Michael D. Pinnisi

Mr. Pinnisi provides General Counsel and targeted services for clients across the country, often reviewing and managing the work of other law firms.

His clients most often are established businesses and emerging high technology companies. He is a "lawyer's lawyer," having advised and represented other "Superlawyers" and attorneys listed in "Best Lawyers in America."

His extensive legal experience includes service as an Honor Program Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York and Washington, D.C., as an associate with Shearman & Sterling and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, as in-house General Counsel of Kionix, Inc. and Cognitive Science LLC, and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell Law School.

He regularly handles high-stakes litigations with diverse commercial and highly technical subject matters.

He structures and negotiates a wide range of complex business deals, he has supervised the transfer of companies valued into hundreds of millions of dollars, and he has handled sensitive internal corporate investigations.

He has supervised the prosecution, use, enforcement, and transfer of hundreds of patented inventions and trade secrets for companies in a wide range of industrial fields.

He is a graduate of Cornell University and Cornell Law School, a frequent speaker to bar and business groups, and a recipient of awards for upholding high ethical standards in practice.

Cornell Law School, J.D. 1985
Freeman Civil Rights Scholar
Moot Court Board

Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences, A.B. cum laude 1982
Vedder Political Science Scholar, Dean's List
Captain, Cornell Debate Association
Aleph Samach Honor Society for Student Leadership

Pinnisi & Anderson, Ithaca, New York, 2003 – Current
Co-founder of boutique practice serving national clientele in commercial litigation, contract negotiation and enforcement, corporate governance, internal corporate investigations, transfer of closely held corporations, and intellectual property matters.

General Counsel, Vice President for Business Development, and Secretary of the Corporation, Kionix, Inc., Ithaca, New York, 1999 – 2003
Responsible for all legal matters of world leader in silicon micro-machines. Identified and developed new business opportunities and provided strategic advice to the CEO and Board.

Brown, Pinnisi & Michaels, P.C., Ithaca, New York, 1992 - 1999
Founder and senior litigator handling cases and matters of commercial litigation, contracting, corporate governance, and intellectual property.

Adjunct Professor of Law, Cornell Law School, 1992 – 1999
Offered courses in Negotiation, Appellate Advocacy, Trial Advocacy, and Federal Civil Pre-Trial Litigation.

Litigation Associate, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Washington, D.C., 1991 – 1992
Products liability litigation counsel in national mass tort cases involving alleged L-tryptophan causation of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome epidemic.

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, 1988 – 1991
Represented the United States in civil and criminal investigations, negotiations, trials, and appeals in a wide range of matters including cases of national significance.

Litigation Associate, Shearman & Sterling, New York, N.Y., 1987 – 1988
Commercial and bankruptcy litigation practice, primarily re Hunt brothers' bankruptcy litigation following their failed attempt to corner the silver market.

Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Honor Program, Washington, D.C., 1985 – 1987
Conducted discovery, motions, and trials in civil and criminal cases as a Trial Attorney for the Civil Rights Division and as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia.

Bar Admissions:

• New York State
• United States District Court, Northern District of New York
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York
• United States District Court, Western District of New York
• Untied States Court of Appeals for the Federal Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Service Areas:

• Appellate
• Business Litigation
• Closely Held Businesses
• Commercial Acquisition and Sale
• Contract Disputes
• Corporate Governance and Compliance
• Electrical and Computer Systems
• Employment Litigation
• Financial Restructuring
• General Corporate
• Leasing
• Licensing and Technology Transfer
• Manufacturing
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Patent and Trademark Infringement
• Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition
• Venture Capital
• White Collar Defense and Investigations
• Workout and Foreclosure

• AVVO , Superb Rating: Based on Experience, Industry Recognition, Professional Conduct
• New York Super Lawyers® list
• Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in Finance and Industry
• Phi Delta Phi (Legal Service and Ethics Fraternity), Honorary Inductee, Cornell Chapter, 1999 –
• Harrop Freeman Prize for advancement of civil rights in practice