MICHAEL J. BOWE

Mike has represented companies and individuals in all types of complex commercial, civil RICO, and personal and brand disparagement actions, including:

• Fairfax Financial, AmTrust Financial, Eros International, Resolute Forest Products, MBIA, Jefferies Group, Brookfield Asset Management, Lehman Brothers, CGI Group, Banco Popular, Biovail Pharmaceuticals, Harvey Norman, Glencore, Energy Transfer Partners, and Amira Foods in civil RICO and common law tort and disparagement claims and other defensive actions against short-sellers and activists.
• Over 150 victims of child sexual abuse and human trafficking in claims against online pornography site owner MindGeek (now Aylo), Visa, and various hedge funds financing the business.
• Eighteen United States military housing projects in civil RICO and common law claims for over $900 million against financial services companies Jefferies and insurer Ambac alleging the defendants engaged in an extensive scheme of fraudulent financings.
• Investment firm Klesch & Co. in a billion-dollar partnership dispute over a failed acquisition of Deutsche Telekom.
• Asset manager Blueprint Capital Partners in civil RICO and civil rights claims alleging systemic racism in New Jersey’s selection and allocation of capital to outside asset managers in New Jersey’s pension system, discriminatory retaliation, and a corrupt “pay-to-play” scheme that excluded minority- and female-owned firms in favor of old-line Wall Street firms.
• A former managing director of family office Archegos Capital Management in its suit against its founder and several senior executives for allegedly defrauding its employees in losing almost $500 million of their compensation.
• Investment firm Harbinger Capital on various claims arising from its multibillion-dollar effort to construct a wireless communications network.
• Ottawa Senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk and Biovail Pharmaceuticals in their defense of defamation claims by a former Bank of America analyst.
• Chipmaker Altera in defending AMD patent claims.
• Chemical company Celanese in defense of a multimillion-dollar environmental indemnity and contribution case arising from a chemical train derailment and a multimillion-dollar wrongful industrial death claim.
• High-net-worth individuals, families, sports and entertainment celebrities, and trusts in disputes over hundreds of millions in investment and business assets, including PGA golfer Nick Price; prominent New York trial lawyer Stanley Arkin; New York investment banker Denis Bovin; New York business and real estate investors Eric Hadar, Raymond Gindi, Phil Pilevsky, and Joseph Chehebar; investors in restaurant Nobu; and numerous others.
• The Ottawa Senators in disputes with the NHL, players, and business partners.
• Major League Baseball executives and personnel in employment disputes and league investigations.
• Multiple cable news personalities in employment disputes and personal matters.
• Universities in consumer class actions involving COVID-19 adjustments to on-campus instruction.

Mike has represented:

• Real estate developer Coles Jersey Development Co. as trial counsel in recovering damages for failure to pay under the parties’ title insurance policy and for bad faith dealings.
• Leading publicly traded REIT iStar Inc. in a financing default foreclosure and guarantee enforcement over a large South Florida beachfront development.
• Property owners and a building management company challenging the forced sale of four Manhattan properties, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, by a large real estate developer and investor.
• Real estate investor Erwin Gonzalez in a partnership dispute involving over $250 million in real estate assets.
• The historic Miami Savoy Hotel in its defense of a foreclosure action on behalf of distressed investors in the hotel and representation of subsequent development and operations claims by and against the hotel and its developers.
• Luxury, residential, and commercial buildings in Manhattan and elsewhere, including the luxury Manhattan residences 515 Park Avenue and 325 Fifth Avenue, with over $100 million recovered in damages, repairs, and other relief.
• Private investors in a dispute over the sale of an iconic Manhattan building resulting in over $80 million recovered.
• Real estate investor Eric Hadar and the Eric Hadar Family Trust in obtaining Manhattan real estate development sites that his adversaries called the “crown jewels” of a disputed partnership’s assets.
• JDS Development Group in the acquisition of a landmark New York City building.
• Syracuse University in defeating claims for specific performance brought by an unsuccessful developer of the university’s student center.

Mike has represented several major insurance companies in significant coverage, reinsurance, indemnity/subrogation, and business disputes.

Mike has represented:

• The president of the United States in the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
• Bank of New York in a credit card antitrust investigation involving Visa and Mastercard.
• Goldman Sachs in various SEC investigations.
• Victoria Toensing, the former senior DOJ official and high-profile criminal defense lawyer, in convincing federal prosecutors to end the grand jury investigation and terminate the appointment of a special master in the case, as it related to the FISA investigation of Rudy Giuliani in the Southern District of New York.
• Certain administration officials in congressional inquiries related to the subject of the Mueller investigation.
• The New York State Assembly in the Moreland Commission investigation.
• Charter school network Celerity and certain of its officers and directors in convincing federal prosecutors not to indict.
• A major public company in successfully preventing an enforcement action by the SEC and DOJ, after a three-year investigation.
• A CEO of a publicly traded company in convincing New York prosecutors not to indict for securities fraud.
• The New York City Police Benevolent Association (PBA) in challenging the City of New York’s release of body cam video footage.

Mike has represented:

• Victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the family of murdered U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr., and Marine Corps Major Jason Brezler. These matters have received substantial congressional, press, and public attention. Mike’s successful federal court challenge on behalf of Major Brezler has been recognized as groundbreaking precedent with a far-reaching impact on military justice.