Michael J. Plishner serves as the firm’s general counsel for risk management. He focuses on large-case commercial litigation and, over the years, has represented major corporate clients in such areas as construction litigation and claims, securities and class action lawsuits, class actions for alleged unfair competition and advertising, and antitrust and trade regulation matters.
In the construction field, Mike has represented owners, large general contractors, manufacturers and suppliers in a wide array of construction litigation problems for some 20 years. Construction projects on which he has worked include semiconductor fabrication facilities; major hospital projects; the design and manufacture of transit vehicles for the San Francisco BART system and the high-speed “Eurostar” trains used in the London to Paris “Chunnel” service; construction of the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu; a major mining project in Nevada; construction of facilities for Alaska’s North Slope; defects in a California shopping center complex; and a number of university facilities.
Mike has extensive experience in state and federal courts and in AAA and private arbitrations; he has also been involved in dozens of mediation and other ADR proceedings involving as many as 30 parties. He serves as a AAA arbitrator, arbitrates disputes pro bono for the San Francisco Superior Court, and is an early neutral evaluator on the Northern District of California’s commercial panel.
In the securities field, Mike has extensive experience in SEC investigations and related civil and criminal cases. He successfully tried to a jury in the Southern District of New York one of the few known cases in which a high-profile defendant was acquitted of criminal insider trading charges. He has handled class action litigation involving securities claims, antitrust claims, consumer protection (unfair competition and false advertising) claims, and unfair insurance practices. He has trial experience in state and federal courts.
