Michael is a co-founder and managing principal of Weiss & Hiller, PC. In an era of over-specialization, Michael has displayed the rare ability to represent clients in a broad cross-section of practice areas. And he has enjoyed extraordinary success in each. In 2010, Michael was named to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, two of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership to these organizations is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers have been accepted as members.

In addition, Michael has been informed that, in September 2010, he will be named a Super Lawyer for the New York Metropolitan Area. As reflected on its website, "Super Lawyers" is a listing of outstanding lawyers who have attained an extraordinary degree of peer recognition for their professional achievements. For selection as a Super Lawyer, Michael and his career were evaluated by a series of research panels and industry professionals. This recent recognition reflects the outstanding results Michael has obtained in each area of his practice over the course of his career.

In insurance law, a staple of his practice since 1991, Michael has never lost a case. In 2001, he set a record in New York state for the largest disability verdict ever. He was also the first lawyer in New York to obtain a verdict for bad faith denial of disability benefits. And in 2005, Michael pioneered the use of the RICO statute to prosecute claims for fraud and other misconduct by disability and other insurance carriers. As a leader in this field, representing policyholders only, Michael is regularly consulted by lawyers and newspapers around the country on new developments in insurance litigation.

Michael has also enjoyed tremendous success in business and commercial litigation. He regularly handles cases involving breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other business torts. But Michael is particularly well known among lawyers for handling business litigations commonly referred to as “business divorces.” His successes in this area include:

• Successful prosecution and settlement of a lawsuit arising out of the break-up of a softwave development business
• Successful prosecution and settlement of law-firm partner freeze out
• Successful prosecution and settlement of a shareholder litigation to prevent the sale of substantially all corporate assets
• Successful defense of derivative action brought by disgruntled shareholder
• Successful defense of a bad-faith litigation brought by a shareholder who attempted to leverage her position against her ex-husband in a custody dispute

Michael has also developed a state-wide land-use, environmental, construction and zoning practice. In these cases, Michael represents neighborhoods and communities against irresponsible and/or dangerous development. Among the many successes in this area, Michael has:

• Helped preserve precious greenspace in Central Park and the Fifth Avenue Fountains fronting the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Stopped a luxury condominium project in Red Hook which would have destroyed one of Brooklyn's last manufacturing neighborhoods
• Forced a developer to suspend his development project until he safeguarded our residential building and paid our legal fees
• Obtained a preliminary injunction to prevent a developer, who had damaged neighboring properties, from selling his building to avoid judgment collection

Michael's other litigation successes include multi-million legal malpractice settlements, defamation cases against multi-national media corporations, preservation of port and stevedoring businesses along the Brooklyn Waterfront through litigation under the Shipping Act, and successful defenses of a multi-million dollar licensing claim against one of world's most powerful entertainment companies.

Michael frequently seeks and obtains temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in connection with the cases he handles to ensure that his clients' rights are not adversely affected during the course of litigation. Over his career, Michael has won over 80% of the motions for preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders he has filed -- a remarkable statistic given the high proof thresholds required for such relief. Michael's record of success and achievement is a testament to his extraordinary abilities, as well as his determination to win cases and obtain the best possible results for his clients.

In addition to his work at Weiss & Hiller, PC Michael is:

• a Mediator for the New York State Supreme Court, Commercial Division
• an Arbitrator for the New York City Civil Court
• an Adjunct Professor of Law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice where he teaches Criminal and Constitutional Law

Michael attended Union College (Schenectady, New York) where he graduated with Honors. A member of the Delphic Honor Society and the Dean's List, Michael played wing forward for the College Rugby team and also served as Student Body President until he graduated in 1988. Following his graduation from Union, Michael attended American University, Washington College of Law (Washington, DC), where he graduated cum laude and was a member of the National Moot Court Team. While attending law school, Michael worked at night as a professional musician in clubs throughout Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland.

Areas of Practice:

Litigation
Mediation & Arbitration
Insurance (Policyholders only)
Business & Corporate
Land-Use, Zoning and Environmental Litigation (Opposition Work Only)

Bar Admissions:

New York, 1992
U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1993
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1993
New Jersey, 1999
U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1999

Education:

American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, DC, J.D.
Honors: Cum Laude

Union College, Schenectady, NY USA, B.A.
With Honors
With Distinction
Dean's List
Delphic Honor Society
Major: History