Présentation
Michael A. Pope is a trial lawyer who provides legal counsel on matters related to product liability, consumer fraud and complex business litigation.
Michael has tried complex jury cases to verdict around the country for almost 40 years. He has recently represented numerous Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action in Chicago, and Syngenta Crop Protection in two class actions filed in Central Illinois. He has also represented McDonald’s in a multi-district litigation (MDL) action involving the marketing of its French fries, as well as Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil and State Farm in commercial class actions in Illinois.
Michael is active in alternative dispute resolution and serves as a mediator and an arbitrator on major disputes involving complex business litigation and professional liability disputes. In 2012, he was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to its Commission on Access to Justice. Michael is also active in pro bono and community activities.
Results
- Obtained a complete dismissal of all Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) claims and defeated plaintiffs’ motion to certify an ERISA class action on behalf of 11 healthcare plans in a putative nationwide class action alleging violations of RICO and ERISA in connection with the plans’ efforts to recover fees erroneously paid to providers for medical services rendered to subscribers
- Secured a jury verdict in favor of Leprino Foods Company in Federal Court in Denver, Colorado, in an insurance coverage dispute with Factory Mutual Insurance Company over an All Risk property policy in which the insurer had denied Leprino’s claim after approximately eight million pounds of its cheese was damaged in storage; at trial, the jury found the loss to be covered under the insurance policy and awarded a verdict that, with interest, resulted in a return to Leprino of approximately $25 million—the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the jury verdict
- Defended Syngenta Crop Protection, a herbicide manufacturer, in two purported class actions brought by community water systems in Illinois concerning the sale of Atrazine to farmers, and its presence in the groundwater used by the water systems; a favorable settlement was obtained on behalf of Syngenta
Distinctions
- Who’s Who Legal: Insurance & Reinsurance, Commercial Litigation 2016
- American College of Trial Lawyers, fellow
- Chambers USA 2003 to 2019
- Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences 2021
- The Best Lawyers in America 2006 to 2017, for ‘Bet-the-Company Litigation’, ‘Commercial Litigation’ and ‘Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants’. In 2015 named Chicago’s “Lawyer of the Year” in Mass Tort Litigation and Class Actions
- Illinois Super Lawyer, Top 100
- International Academy of Trial Lawyers, fellow
- International Association of Defense Counsel, past president
- International Society of Barristers, fellow
- Lawdragon, 500 Leading Litigators
- LMG Life Sciences 2013 to 2016, Life Science Star
- Who’s Who Legal: Litigation 2015
- Northwestern University, 2012 Alumni Merit Award
Community
- American Bar Association
- American Law Institute
- Chicago Bar Association
- Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), founder
- Defense Research Institute
- Federal Bar Association, past member of board of directors, 2006 to 2012
- Illinois Equal Justice Foundation (IEJF), founder and first president
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Lawyers for Civil Justice, past president
- Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, past president
- National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, former chairman of the board of trustees
- Newberry Library, elected to the board of trustees
- Seventh Circuit Bar Association, past president
Credentials
Education
Northwestern University School of Law, JD, cum laude, 1969
Loyola University Chicago, BS, 1966
Admissions
Illinois
New York
Courts/Agencies
Supreme Court of the United States
