- Acumen Powered by Robins Kaplan LLP®
- Affirmative Recovery
- American Indian Law and Policy
- Antitrust and Trade Regulation
- Appellate Advocacy and Guidance
- Business Litigation
- Civil Rights and Police Misconduct
- Class Action Litigation
- Commercial/Project Finance and Real Estate
- Corporate Governance and Special Situations
- Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy
- Domestic and International Arbitration
- Health Care Litigation
- Insurance and Catastrophic Loss
- Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation
- Mass Tort Attorneys
- Medical Malpractice Attorneys
- Personal Injury Attorneys
- Telecommunications Litigation and Arbitration
- Wealth Planning, Administration, and Fiduciary Disputes
Acumen Powered by Robins Kaplan LLP®
Ediscovery, Applied Science and Economics, and Litigation Support Solutions
-
March 30, 2023Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Robins Kaplan Partner Tara Sutton Give Opening Statements in Minnesota’s Lawsuit Against JUUL
-
March 28, 2023Robins Kaplan LLP Announces 2023 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow and Pathfinder
-
March 22, 2023Benchmark Litigation Names Robins Kaplan 2023 Minnesota Law Firm of the Year
-
April 3, 2023Conference of Tribal Lending Commissioners
-
April 11-13, 2023Mass Torts Made Perfect Seminar
-
April 19, 2023FBA Women in MDL, Mass and Class Leadership
-
March 2023Unintended Consequences of Banning Noncompete Agreements
-
March 26, 2023What I’ll Be Watching for in the Amgen Oral Arguments
-
March 2023How an Investor Can Lose More Than Just Their Investment
-
September 16, 2022Uber Company Systems Compromised by Widespread Cyber Hack
-
September 15, 2022US Averts Rail Workers Strike With Last-Minute Tentative Deal
-
September 14, 2022Hotter-Than-Expected August Inflation Prompts Massive Wall Street Selloff
Find additional firm contact information for press inquiries.
Find resources to help navigate legal and business complexities.
Michael D. Reif
Michael D. Reif
Partner
Experience
Michael Reif provides insight, analysis, and advocacy for complex business, insurance, privacy, and financial industry disputes. Mr. Reif has served clients in a variety of fields including banking and securities fraud, consumer retailing and franchising, telecommunications, Native American issues, and TCPA class action defense. In addition, he counsels clients on TCPA, CCPA, GDPR, Can-Spam, and CASL and advises on cybersecurity, incident response, mobile marketing, and data security best practices. His experience also includes a two-year Federal court judicial clerkship and multiple individual pro bono client representations.
Mr. Reif’s extensive experience in insurance litigation includes his handling of both liability and property claims from investigation through litigation, as well as representation in matters concerning first- and third-party coverage, subrogation, and bad faith disputes.
Mr. Reif has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes financial services litigation involving fraud, mortgage-backed securities, and securitization trustee obligations. He provides analysis of all things financial in The Daily Dose, a roundup of each weekday’s top business news published daily on the Robins Kaplan Trial Attorneys Blog. Since 2018, he has been named number one in JD Supra’s Readers’ Choice Awards in Finance & Banking and Securities.
Prompted by his experiences as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations in southeastern Montana and as a research assistant on Indian Country publications to then-Professor and former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn, Mr. Reif also focuses his practice on legal issues affecting Native American communities. He is a member of the firm’s American Indian Law and Policy Group and has represented Tribes in matters ranging from tribal lending to industrial hemp.
Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Mr. Reif is deeply committed to his community. Particularly interested in education, he serves as an instructor in the University of Minnesota Law School's Law in Practice course and a volunteer at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. In 2011, he received the Francis Xavier Award for his tutoring work at Cristo Rey. Mr. Reif also serves as the firm’s liaison to the Binger Center for New Americans at the University of Minnesota Law School and regularly partners with the Center to provide pro bono immigration representation in bond, removal, asylum, and habeas corpus proceedings. In 2017, he received the Robins Kaplan Pro Bono Award.
Mr. Reif has served as an assistant adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School since 2009 and was a Law Clerk to the Honorable David S. Doty, U.S. District Court, Minnesota from 2006-2008.
Counsel representing Kraft in a three-year arbitration regarding a breach of contract after Starbucks unilaterally terminated its agreement, cutting off Kraft’s exclusive rights to sell, market and distribute Starbucks roast and ground coffee in grocery and other retail outlets. The arbitration resulted in a $2.7 billion cash award to Kraft. Kraft Foods Group, Inc./Mondelez International, Inc. v. Starbucks Coffee Company.
Represented a financial institution in a multi-year toxic residential mortgage backed securities action that resulted in a series of confidential settlements with defendant banks and rating agencies.
