Barton LLP
New York, New York
Former New York City Corporation Counsel, Michael D. Hess and Partner Laura-Michelle Horgan have joined the firm’s Litigation Practice. Together, they bring a wealth of valuable experience to Barton.
Mike has an extensive and highly notable legal career that began at the United States Attorney’s Office where he worked his way up from an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York to ultimately become Chief of the Civil Division.
At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mike became nationally recognized litigating historic cases such as the “Pentagon Papers” case and Galella v. U.S. Secret Service and Onassis, in which he defended the actions of the Secret Service in imposing reasonable limitations on the rights of paparazzi to photograph the Kennedy/Onassis family.
Over the next two decades, Mike was a senior partner at three Am Law 100 firms, until November 1997 when Mike was appointed the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York. The 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred during his tenure and as the City’s chief lawyer, Mike was responsible for handling many unique and complex legal issues that arose in the aftermath of the attacks, such as amending the law to promptly provide death certificates to families and enabling them to collect much-needed insurance for their deceased loved ones.
Mike has extensive business and management experience including as a founder and Senior Vice President of Giuliani Partners Consulting Firm. Mike has taught and lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, New York University, and Fordham. In 2001, Harvard Law School named him a Wasserstein Fellow for his outstanding public service.
Laura-Michelle has practiced with Mike for a number of years and brings to Barton her experience as a commercial litigator at the federal and state level, with a concentration on commercial business disputes, white-collar criminal defense, intellectual property disputes, and other complex litigation matters. Laura-Michelle regularly represents public and private corporations, financial institutions, a major energy supplier, media conglomerates, sports leagues, well-known consumer product companies, and leading internet companies.
Laura-Michelle also has substantial experience in conducting internal investigations, and issuing advisory opinions on compliance with securities law. She has led internal investigations of publicly traded companies and not-for-profit institutions. As part of her white-collar defense practice, Laura-Michelle has represented clients in matters prosecuted by the Department of Justice, including alleged securities fraud, tax fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. Her experience includes representing clients at interviews, depositions, proffer sessions, hearings, and grand jury appearances. Together with the Firm’s corporate team, Laura-Michelle also represents mid-size companies in general corporate matters.
To learn more about Mike, Laura-Michelle and the others joining Barton, go to bartonesq.com or to download their contact info, click Michael D. Hess or Laura-Michelle Horgan.