Michael Strub’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, with an emphasis on bankruptcy litigation and intellectual property litigation, including issues relating to patents and trade secrets.

Mike has extensive experience handling commercial and entertainment litigation matters in both state and federal court in a variety of jurisdictions — from the Superior Court in Guam to the Court of Trade in New York and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also well-versed in the area of privilege and work product.

Additionally, Mike maintains an active pro bono practice. Together with Public Counsel, he and other Irell & Manella LLP lawyers filed a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit against Compton Unified School District on behalf of students who are the victims of trauma, which seeks to require the district to provide these students with a meaningful education by implementing trauma-informed practices. In 2012, Mike received the “Pro Bono of the Year Award” from Public Counsel’s Appellate Law Program for his representation of plaintiff and appellant Janice Zhang in connection with a housing discrimination case in the Second District Court of Appeal. Working with other Irell lawyers and Kids in Need of Defense, Mike also obtained lawful permanent residency for a young Chinese girl who was a victim of child trafficking.

Experience

  • Represented 10x Genomics Inc. in connection with patent infringement dispute.
  • Represented Nu Image in connection with defense of fraud and breach of contract claims arising from sale of DVD film distribution company.
  • Represented BOKF N.A. as trustee for first lien noteholders in connection with intercreditor dispute with second lien noteholders.
  • Represented former equity holders and former management of Lake at Las Vegas resort in defense of, inter alia, claims for alleged fraudulent transfer and fraudulent conveyance.
  • Represented Carmel Land & Cattle Co. in connection with litigation in bankruptcy arising out of real estate and water rights.
  • Represented Chapter 7 trustee for Imperial Credit Industries Inc. in fraudulent conveyance action against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Matter was settled after U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled, in a matter of first impression, that the FDIC was not exempt from fraudulent conveyance law under regulations governing insured depository institutions.
  • Represented Chartwell Litigation Trust in a multimillion-dollar fraudulent conveyance action against Addus Healthcare Inc. concerning the home healthcare business.
  • Represented hotel owner Nimitz Partners LLC in connection with bankruptcy proceedings and related lender liability claims which settled shortly before trial, with the equity holders retaining their full interests and without making any out of pocket expenditures during the course of the proceedings.
  • Represented debtors EMAK Worldwide and EMAK Service in connection with contested confirmation of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. The plan was confirmed after trial.
  • Represented Meggitt Plc and affiliates in trade secret litigation.
  • Represented PDL BioPharma in connection with an action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, involving claims by MedImmune seeking to invalidate PDL BioPharma's Queen patents, which cover certain fundamental technology relating to humanization of antibodies. A settlement was reached resolving all domestic and foreign patent disputes between the parties.
  • Represented plaintiffs Max Planck (one of the leading international research institutes) and Alnylam (a publicly traded startup company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to developing drug treatments based on RNA interference, commonly known as gene silencing) in a dispute over patent applications in the field of RNA interference. The case settled shortly before trial on favorable terms.
  • Represented Citibank (South Dakota) N.A. as a defendant in litigation challenging its late fees, which ultimately was resolved in Citibank’s favor by the U.S. Supreme Court (517 U.S. 735).
  • Represented Boston Capital Corporation and its affiliates in state and federal court lawsuits arising out of a development of a low-income housing project.
  • Represented Paychex and its affiliates in defense of claims arising out of a license agreement for payroll processing software.
  • Represented creditors of eToys in a multimillion-dollar fraudulent conveyance and breach of contract action arising out of lease agreement.
  • Represented Big Ticket Pictures and its affiliates in a lawsuit alleging interference with contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract based on how Big Ticket accounted for the profits on the Judge Judy television show.
  • Represented Showtime in connection with profit participation dispute arising out of distribution of videocassettes.
  • Represented Steel Dynamics, an Indiana-based steel mini-mill, in a multistate securities litigation.
  • Represented First Alliance Mortgage Co. in bankruptcy litigation challenging its lending practices.
  • Represented Japanese bank as defendant in lender liability litigation in Guam Superior Court and Guam Supreme Court.
  • Represented General Electric Capital Corp. as plaintiff in litigation in Connecticut federal district court against DIRECTV and Hughes Electronics Corp. for breach of full recourse financing program agreement. Client agreed to finance rural consumers’ purchases of satellite receiver and hardware necessary to receive DIRECTV’s satellite programming, and defendants agreed to reimburse client for consumers’ loan defaults but failed to pay.
  • Represented Siemens Solar Industries as plaintiff in litigation in New York Supreme Court in which Siemens alleges that it was defrauded by Atlantic Richfield Co. in connection with acquisition by Siemens of an ARCO photovoltaic subsidiary.
  • Represented Citicorp Real Estate Inc. as defendant in litigation in California Superior Court in which plaintiff, a real estate developer, claimed that Citicorp misappropriated plaintiff's idea for the development of property owned by Citicorp and located in Hollywood.
  • Represented Citicorp Real Estate Inc. as creditor in connection with bankruptcy litigation involving property located at the corner of Rodeo and Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
  • Represented Citicorp North America Inc. as defendant in litigation in California Superior Court in which plaintiff, a startup airline, alleged that a Boeing 747 jet aircraft leased from Citicorp was defective.
  • Represented Citibank in an action against Bank of America arising from massive servicing failures, with damages exceeding $564 million, in California Student Loan Program.
  • Represented Citicorp North America Inc. and Citibank N.A. as creditors in connection with bankruptcy litigation involving operating company that manufactured specialized lighting equipment.
  • Represented Morgan Stanley & Co. as defendant in federal litigation in connection with the sale of high-yield securities to a state-chartered bank and in arbitration in connection with the sale of similar securities to a family trust.

Publications

Mike has written several articles on financial and bankruptcy issues. His article “Competition, Bargaining, and Exclusivity Under the New Value Rule Applying the Single-Asset Paradigm of Bonner Mall,” 111 Banking L. J. 228 (March 1994), was cited with approval by a number of courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States in Bank of America National Trust & Savings Association v. 203 North LaSalle Street Partnership (In re LaSalle Street Partnership), 526 U.S. 434 (1999) and the Second Circuit in In re Coltex Loop Central Three Partners, L.P., 138 F.3d 39 (1998). His publications also include:

Speaking Engagements

  • “Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property: Avoiding Traps and Exploiting Opportunities When They Merge,” Celesq CLE webinar (October 2020)

  • “Business Debate,” American Bankruptcy Institute's 22nd Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference (September 10-12, 2015)

Education

University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1990), highest honors; Editor, Texas Law Review; Order of the Coif

Georgetown University (B.S.F.S., 1987)

Admissions

  • California, 1991
  • District of Columbia, 1998
  • U.S. District Court for the Central, Southern and Northern Districts of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Seventh Circuits
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central and Northern Districts of California
  • U.S. Court of International Trade, 2018
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1996
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