Michael has a background in complex IP litigation and finance. Michael joined Woodsford from the international alternative investment manager Fortress Investment Group. As Vice President, beginning in 2015, Michael worked in every aspect of the IP finance group – sourcing IP backed litigation finance, debt, and private equity investment opportunities, maintaining relationships with domestic and foreign law firms and claims owners, aiding in asset valuations, directing drafting of transactional documents and managing investments post financing. Michael’s investment focus was patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and ANDAs.
Prior to Fortress, Michael spent five years at a patent risk mitigation company, RPX Corporation. As a director, Michael maintained close relationships with in-house legal teams, tracking and analyzing patent risk facing their companies and negotiated litigation buyouts with the plaintiff’s counsel of claims on behalf of RPX clients.
Michael has a significant legal background. After clerking for the Honorable Chief Judge Roger Vinson in the Northern District of Florida, Michael worked in the Boston office of Fish & Richardson representing clients in the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, consumer electronics, networking, software, and financial sectors. Michael also worked for the Palo Alto office of Morgan Lewis and later helped found fixed fee litigation boutique, Confluence Law Partners. In addition to IP litigation, Michael has handled trade secret and antitrust claims, drafted technology transfer licenses, and provided M&A support to multi-billion dollar acquisitions. Michael has practiced before a variety of federal and state courts as well as the International Trade Commission and the US Court of Claims.
Michael earned a BA in political science from the University of California Berkeley in 1997 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003. He is a member of the California and Massachusetts bar associations.
