General Commercial Litigation

• Won a no-liability jury verdict for the former board members of a Houston-area business condominium association, Dun Huang Plaza (“DHP”). Plaintiff, a business condominium owner, brought suit alleging that a subset of board members of DHP made fraudulent misrepresentations in order to pass an amended declaration increasing the owner’s share of common area assessments and dues. Plaintiff sought more than $1 million in actual and punitive damages. After a two-day trial, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a verdict of no fraud in favor of the individual board members. Michael conducted the cross-examination of the Plaintiff.

• Defeated a novel wrongful termination suit for Port of Houston. In a case involving issues of first impression, four firefighters alleged that Port of Houston officials did not follow a statutory protocol in terminating them for hazing and harassment misconduct, and that as a result, the firefighters could not be fired in the future for their misconduct. Following a bench trial, the Court ruled for Michael’s client and found that the officials had fully followed the statutory protocol. Harris County Case No. 2021-13211 titled Stan Kozlowski et al. v. William Buck, et al.

• Successfully obtained a dismissal based on procedural grounds for the Port of Houston in a legal dispute regarding the bidding process for their $430 million expansion project. Harris Country Case No, 4:22-cv-02117 titled Diamond Services Corp. v. Curtin Maritime Corp. et al.

• Won a $22 million dollar jury verdict for the Port of Houston in a complex commercial lease dispute with an international grain trader.

• Michael has also been involved in multiple contested successful injunction hearings, including at the temporary restraining order and temporary injunction stages, greatly aiding in achieving the objective sought by the client.

Healthcare Litigation

• Won a no-liability jury verdict for a Houston-area radiology group, Houston Radiology Associated (“HRA”), in a business fraud dispute. Plaintiff, a former competitor-turned-employee, brought suit alleging that he was fraudulently induced by HRA into signing away his prior company’s hospital service contract and joining HRA. Plaintiff sought $1.2 million in actual damages as well as punitive damages. After a 4-day trial, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a verdict of no fraud in favor of HRA. Harris County case No. 2020-13621, titled Amitabha Banerjee, M.D. v. Houston Radiology Associated, and Radiology Partners Management Group LLC.

• Won a $153 million award on behalf of a group of radiologists against United Healthcare resulting from United’s breach of the parties’ longstanding participating provider agreement.

• Won a $62.65 million verdict from a Nevada jury in a nationally watched case for emergency room physician group clients who were underpaid by United Healthcare, the largest insurer in the nation. The jury in this seven-week trial unanimously found malice, oppression, and fraud in the underpayment of the doctors. 

• Won a $19.1 million jury verdict against a large insurance company in the first case in the nation to litigate emergency room physicians’ out-of-network pay from private insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act. 

• Won a $9.4 million jury verdict against an Arkansas insurance company in a breach-of-contract case in which the insurance company grossly underpaid emergency room doctors. Michael was part of a team that was hired just six days before trial. The verdict is in the 2020 Top 100 Verdicts as calculated by Verdict Search. 

Oil and Gas Litigation

• Obtained a defense verdict for National Oilwell Varco (NOV) in a $200 million jury trial over a tragic 2018 oil rig explosion that killed five workers. After three weeks of trial, the jury announced a verdict that was only a small fraction of NOV’s pre-trial settlement offer.

• Obtained successful defense resolutions of complex oil and gas disputes related to both intellectual property, breach of contract, and personal injury for a very small fraction of the damages sought by the plaintiff (for example, resolving a dispute where the plaintiff sought more than $60 million, resolving the dispute for less than seven figures).

• Obtained numerous temporary restraining orders and temporary injunctions for oil and gas clients where former employees left the company to start a competing company and/or solicit customers or employees.

Defamation/Libel Litigation

• Michael represented Mary Kate Cornett, a college freshman whose life was upended by a viral, defamatory social media rumor that was further amplified by major sports media outlets, including national coverage in The New York Times and NBC. Michael’s advocacy helped bring Cornett’s account of the devastating personal and reputational harm to the forefront of national media and positioned her for a potential defamation action. As a result, Michael aided in reaching a pre-suit resolution with Pat McAfee, ESPN, and Barstool Sports. 

