Michael Kenny is a trial and appellate lawyer, working principally in the areas of complex commercial litigation, especially antitrust, financial services, trade secrets, business and class action litigation. Mike has been retained by both corporate plaintiffs and corporate defendants to prosecute or defend claims of more than $1 billion in 13 cases throughout the United States, and has also prosecuted or defended numerous other cases involving more than $100 million. Repeatedly, he has been retained by clients as lead trial counsel shortly before the start of a major trial.
Mike has an active practice representing companies as corporate plaintiffs. In the past several years, he has secured jury verdicts and settlements of approximately $1 billion for his clients, including five nine-figure settlements and five eight-figure settlements on behalf of corporate clients.
Mike has successfully defended more than 100 class action lawsuits on behalf of major corporations throughout the United States. He has also served as lead appellate counsel in more than 35 federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th,11th Circuits, and the Federal Circuit.
- Lead trial counsel on behalf of a high-tech company in a fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices jury trial in the Middle District of North Carolina, winning a judgment of $318 million.
- Lead trial counsel for a medical technology company in a jury trial regarding a patent suit in the Middle District of North Carolina, securing an eight-figure settlement from one defendant before trial and winning a verdict against others at trial.
- Lead defense trial counsel on behalf of a major computer company in a trade secrets and unfair competition jury trial in New Orleans; retained shortly before trial to defend the client in the $5 billion case; after seven weeks of trial, the jury rejected the plaintiffs’ misappropriation of trade secrets and punitive damages claims and awarded them less than 0.2 percent of the claimed damages on their unfair competition claim, and this award was reduced further after post-trial motions; the case settled on appeal for less than the judgment.
- Lead trial counsel for telecommunications service providers in a five-week patent and copyright infringement jury trial in the Northern District of Georgia; retained 30 days before trial to lead the defense against claims of more than $300 million, where essential conduct was not in dispute; the plaintiff ultimately received less than $1 million, less than the amount spent on its expert witness.
- Lead trial counsel for the City of Atlanta in jury trial in the Northern District of Georgia in Section 1983 case; plaintiff’s verdict reversed on appeal, with 11th Circuit holding there was no viable claim.
- Lead trial counsel in an antitrust case for a technology company in the Northern District of California, securing more than $600 million in settlements from the defendants.
- Lead defense trial counsel for standards setting organizaton in antitrust case in the Northern District of California; after Daubert evidentiary hearing in connection with class certification, plaintiffs’ expert witness testimony was excluded and plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was denied.
- Lead defense trial counsel for standards setting organization in a Lanham Act and unfair competition case in the Eastern District of Michigan; the plaintiff dismissed its case on the eve of executive depositions.
- Lead trial counsel for a major technology company, as plaintiff, in an antitrust case in the Northern District of California, winning a seminal ruling on a Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act issue and thereby increasing the damages claim by billions of dollars.
- Lead trial counsel for a New York City investment company in False Claims Act litigation, securing an eight-figure settlement for the client.
- Lead trial counsel for a major telecommunications company in a $500 million monopolization case brought by a competitor in Florida; secured a noncash settlement on the eve of trial.
- Lead trial counsel in a patent case in the Middle District of North Carolina for a technology company, securing a multimillion-dollar settlement after a Markman hearing.
- Lead trial counsel on behalf of the City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in a constitutional challenge to the airport’s no-gun policy, defeating a preliminary injunction request after an evidentiary hearing, and subsequently securing dismissal of the case; the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the win.
- Lead trial counsel on behalf of a major building products producer in a multibillion-dollar national antitrust class action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; the case settled on favorable terms on the eve of trial.
- Lead trial counsel for a major computer company in a fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets case in New Jersey federal court; hired as trial counsel after summary judgment was denied; the case settled on favorable terms.
- Lead trial counsel on behalf of a major credit bureau in antitrust cases in the Central District of California and the Southern District of Ohio, winning dismissal of both cases. Won affirmance in both the 9th and 6th Circuits.
- Lead trial counsel on behalf of Atlanta’s mayor and other city officials in an antitrust and Section 1983 case, securing dismissals on their behalf.
- Lead trial counsel on behalf of a major automobile insurance carrier in a putative nationwide class action alleging violations of the Federal Credit Reporting Act in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, winning dismissal of the case, which was affirmed by the 3rd Circuit.
- Lead trial counsel for an international chemical company in an unfair and deceptive trade practices case in the Middle District of North Carolina, securing favorable settlement before voir dire.
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One hundred and forty-seven Alston & Bird attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The publication is universally regarded as among the few definitive guides to legal excellence, and its rankings are based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas.
September 18, 2012
In the Press
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Eighteen Alston & Bird attorneys across a wide range of practices have been named a 2013 “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers, one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession. The “Lawyer of the Year” award is based on peer review and is given to those attorneys who received the highest average of votes in both their specific geographic location and practice area.
September 18, 2012
In the Press
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June 7, 2012
In the Press
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September 12, 2011
In the Press
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July 5, 2011
In the Press
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August 30, 2010
In the Press
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June 11, 2010
In the Press