Michael is Senior Counsel in Lagerlof, LLP’s litigation department. 

His practice focuses on a broad range of state and federal litigation with an emphasis on financial services litigation, business torts, and contract disputes. Michael’s banking litigation experience includes the defense of lender liability actions, prosecution of equitable subrogation cases, title disputes, and resolution of bankruptcy matters.

Michael was a part of a legal team who represented the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Priceline.com, Rabobank, as well as First Community Bancorp and its wholly owned subsidiary, Pacific Western National Bank.

Michael received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and business administration from UCLA, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He then graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2002. During law school, Michael worked for a summer in Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker’s London office, where he performed due diligence in their M&A division.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys skiing, numismatics, chess, film production, and the often futile pursuit of beating his wife at golf.

Some of Michael’s significant cases include:  

• Williams v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2017 WL 4877439 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 30, 2017) (after prevailing in a jury trial, lender was awarded all the attorneys’ fees it incurred to dispose of the action); 
• Shirley v. Wachovia Mortg., FSB, 2012 WL 1094331 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2012) (summary judgment granted in favor of lender, disposing of plaintiff’s forgery claims); 
• Das v. WMC Mortg. Corp., 831 F.Supp.2d 1147 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 28, 2011) (in dismissing various predatory lending claims, the district court held that a lender does not have a duty to place a borrower in an affordable loan); 
• DeLeon v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 729 F.Supp.2d 1119 (N.D. Cal. June 9, 2010) (plaintiff’s state law claims preempted under the Home Owners’ Loan Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1461, et seq., and its implementing regulations found at 12 CFR § 560.2(b)); 
• In re Priceline.com, Inc. Securities Litigation, 2007 WL 274534 (D. Conn. Jan. 26, 2007) (member of legal team that represented the founder of Priceline.com in a securities class action; case settled on favorable terms to client);
• Rabobank v. Royal Bank of Canada, et al., Supreme Court of the State of New York  (member of legal team that prosecuted claims on behalf of Rabobank against Royal Bank of Canada, stemming from a dispute over payment of a $517 million swap transaction involving the Enron Corporation; case settled on favorable terms to client).