プロフィール
Mike Collyard is Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Affirmative Recovery Practice and is a battle-tested trial lawyer known for handling complex multibillion- and multimillion-dollar cases.
A trial lawyer from a national trial firm described Mike in the Star Tribune as “the best trial lawyer I have encountered in 42 years of practice…His ability to take complexity and reduce it to lay language for jurors is unmatched.” A former client called him “a rock” who is “tenacious.” A court reporter who handled one of Mike’s trials commented that his opening statement and cross-examinations were among the best she had seen in 20 years of handling federal jury trials. Mike is also known for obtaining the largest jury verdict in Minnesota—$564 million—which was subsequently reversed on appeal after the appellate court determined that the trial court had erred in refusing to allow an available equitable defense.
Mike’s practice spans a wide range of complex business disputes, including fraud, Ponzi schemes, breach of fiduciary duty, antitrust, breach of contract, and intellectual property. A significant part of his practice involves financial litigation, where he frequently represents financial institutions, trustees and receivers in cases that involve fraud, proving knowledge and intent, and presenting complex financial evidence in simple terms that juries can understand.
Over the course of his career, Mike has served as lead counsel in many complex high-stakes business and financial disputes on both sides of the “v.” On the plaintiff side, he has served as lead counsel for companies, financial institutions, receivers, and trustees in multibillion-dollar and multimillion-dollar matters and tried cases to verdict. In one case he secured a $28 million settlement without having to take a single deposition. On the defense side, Mike was lead counsel for a major financial institution in a multi-billion-dollar case that settled on the eve of a multi-month trial with his client paying nothing, while other defendants paid eight figures to resolve the claims. As lead counsel he has also secured several dismissals on multimillion-dollar cases.
Mike takes a hands-on approach to his cases. He runs his cases lean, is closely involved in every phase of them, and is known for developing creative strategies early that simplify the issues. Mike has also litigated high stakes spoliation issues at the trial level, obtained adverse inference jury instructions based on intentional destruction of evidence, and successfully defended clients against spoliation allegations in federal court evidentiary hearings.
That same passion, creativity, and tenacity extend to his pro bono work. In a Minnesota case of first impression, he represented a guardian ad litem at trial and achieved a favorable resolution following his opening statement.
Mike is ranked in Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial in Minnesota and has been recognized by The National Law Journal on its “Top 100 Verdicts” and “Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers” lists. He is listed in Best Lawyers and has been named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” and “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in America.” Minnesota Lawyer named him an “Attorney of the Year” and recognized him on its “Minnesota Legal 250,” “Power 30: Business Litigators,” and “The Power List: Business Litigation.” He has also been honored by Minnesota Monthly as a “Top Lawyer,” by Thomson Reuters as a “Stand-out Lawyer,” and by Super Lawyers on the “Minnesota Super Lawyers” list.
Mike is a member of the Commercial Receivers Association, the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers, the Turnaround Management Association, the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the International Trademark Association, and other professional organizations. He has served on the Dean's Advisory Board at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, mentored law students at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and served as a guest professor there. Mike regularly teaches trial skills to other lawyers through advocacy training programs and has spoken at conferences hosted by professional associations and law schools across Minnesota on topics including trial strategy, aiding and abetting liability, eDiscovery, and receivership practice.
Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Mike was a senior partner at a national trial firm, where he served as Chair of the Banking & Financial Fraud Litigation Group, Chair of the eDiscovery Group, and was an elected member of the firm’s Executive Board.
取扱分野
実績紹介
- Served as lead counsel for a receiver on behalf of a privately held company that operated for-profit colleges across the United States. Following the company’s abrupt closure in 2018, which left thousands of students unable to complete their education, represented the receiver in claims against former officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duty, resulting in a favorable $28 million settlement.°
- Served as lead counsel for a financial institution in a multibillion-dollar unfair competition action arising out of the institution's role as trustee over foreclosed properties. The case was one of several coordinated actions filed against major financial institutions and sought billions of dollars in fines and a permanent injunction that would have fundamentally altered industry-wide practices. On the eve of a multi-month trial, the matter resolved with the plaintiff withdrawing its request for injunctive relief and agreeing that the client would pay no monetary damages.°
- Served as co-lead counsel for a national grocery distributor in a complex antitrust and racketeering action in federal court in Illinois. Against an initial plaintiff demand of approximately $30 million, obtained dismissal of all claims, after which the plaintiffs dismissed their remaining claims and settled for no monetary payment.°
- Served as lead counsel for a global services and consulting firm in a breach of contract and tortious interference action in which the plaintiff's initial demand reached eight figures. Obtained dismissal of all claims.°
- Served as lead counsel for a large financial institution in its capacity as indenture trustee in a declaratory judgment action. Removed the case to federal court and obtained dismissal of all claims.°
- Served as lead counsel for a hair salon franchise in a multimillion-dollar commercial real estate dispute. Obtained judgment on the pleadings, resulting in dismissal of all claims.°
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Collyard prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- Guest Professor, University of St. Thomas Law School
受賞歴・所属団体
- Listed, Chambers USA Guide, Litigation: General Commercial, 2025-2026
- Listed, The National Law Journal
- “Top 100 Verdicts for 2022,” 2023
- “Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers,” 2023
- Listed, Lawdragon
- “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in America,” 2024-2026
- “500 Leading Litigators in America,” 2024-2026
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, 2024-2026
- Commercial Litigation, 2024-2026
- Litigation - Banking and Finance, 2025-2026
- Litigation - Bankruptcy, 2025-2026
- Litigation - Intellectual Property, 2024-2026
- Listed, Minnesota Lawyer
- “Minnesota Legal 250,” 2026
- “The Power List: Business Litigation,” 2025
- “Power 30: Business Litigators,” 2023-2024
- “Attorney of the Year,” 2022
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Minnesota Super Lawyers, 2023-2025
- Listed, Thomson Reuters, “Stand-Out Lawyers,” 2023-2024
- Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
- Member, American Bar Association (Intellectual Property Section)
- Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, Commercial Receivers Association
- Member, Federal Bar Association
- Member, Hennepin County Bar Association
- Member, International Trademark Association
- Member, Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, New York Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER)
- Member, Turnaround Management Association (TMA)
- Member, Dean’s Advisory Board, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
- Member, The Sedona Conference® Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production (WG1)
学歴・資格・言語
-
法務博士, magna cum laude, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
- Primary Editor, Hamline Law Review
- 学士号, University of St. Thomas
- Minnesota
- 米国 ニューヨーク州
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit