Michael A. Schlanger

Mr. Schlanger represents companies and individuals in difficult, fast-paced civil litigation, trial and appellate, often involving allegations of intentional wrongdoing against classes of customers, employees or public bodies.  The cases usually include claims of fraud under federal and state statutes (e.g., RICO, securities, insurance, consumer protection), antitrust, misappropriation of intellectual property, violations of the law of lawyering, or retaliatory personnel action for alleged "whistleblowing" against corporate wrongdoing.  In naming Mr. Schlanger as one of the best commercial litigators in Washington (based on client and peer evaluations), Chambers USA 2012 said “Peers highlight commercial litigator Michael Schlanger as a "formidable opponent in the courtroom," adding that "he never lets the heat of the fight spill over into his dealings with opposing counsel." He is "a highly skilled trial lawyer and brilliant tactician," sources say."  Chambers USA 2011 said "Rocket docket phenomenon” Michael Schlanger handles all manner of complex litigation.  He receives praise for his “physical and intellectual stamina, all with unremitting clarity and focus and always with a smile.” Chambers USA 2010 said he "is a skilled commercial litigator who demonstrates 'outstanding attention to detail.' Clients commend his trial capabilities, noting 'He is a really effective storyteller in the courtroom.'"  Chambers USA 2009 said he has "earned strong praise as an incredibly versatile litigator 'with great foresight on the battlefield.'" 

Currently, Mr. Schlanger represents major medical institutions in antitrust, health care reform and tax cases.  In a recent Term, he represented 37 major medical institutions in the Supreme Court in support of their federal tax refund claims arising out of their medical residency programs; at issue overall were more than $4 billion for the years 2005 forward.  Over the past several years, Mr. Schlanger has been representing a major national retailer in putative federal and state class actions and other high-risk cases, including cases within the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, in defense of claims pleaded under consumer protection, racketeering, labor and employment, workers' compensation and health care provider statutes, and in prosecution of common law claims arising out of the destruction of one of the retailer's flagships stores by a 60-ton boulder that fell from a mountaintop quarry operated by the defendants; an insurance company in the defense of federal securities law class action suits in New York arising out of losses incurred by reason of unprecedented hurricane seasons; a global biotherapeutics company in defense of a patent infringement suit in federal court in North Carolina directed to methods of sampling blood plasma donations; a leading pharmaceutical company in a whistleblower suit asserting federal and state law claims, including under the New York State and New York City Human Rights laws; major medical centers in their prosecution in federal courts and before the IRS of federal tax refund claims arising out of their medical residency programs; and both plaintiffs and defendants in expedited injunctive relief proceedings in federal district courts in New York, New Hampshire, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the First Circuit arising out of the alleged theft of trade secrets, breaches of non-compete agreements, and violations of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.  Also in recent years, Mr. Schlanger represented Royal Indemnity Company in the prosecution of suits to recover for fraud in the inducement of hundreds of millions of dollars of credit risk insurance policies; and successfully defended his long-standing client Gary D. Forsee, then Vice Chairman of BellSouth and Chairman of Cingular Wireless, in an expedited arbitration brought by those companies to enjoin Mr. Forsee from becoming Chairman and CEO of Sprint.

