Michael began his career in IP law in 1990 as a law clerk at Bernard, Rothwell & Brown in Washington, D.C. After law school, Michael was an associate at the firm until 1999, when he became patent counsel in the U.S. patent group of Akzo Nobel Pharma, a Dutch pharmaceutical company, in Rockville, Maryland. While at Akzo Nobel, Michael obtained a Masters degree in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. In 2001, Michael returned to law firm practice at Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck (formerly Bernard, Rothwell & Brown) as Of Counsel, and became a partner in 2002.

Michael’s practice throughout his career of more than fifteen years has been focused on chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent law, and has included patent preparation and prosecution, counseling, opinion writing, interferences, licensing, due diligence investigations and litigation. While at Rothwell Figg, in addition to counseling clients, Michael prepared, prosecuted, enforced and defended against patents relating to various technologies, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and dental products. In particular, Michael was involved in a number of Hatch-Waxman litigations representing both brand name and generic drug companies. Michael also has written many opinion letters relating to patent infringement and validity, mostly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. While at Akzo Nobel, Michael counseled scientists and the European patent group of the company, and prepared and prosecuted patents relating to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, immunodiagnostics, and veterinary products.

Michael received his J.D. from The University of Baltimore School of Law in 1991, and a B.S. in Biology from Indiana University in 1986. Between college and law school, Michael was a biologist at the National Institutes of Health – NICHHD, where he worked for Dr. Heiner Westphal in the Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development using transgenic mice as research models.

Michael is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and is admitted to practice law in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and New York, as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Michael is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Michael currently practices patent and trademark law in Washington, D.C.