Mike Warnecke is a steady hand in times of corporate crisis and high stakes litigation. Clients rely on his judgment and tenacity to guide them through internal investigations, criminal charges, and civil litigation – often simultaneously.
His recent public work includes representing a major global freight forwarder in an industry-wide international antitrust investigation into possible price fixing and other improper collusive activity. As previously announced by the company, the investigation began with a dawn raid by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice to execute a search warrant and a simultaneous inspection by the European Commission. The investigation expanded to include investigations by antitrust regulators in Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Switzerland. Following announcement of the government investigations, a purported civil class action lawsuit, styled Precision Associates, Inc. et al. v. Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd, et al., was filed in the Eastern District of New York against more than fifty industry players alleging antitrust class action damages. Mike has assisted the company in all aspects of the investigation and related civil litigation.
Mike also recently defended AT&T in merger challenges filed by Sprint and Cellular South against AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA. He also counseled AT&T in related pre-merger integration planning.
As an active member of The Sedona Conference, the nation's premier ediscovery think tank, he also consults regarding electronic discovery and information management issues. He is a Senior Editor of the recently published The Sedona Conference Cooperation Guidance for Litigators & In-House Counsel (2011), available at www.thesedonaconference.org.
Mike also is a co-author of State Antitrust Practice and Statutes, Ch. 48, (Texas), ABA Section of Antitrust Law ed., 4th ed. 2009. Copies available at www.abanet.org.
Additional experience includes:
- Representing numerous corporations and executives under federal investigation concerning issues such as antitrust compliance, environmental regulation and reporting, and securities regulation and reporting.
- Conducting numerous internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies to determine whether employees are engaged in conduct that could lead to both criminal and civil liability such as bribery, fraud, false reporting, and document destruction.
- Representing the owner of a national healthcare provider in connection with parallel government investigations, a bankruptcy proceeding, three separate state court lawsuits, and an arbitration proceeding involving claims of breach of contract, fraud, and RICO.
- Representing a global transportation company involved in a parallel federal criminal investigation, government contracting, suspension proceeding, and a civil qui tam action regarding transactions in the Iraqi theater.
- Representing a government contractor executive regarding insurgent attacks in Iraq.
- Representing a manufacturing company under state indictment for environmental violations.
- Representing an executive in connection with federal contempt proceedings arising out of an off shore tax investigation.
- Representing a global manufacturing and service company in connection with a public federal securities fraud class action lawsuit.
- Representing an executive in a federal criminal investigation of allegations of bank and securities fraud concerning the company's sales practices.
- Representing a manufacturing company in a federal criminal investigation of antitrust allegations about the company's distribution network and pricing practices.
- Representing an environmental testing company executive in a federal criminal investigation of alleged fictitious test results.
- Representing an executive in an SEC investigation of income recognition issues.
- Representing a global oil company in a federal criminal investigation of environmental compliance and reporting issues.
- Representing a corporate manager in a federal criminal prosecution involving environmental regulatory violations, conspiracy charges, and false statement charges.
- Defending a high tech company in an SEC investigation and two separate shareholder class action suits regarding revenue recognition and other securities issues.
- Defending a healthcare company against civil RICO, conspiracy, and antitrust claims. This litigation was part of multiple parallel proceedings generated by nationwide FBI and state attorneys general investigations of the company.
- Representing healthcare providers in arbitrations against HMOs involving claims of breach of contract, fraud, and RICO.
- Representing both plaintiffs and defendants in numerous business litigation lawsuits involving, for example, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, theft of trade secrets, deceptive trade practices, fraud, and RICO.
Honors
- "Texas Rising Stars," 2004-2007 (Law and Politics Magazine and Texas Monthly)
- "Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas " 2005-2006 (D Magazine)
Selected Representative Experience
Online Publications
03/01/2011 -
The Sedona Conference Cooperation Guidance for Litigators & In-House Counsel
In its continuing effort to promote cooperation by all parties to the litigation discovery process in order to achieve the purpose of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1 (“the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action”), The Sedona Conference has published practical guidance to identify opportunities for cooperation and to focus the parties’ limited resources on the actual merits of disputes.
12/21/2009 -
Spirit of Cooperation
The Texas Supreme Court has called for cooperation between parties in e-discovery: “A fundamental tenet of our discovery rules is cooperation between parties and their counsel, and the expectation that agreements will be made as reasonably necessary for efficient disposition of the case.” Partners Michael Warnecke and Bill Morrison discuss the implications with
Texas Lawyer.
05/01/2009 -
A Corporate Crime Wave?
Many in the business community are anxious to know if the global financial crisis will lead to a wave of criminal prosecutions. Indeed, several factors are presently converging to create what some might call the “perfect storm” of corporate criminal law enforcement.
02/13/2007 -
Selected Recent Developments in the Enforceabilty of Arbitration Clauses in the Healthcare Context
Recent judicial decisions have upheld challenges to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in contracts with healthcare providers. While some courts have enforced the parties’ agreement to arbitrate, other courts have found arbitration provisions to be inapplicable, unenforceable, or subject to limitations. The results are far from uniform and create uncertainty as to the enforceability of arbitration clauses in the healthcare context.
09/01/2006 -
A Company's Dilemma: Advancing Attorney Fees to Employees
Published in Headnotes, Volume 30, Number 9, September 1, 2006 © The Dallas Bar Association
12/09/2005 -
Civil Discovery and Spoliation in Texas
In the wake of nationwide corporate accounting scandals and Congress’ response through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, issues surrounding document retention and destruction have become a lightning rod for the attention of both federal investigators and civil litigants alike.
10/31/2005 -
Responding to Allegations of Improper Corporate Conduct
This article discusses two issues critical to any response to allegations of corporate wrongdoing: (1) structuring the internal corporate investigation in a manner that effectively responds to the allegations at issue without subjecting counsel to ethical problems that may appear along the way, and (2) dealing with the government once it launches an investigation into your corporate client, including the client’s obligation to protect relevant documents.
04/12/2005 -
Overview of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and Corporate Compliance Programs
The United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (“the Guidelines”) were promulgated in 1991 to ensure that organizations cannot profit from wrongdoing and to encourage organizations to implement appropriate compliance programs to prevent wrongdoing from occurring in the first place... This article provides and overview of the federal United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations.
05/11/2001 -
Ethical and Practical Issues Arising In the Face of a Govt. Investigation
Enforcement actions against corporations and their employees are becoming more common, especially criminal enforcement actions. These actions raise several conflict and ethical issues that must be addressed by lawyers defending either the company, the employees, or both. Many of these conflict issues are inherent in any situation where the degree of liability varies across a collection of people or entities. Some of these conflicts arise or are exacerbated, only because of certain aggressive tactics the government uses in its investigations.