Representative Matters

• One of The Prudential Insurance Company of America's principal courtroom lawyers in the defense against the securities fraud class action claims asserted in the MDL Sales Practice Litigation and in the defense of its employment-related sales practice cases (e.g., in dozens of NASD, judge and jury cases brought by former managerial, sales and legal personnel); 
• Litigation counsel for the American Red Cross (e.g., in the successfully concluded defense of a RICO, constitutional tort and common law conspiracy case before a jury in federal court in El Paso, Texas (and in the Fifth Circuit) alleging a conspiracy to mischaracterize cross-border medical equipment sales as donations; and in the successfully concluded defense of platelet apheresis equipment contract and product failure litigation concerning 40 contracts in 25 states);
• Litigation counsel for GE Financial Assurance (now Genworth Financial) subsidiaries in the defense of numerous securities cases (e.g., claims arising out of alleged private securities transactions by former representatives; and claims relating to sales and marketing of variable annuities and life insurance policies);
• District of Columbia counsel for B.A.T Industries plc in the defense of numerous health-related, RICO and antitrust cases filed against B.A.T and the major American tobacco companies;
• Litigation counsel for Cablevision Systems Corporation (America's sixth largest cable television operator and owner of Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks) in the cable copyright litigation in federal district court and in the D.C. Circuit, and in numerous other antitrust, media, and commercial matters;
• Litigation counsel for FPL Group, Inc. (Florida Power & Light Co.) and subsidiaries in numerous antitrust, RICO, cable communications and commercial cases;
• Litigation counsel for Sands, Taylor & Wood Company in obtaining against The Quaker Oats Company the then-largest trademark infringement judgment awarded (for Gatorade's infringement of the Thirst-Aid mark);
• Litigation counsel for The Peterson Companies (the largest private real estate developer in Virginia) in federal and state court land use cases;
• Litigation counsel for senior American personnel of Lernout & Hauspie in the SEC's investigation of alleged accounting irregularities in the sale of speech recogition software; and
• Litigation counsel in more than 20 cases on the Alexandria, Virginia federal district court "Rocket Docket," the fastest district court in America, including class actions and individual actions for, among others, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, U.S. News & World Report, Sprint, Gary Forsee, Yale University, Chevy Chase Bank, The Peterson Companies, Perpetual Bank, Fairfax Savings, The Anden Group, and the 2000 inmates of Lorton Reformatory, in the areas of RICO, securities, ERISA, intellectual property, statutory and common law fraud and conspiracy, and prisoners' procedural due process rights in disciplinary proceedings.

Previous Experience

• Mr. Schlanger served as Assistant Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition (1978-1981), where he tried the Exxon/Reliance Electric and Weyerhaeuser/Menasha merger litigations in federal court, obtained the then-largest post-merger divestiture in the ARCO/Ananconda merger litigation, and received the FTC's Outstanding Senior Executive Award.

Honors and Rankings

• Chambers USA 2009-2012, named as one of the best commercial litigators in Washington, DC.
• Washington DC Super Lawyer, Antitrust Litigation, Securities Litigation, Business Litigation (2012)
• Legal 500 US, Litigation - Trade Secrets (2012)
• Legal Media Group's Benchmark Litigation: Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Attorneys - "State Star," DC (2011, 2013)
• Neighborhood Legal Services Meritorious Achievement Award for his work in Pernell v. Southall Realty, 416 U.S. 363 (1974).
• Washington Lawyers' Committee's Outstanding Achievement Award for his class action representations in federal district courts and courts of appeal of the District of Columbia and the Fourth Circuit of the inmates of Lorton Reformatory in support of their claims that the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment applies to prison disciplinary proceedings, and for his work on similar issues in Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539 (1974).
• As a Columbia College varsity wrestler, Mr. Schlanger established (and still holds) an Ivy League and Eastern Intercollegiate record for successfully wrestling up four weight classes (123 to 157) in the 1963 EIWA Tournament.

Pro Bono

• While in law school, Mr. Schlanger was a Co-Founder of the GW Minority Student Program, among the first such programs in American law. 
• Mr. Schlanger serves as a Trustee of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
• He has served as a Director of Ayuda, Inc. (Washington's first Hispanic legal and consumer services agency) and as a volunteer attorney with the Neighborhood Legal Services Program.
• He has served as Honorary Co-President of the GW Order of the Coif Chapter.
• He currently supervises many of the firm's pro bono cases, including a murder case in which we obtained a verdict of "not criminally responsible" for a Maryland defendant charged with two first-degree murders.

Publications and Speeches

• "Federal Court Rejects Securities Fraud Claims Based on Understated Loss Reserves," Covington E-Alert (2/3/2009), Co-Author
• "Verizon v. Trinko and the Uncertain Future of "Refusal to Deal" Antitrust Liability," New York State Bar Association Corporate Counsel Newsletter (April 2005), Co-Author
• "United States v. Oracle: A Delphic Guide to the Government's Burden in Antitrust Merger Litigation," New York State Bar Association Corporate Counsel Newsletter (January 2005), Co-Author