Overview

Mike has served as trusted counsel to employers in all areas of labor and employment law for fifty years, with a practice that spans employment litigation defense, labor relations, employee benefits, and wage and hour compliance.

He has represented employers in claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage-hour violations, and provided strategic guidance on reductions in force, disability and religious accommodations, and workplace policy development.

With decades of experience, Mike has served as chief spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations and has successfully handled arbitrations, union election campaigns, and labor disputes across industries. He has also supported employers through labor-related due diligence in mergers and acquisitions and provided preventative training on a wide range of employment law topics.

Michael’s career includes longstanding recognition by The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers, Chambers USA, and Benchmark Litigation. In 2023, he was named Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Labor Law – Management for Tampa. Michael holds an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is known for his steady leadership, practical guidance, and deep knowledge of labor and employment law developed over decades of advocacy and strategic counsel.

Honors & Recognition

  • Chambers USA Guide (2009-2023, 2025)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, and Litigation - Labor and Employment (1995-2024, 2026)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® "Lawyer of the Year" for Labor Law - Management, Tampa (2023)
  • Florida Super Lawyers (2006-2016, 2018-2022)
  • Benchmark Litigation Labor & Employment Star (2019)
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence   

About Me

Michael enjoys being a near-native Floridian, spending time on the water, and rooting for the Rays, Buccaneers, and Lightning. When not being actively outdoors, he is likely studying nineteenth and twentieth-century American and European history.

Credentials

Education

Boston College School of Law

  • J.D., 1974
  • Editor, Boston College Law Review

Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations

  • B.S., Industrial and Labor Relations, 1970

Media

News

Professional & Civic Associations

Civic

  • Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office, Board of Trustees, President (2004-2005)
  • Leadership Tampa Alumni
  • Tampa Bay History Center

Professional

  • The Florida Bar, Labor and Employment Law Section, Chairman (1988)
  • Mid Florida Society for Human Resource Management, President (2005)

Industries

Admissions

  • Florida, 1974

“The good lawyer is not the man who has an eye to every side and angle of contingency, and qualifies all his qualifications, but who throws himself on your part so heartily, that he can get you out of a scrape.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1860)
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