

  • Order of the Coif
  • Associate Editor, Seton Hall Law Review
  • Senior Notes Editor, Seton Hall Legislative Journal
  • Member, Faculty Curriculum Committee
  • Chancellor Scholar
  • Charles A. Sullivan Endowed Scholar
  • Honor Council

Undergraduate School

Montclair State University, B.A., magna cum laude

  • Certificate in Child Advocacy and Policy

Clerkships

Michael served as a clerk for the court(s) and judge(s) below:

Law Clerk to the Honorable Zahid N. Quraishi, U.S.M.J., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, August 2019 – September 2020

Law Clerk to the Honorable Walter F. Timpone, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, August 2018 – August 2019

 

Bar Memberships

Michael is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

New Jersey

New York

Courts

Michael is admitted to practice before the following court(s):

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

Award Selection Methodology

Included on the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, Business Litigation

ABA/BNA Award for Excellence in Labor and Employment Law, Seton Hall University School of Law

Mary Franzese Humanitarian Achievement Award, Seton Hall University School of Law

The Center for Social Justice Award, Seton Hall University School of Law