Summary

Michael is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer in Taft’s Environmental practice group. He represents clients in environmental matters in state and federal courts across Ohio, Indiana, and in multiple other jurisdictions nationwide, as well as before state and federal agencies. He assists clients in a variety of industries with matters involving CERCLA and FIFRA liability, environmental contamination, alleged noncompliance with environmental regulations, and environmental and personal injury based on product liability. He represents clients in defense of claims of “greenwashing” and false/misleading advertising with respect to environmental marketing claims. He represents clients in the commercial development and construction industries in matters involving environmental impact and construction defect claims. Michael also counsels clients in a wide range of commercial and industrial settings on issues involving insurance coverage for environmental claims.

Michael has successfully tried cases to juries and to the bench in multiple jurisdictions, and has successfully arbitrated before AAA and JAMS arbitrators. He has extensive experience in pretrial discovery, including conducting and defending depositions of high-ranking c-suite executives and expert witnesses in a variety of scientific disciplines. Michael is highly proficient in matters involving complex electronic discovery, having earned the Certified eDiscovery Specialist credential from the Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialists. This credential, which requires passage of a certification examination and re-certification on a biannual basis, is a globally-recognized symbol of competence and qualification on issues related to complex electronic discovery. Finally, Michael has substantial experience with pre-trial and dispositive motion practice, having achieved favorable results for clients on dispositive motions in cases across the United States.

Michael received his B.A., cum laude, from Marquette University, and a Master of Science from Valparaiso University. He received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Valparaiso University School of Law, where he was associate editor of the Valparaiso University Law Review and a member of the Law School’s Sports Law Clinic, providing legal representation to amateur athletes on anti-doping, eligibility, and amateur status matters.

Awards

All Service Areas

Education

  • Valparaiso University School of Law (2009)
  • Marquette University (2002)

Admissions

  • State - Indiana
  • State - Ohio
  • Federal - Southern District of Ohio
  • Federal - Northern District of Ohio
  • Federal - Southern District of Indiana
  • Federal - Northern District of Indiana
  • Federal - Northern District of Illinois
  • Federal - Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • Federal - 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Speeches and Publications

  • Author, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want – ‘Economic Waste’ in Construction Defect Claims,” Taft Law Bulletin, Jan. 15, 2021
  • Author, “Don’t Run Out of Time to Run to the Courthouse: Understand the Statutes of Limitation Applicable to Construction Litigation,” Taft Law Bulletin, Mar. 15, 2019
  • Author, By Word or by Deed: An Analysis of A Construction Manager’s Contractual and Assumed Duties to Workers Following Hunt Construction Group, Inc. v. Garrett, INDIANA CIVIL LITIGATION REVIEW, Vol. X, 31 (2013).
  • Author, If Nobody Picks Up the Ball, is it Really a Fumble, or is it a Forfeit? The NFL Players Association Request for Legislative Changes to the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, 43 VAL. U. L. REV. 1375 (2009).
  • Research Assistant – Michael Straubel, The International Convention Against Doping in Sport: Is it the Missing Link to USADA Being a State Actor and WADC Coverage of U.S. Pro Athletes?, 19 MARQ. SPORTS L.J. 63 (2008).
  • Co-Author, Cross-Subsidization in Professional Sports: A Socialistic Omen for Needed Change, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, Vol. VII, Number 4 at 136 (2007).

Professional Affiliations

  • Cincinnati Bar Association

    Member

  • Ohio State Bar Association

    Member

  • Federal Bar Association

    Member

  • Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS)

    Member

Community Involvement

  • Know Theatre of Cincinnati

    Vice Chair, Board of Directors

  • St. Ursula Academy

    Member, Board of Trustees and Human Resources Committee Chair

  • St. Thomas More Lawyers Guild of Greater Cincinnati

    Treasurer