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Michael Miller has over fifteen years of experience assisting clients in connection with insurance, environmental, business, and intellectual property issues. Michael is a trial lawyer who, when necessary, tries cases before judges and juries in state and federal courts across the country. Michael also assists clients with transactional matters, including complex insurance and annuity issues and complex environmental risk transfer issues.
Insurance Litigation. Michael's insurance litigation practice is national in scope. He has represented insurers in comprehensive environmental and commercial insurance coverage cases, in life and disability insurance coverage cases, in alleged fraud and RICO cases, and in cases involving annuities. Over the course of the past few years, Michael has been especially active handling cases arising out of the sale of life insurance policies (and interests therein) on the secondary market.
Structured Settlements. For several of the firm’s insurer clients, Michael provides representation in connection with attempts by "factoring companies" to effectuate purchases of personal injury structured settlement payment streams. In this context, Michael has assisted with drafting model legislation and has counseled insurers on developing protocols for responding to the issues raised by factoring transactions and the claims that often result from these transactions. Michael has developed a national reputation for successfully litigating these cases, and for successfully litigating other cases arising out of structured settlements. Michael is currently Co-Chairperson for the Legal Committee of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA).
Complex Insurance and Environmental Risk Transfer Transactions. Michael has combined his environmental, insurance, and other experience to assist clients with the complex risk transfer transactions that are often associated with transfers of environmentally contaminated real estate. In these transactions, Michael negotiates the contracts that transfer the environmental risks, and Michael then works with brokers and underwriters to draft insurance policies designed to address these risks. Michael was involved in "Early Transfer" transactions at the Mare Island Navy Base (California) and the Fort Ord Army Base (California). Commercial/Intellectual Property Litigation. As a commercial litigator, Michael has substantial experience with intellectual property and software litigation. Michael recently represented a client that had hired a software development firm to produce computer sports games. When the software development firm failed to produce a working product, Michael commenced and prosecuted an arbitration proceeding that resulted in a substantial award for the client. Michael also recently represented a manufacturing firm that developed and kept secret for many years a process for maintaining a particular item of industrial equipment. When a former employee of the client opened a competing firm and began manufacturing a similar product, Michael obtained a preliminary injunction and permanent injunction prohibiting the former employee from using the process.
In General. Michael received his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from the University of South Florida in 1988. He received his J.D., cum laude, in 1991 from Temple University School of Law, where he was a member of the law review. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Chester County Bar Association. He is on the President’s Council at Immaculata College, and he is a member of the board of directors of Camphill Village at Kimberton Hills. Michael also plays an active role in Drinker Biddle's sponsorship of City Year.
Michael’s recent reported decisions include the following: Vance Williams v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, et al., 750 A.2d 881 (Pa. Super. 2000); WebBank v. American General Annuity Service Corp., et al., 54 P.3d 1139 (Utah 2002); Singer Asset Finance Company, L.L.C. v. Johnny L. Bachus and State Farm Life Insurance Company, et al., 741 N.Y.S.2d 618 (4th Dept. 2002); First England Funding, L.L.C. v. Aetna Life Insurance & Annuity Co., et al., 790 A.2d 243 (N.J. Super. 2002); Lang v. Continental Assurance Company, et al., 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 24586 (3d Cir., December 4, 2002); RegScan v. Brewer, et al., 04-6043, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20087 (E.D. of Pa., March 16, 2007); and Jackson v. Rohm & Haas Company, et al., 06-3682, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65900 (E.D. of Pa., September 5, 2007).
Michael is admitted to practice in the Supreme Courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. |
