Michael E. Kenneally

Michael’s practice centers on complex civil disputes, such as securities, antitrust, and employment class action litigation. He has notable familiarity with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and regularly gives presentations on the US Supreme Court’s ERISA docket. In addition, Michael frequently litigates over the enforcement of arbitration agreements and arbitration awards under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

Clients often look to Michael to help with difficult issues of constitutional, statutory, and administrative law, including novel questions on Article III standing and challenges to federal regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Michael has appealed and defended many adjudicative rulings by federal administrative agencies, especially the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the US Department of Labor (DOL).

A seasoned oral advocate, Michael is trusted by Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and others to argue critical motions and high-stakes appeals. Michael is equally dedicated to the craft of legal writing, having authored many successful briefs in cases across the country and regularly submitting amicus curiae briefs on issues of concern to the business community as well as pro bono clients.

Beyond his legal practice, Michael co-teaches a course on statutory interpretation at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and has published articles on issues in copyright law. Intellectual property issues have been a fixture of Michael’s academic writing, including in his Ph.D. dissertation at Harvard University.

• Secured unanimous 9-0 affirmance resolving a circuit split on an issue of federal appellate procedure (US Supreme Court)
• Secured affirmance of an order granting a defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissing a putative consumer class action (Second Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of a putative class action under the Sherman Act and Commodity Exchange Act alleging benchmark price manipulation (Second Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of putative class action claims against an indenture trustee of a residential mortgage-backed securities trust (Second Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of Sherman Act conspiracy and Section 1981 reverse discrimination claims (Third Circuit)
• Secured reversal of a trial court decision upholding a labor arbitration award that exceeded the arbitrator’s authority and contravened the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (Fifth Circuit)
• Secured dismissal of a challenge to the denial of class certification in an action alleging securities fraud (Sixth Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of a putative class action asserting ERISA stock-drop claims (Seventh Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of a putative class action asserting ERISA excessive-fees claims (Seventh Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of putative class wage-and-hour claims after certification of the question to the state supreme court (Ninth Circuit and Oregon Supreme Court)
• Secured reversal of an NLRB unfair labor practice ruling that misconstrued labor law’s work-preservation defense (Ninth Circuit)
• Secured reversal of a judgment in plaintiffs’ favor about home healthcare workers’ overtime eligibility under state wage-and-hour laws (Tenth Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of a denial of class certification and dismissal of products liability litigation (Eleventh Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of a putative class action on preclusion grounds under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (Eleventh Circuit)
• Secured affirmance of the dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation complaint under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (DC Circuit)
• Secured reversal of a judgment in defendant’s favor in a dispute over real estate brokerage fees (DC Circuit)
• Secured dismissal, while representing an amicus curiae, of a challenge to a Consumer Product Safety Commission regulation by raising a defect in appellate jurisdiction (DC Circuit)