Represented a guardian ad litem pro bono in juvenile protection proceedings that secured a termination of parental rights and parenting time modifications to ensure the protection of endangered minors.
Represented businesses fighting Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims by putative class actions, achieving successful resolution for his clients through summary judgment and individual settlements on terms favorable to defendant corporations.
Represented an Americorps Volunteer accused of negligence in a car accident subrogation case. Acting as first-chair counsel at trial, Mr. Reif persuaded the jury to return a verdict in favor of his client. State Farm Auto Insurance v. Xiong (Ramsey County District Court, Minnesota)
Represented Delta Dental of Minnesota as of the part of a litigation team defending Delta against potentially fraudulent reimbursement claims brought by a dental provider. Mr. Reif prepared the summary judgment motion that helped lead to a settlement that included recovery of more than $3.85 million for state-funded health plans. Smile Center v. Delta Dental of Minnesota (Hennepin County District Court, Minnesota) Read more.
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2023 edition)
- Named a "Top Author" by JD Supra (2018-2023)
- Listed in “500 Leading Litigators in America,” Lawdragon (2022)
- Named a "Minnesota Rising Star," Super Lawyers (2014-2019)
- Named an “Up & Coming Lawyer,” Minnesota Lawyer (2015)
- Named a "North Star Lawyer" by the Minnesota State Bar Association for providing at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services (2013-2016, 2022)
- Named "Attorney of the Year," Minnesota Lawyer (2013)
- Volunteer Lawyers Network, Board of Directors
- Volunteer Lawyers Network, Benefactors Board
- VLN Dignity Center
- St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce PAC, Vice-Chair
- The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Governing Member
- DFL Lawyers Committee, Co-Chair
- Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Writing & A.P. U.S. History Tutor
- St. Thomas Academy Alumni Board (2007-2015)
- Minnesota
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Minnesota
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
- French
- Spanish
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- "Cybersecurity & Privacy Policy To Watch In 2020," Law360 (January 1, 2020)
- "5 Cybersecurity & Privacy Predictions For 2020," Law360 (January 1, 2020)
- “Top 5 Ways to Keep Yourself Safe Online,” KARE11 News (October 22, 2019)
- "Tips to Protect Your Information," KARE11 News (October 18, 2018)
- "Breaking the Ice: Varied Practice Yields an Exciting Caseload," Minnesota Lawyer (May 25, 2018)
- "Legal Experts Urge Caution as Tribes Enter Pot Business," ABC News (November 18, 2015)
- Combating Cyber Events
Panelist, Loss Executives Association 91st Spring Meeting (June 9, 2022) - AI on the Edge: Legal Considerations for Artificial Intelligence Systems from Peripheral Devices
Panelist, Second Annual AI Legal Summit, Webinar (May 12, 2021) - Scrapping Over Scraping: U.S. and UK Perspectives on Data Litigation
Panelist, Robins Kaplan LLP and Lewis Silkin LLP, Webinar (April 27, 2021) - Smart Phone Privacy and Data Security – How to Assess and Minimize Risk in the Current Reality
Co-Presenter, Minnesota CLE, Webinar (February 9, 2021) - The Law of the Smart Phone: Smart Phone Privacy Primer
Minnesota CLE, Webinar (August 7, 2020) - Cyber Incident Response Training through Interactive Experience
Panelist, IAPP, ISACA, and Robins Kaplan LLP (October 2, 2019) - World Refugee Luncheon
Robins Kaplan and Minnesota Freedom Fund, Minneapolis Minnesota (June 20, 2019) - Incident Response Planning A Tabletop Experience
Conference of Tribal Lending Commissioners, Las Vegas, Nevada (March 25, 2019) - Industrial Hemp in Indian Country
Hemp Industries Association Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado (September 1, 2016) - Tribal Enterprise - Tribal Marijuana: A Year in Review, Outlook and Lessons Learned
National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, Santa Fe, New Mexico (November 18, 2015) - Protecting Your Clients’ Credit Cards
Webinar, International SalonSpa Business Network (June 30, 2015) - EMV Adoption
Presentation to Franchisee network, Edina, Minnesota (January 22, 2015) - TCPA Compliance
Presentation to Franchisee network, Bloomington, Minnesota (January 23, 2014) - Ediscovery
In-House Training for Insurance Adjusters, Chicago, Illinois (May 18, 2010)
RESOURCES
PUBLICATIONS
If you are interested in having us represent you, you should call us so we can determine whether the matter is one for which we are willing or able to accept professional responsibility. We will not make this determination by e-mail communication. The telephone numbers and addresses for our offices are listed on this page. We reserve the right to decline any representation. We may be required to decline representation if it would create a conflict of interest with our other clients.
By accepting these terms, you are confirming that you have read and understood this important notice.