• Successfully represented Drake in obtaining pre-suit discovery under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 202 against iHeart Media and Universal Music Group.

Intellectual Property Litigation

• Won a jury verdict of $78,512,999 in patent infringement suit against Samsung on behalf of Anonymous Media Research for its patents covering a particular type of ACR technology. The verdict was listed as one of the top ten patent verdicts of 2025.  Anonymous Media Research Holdings, LLC v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., No. 2:23¬-cv-439 (E.D. Tex.)

• Lead trial counsel in a trademark dispute where Michael represented the plaintiff, a non-profit sport’s program. Right after the jury was selected, the defendants offered to settle for damages beyond plaintiff’s request, attorneys’ fees, and agreed to an injunction to cease using the plaintiff’s trademark.

• Lead trial counsel in a copyright dispute where Michael represented the defendant and succeeded in securing a jury verdict that was a small fraction of the requested damages, even under difficult facts.

• Michael has been a part of multiple intellectual property focused trial teams that have successfully recovered more than $50 million for his clients.

Personal Injury

• Secured an eight-figure settlement for a client in a high-stakes personal injury case involving an individual who was buried alive due to a major international conglomerate’s violation of weight regulations. Brought on just weeks before trial, Michael quickly assessed the case and applied his trial-tested strategy to maximize results. Facing a defendant initially offering only a fraction of what the client deserved, Michael’s aggressive preparation forced a complete reversal—just two days before trial, the defendant agreed to the full settlement the client was seeking.

• Obtained numerous successful defense-side settlements of personal injury cases for a fraction of the amounts sought by the plaintiff after vigorous litigation at early, middle, and later stages of the lawsuit.

Property and Construction Disputes

• Secured a pre-litigation settlement of a significant mold problem in a large apartment complex dispute that caused health and property defects to its residents.

• Handled significant confidential arbitration related to the construction of residential property homes for a business where the construction company walked off the job amidst complicated factual issues. The case involved more than $7 million at stake.

• Resolved dispute pre-suit over the ownership of utility lines and the responsibility to pay utilities for large energy company.

Employment Law Litigation

• Successfully represented Dr. Hasan Gokal against Harris County Public Health related to Dr. Gokal’s wrongful termination. After significant discovery and defeating the County’s dispositive motions, and on the eve of trial, the County capitulated due to Michael’s relentless advocacy—resulting in a favorable settlement for Dr. Gokal.

• Successfully represented a former employee who was discriminated based on her gender against her employer. Without filing suit, Michael negotiated a favorable resolution of the case.

White Collar Defense

• Successfully aided the criminal defense team of Dr. Hasan Gokal who was accused of theft of the COVID-19 vaccine when he provided the vaccine to individuals instead of letting an already opened vial to expire and go to waste. Upon accusation by the District Attorney, a judge tossed the charge finding no probable cause. Subsequently, a grand jury returned a no bill, again finding no probable cause. 

• Successfully aided the civil aspects of a criminal case where a guest on the property of Michael’s client shot and killed another guest on the property. Michael navigated the complex civil and insurance issues to reach a successful resolution of the case.

University of Chicago Law School, J.D., Spring 2018

• Doctoroff Business Leadership Fellow

• Paul R. and Edmund W. Kitch Scholarship

• The Ruth Wyatt Rosenson Scholarship
  

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, highest distinction, honors program with distinction, Spring 2015

• Phi Beta Kappa

• Chancellor’s Scholar

• Alan P. Bates Top Sociology Undergraduate Award

• Canfield Scholar

• Dean’s List 2011-2015

• State Bar of Texas

• United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar

• Texas Rising Star honors as presented by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters Business, 2022-2025

• 2023-2026 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

• Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, 2024-2025

• Texas Bar Foundation Fellow