One of the most prominent election lawyers in the country, Michael has represented hundreds of clients in high-profile cases, including Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Secretary of State Jesse White and many other members of Congress and the General Assembly.
Previously General Counsel to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Parliamentarian to the Illinois House of Representatives, he currently serves as General Counsel and Treasurer for the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Michael was the lead attorney in the successful defense to the 2010 residency challenge of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. In January 2009, he served as House Prosecutor in the impeachment trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. He has also successfully defended the state’s congressional and legislative redistricting plans in federal court. The Chicago Tribune has called him “a highly skilled attorney who successfully argued the Supreme Court should strike down the 2016 ballot initiative known as the Illinois Independent Redistricting Map Amendment.”
Michael is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and the University of Notre Dame. Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, he lives in Lincoln Park with his wife, Kerry, and their two daughters.
