Michael A. Charish

Representative Matters

AT CHARISH LAW GROUP AND SCHULMAN & CHARISH, MICHAEL’S REPRESENTATIONS HAVE INCLUDED:

CONTRACTS AND BUSINESS TORTS

• A billion-dollar, publicly traded U.S. technology company in numerous post-closing disputes, and litigations in Delaware and California, relating to mergers and acquisitions.
• An Israeli internet company in patent-and-tort litigation, pivoting on contract and civil-procedure issues, in federal district court in Texas and appeals court in Washington, D.C.
• A U.S. renewable-energy company in New York litigation against a competitor claiming misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, fraud, and other business torts.
• The New York affiliate of an Israel-based leader in on-demand mobility, in seven-figure contract-and-tort litigation in New York.
• A publicly traded U.S. technology company in eight-figure Massachusetts litigation alleging breach of a software sales-agency agreement.
• A retail-energy company in eight-figure bankruptcy-court litigation in Minnesota, alleging breaches of a loan agreement.

INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

• U.S. energy companies in complex, seven-figure, multiparty, international arbitration, concerning a corporate acquisition and involving contract and tort claims, before the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution.
• A publicly traded U.S. technology company in international arbitration, concerning a business-partner agreement and distribution of software in Europe, and involving contract and tort claims, before the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution.
• A U.K. energy company in complex international arbitration, concerning corporate governance and financing, and involving contract and fiduciary-duty claims, before the International Chamber of Commerce.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CONTROL

• An Israeli individual in nine-figure corporate and estate litigations, in Delaware and New York, concerning one of Ecuador’s largest conglomerates and its founding family.
• Members of a Delaware LLC in corporate-governance aspects of an eight-figure contract dispute in New York.
• A leading Israeli law firm named as a defendant in Delaware corporate litigation alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and business torts.

ENFORCEMENT MATTERS AND SECURITIES

• An American attorney in an SEC investigation and related SEC and private securities litigations alleging securities fraud connected to a micro-cap company.
• An Israeli venture-capital fund threatened with eight-figure litigation in a complex matter involving criminal, SEC, and private civil actions, in New York and Delaware, alleging securities fraud.
• Former directors of an Israeli security-software company — including a retired Major General of the Israel Defense Forces and a former CEO of one of Israel’s most prominent companies — who were non-party witnesses in an SEC federal-court enforcement action.
• A publicly traded U.S. sports-technology company, and its CEO, in New York federal-court litigation against an investor claiming breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and securities fraud.
• Five related public companies in an SEC investigation into security-ownership reporting.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• A billion-dollar Israeli internet company in seven-figure international litigation concerning revenue-sharing agreements and alleged copyright and trademark infringement, in federal district and appeals courts in New York.
• A U.S. solar-technology company in international litigations, in federal district and appeals courts in Massachusetts and New York, concerning the ownership of patent rights, alleged breach of a licensing agreement, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
• An Israel-based diamond-industry company in New York federal-court litigation against a competitor centering on trademark claims and also encompassing patent, contract, tort, and antitrust claims.

EXPERT OPINION ON U.S. LAW

• Appointed by the Tel Aviv District Court as an independent expert on issues of New York law in a breach-of-contract action between two well-known Israeli figures.

Prior Experience

AT WACHTELL LIPTON AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL SOLUTIONS, MICHAEL’S REPRESENTATIONS INCLUDED:

CONTRACTS AND BUSINESS TORTS

• A leading cable network in a broadcast-contract dispute with prominent media and entertainment companies.
• A telecommunications company in litigation concerning royalty payments under a software licensing agreement.
• A telecommunications company in litigation against a former employee, alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and a covenant not to compete.

ENFORCEMENT MATTERS AND INVESTIGATIONS

• A celebrity client in investigations by a congressional subcommittee, the SEC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office concerning alleged insider trading, false statements, and securities fraud.
• An international bank in an internal investigation of one of the largest rogue-trading scandals in history.
• A credit-card issuer in an internal investigation of a stock-price collapse related to an earnings shortfall, an accounting-policy change, and allegations of insider trading.
• An American-Israeli finance professional in an SEC insider-trading inquiry.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CONTROL

• A major stock exchange in a lawsuit seeking to enjoin a merger.
• A leading pharmaceutical company in hostile-takeover litigation and the battle for control over a jointly marketed blockbuster drug.
• Directors of a global apparel company in shareholder derivative litigation concerning an interested-party transaction.

SECURITIES

• A semiconductor company in a Section 16(b) short-swing-profit case stemming from a reclassification of preferred stock.
• A leading retail chain in a securities class action pertaining to a stock-price decline related to losses in the credit-card business.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Advised a document-security company on patent litigations against the European Central Bank concerning infringement and validity of a patent for anti-counterfeiting technology.

ERISA

• A leading Wall Street investment bank in an ERISA case, stemming from a failed investment, that went to the United States Supreme Court.

BANKRUPTCY

• A leading retail chain in bankruptcy litigation against a shoe company concerning royalty and accounting issues related to a joint venture between the parties.