Michael D. Reif

Michael Reif is known for taking on powerful institutions and for his unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice for his clients. While specializing in litigation focused on medical malpractice and personal injury issues, Michael has a proven track record across various fields, including banking and securities fraud, consumer retailing and franchising, telecommunications, and representing Native American Tribes.

Recently, Michael was part of the trial team that secured a $1.1 billion award against BMO Harris Bank for BMO’s role in the Petters Ponzi scheme, one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. He also helped obtain a landmark $7.75 million verdict against CRC Industries for its failure to prevent the foreseeable misuse of its aerosol dust remover products. The verdict follows the 2019 death of a woman killed in a vehicle crash after an individual who huffed CRC Duster struck her car head-on. 

Additionally, Michael provides strategic counsel on a variety of cybersecurity, incident response, mobile marketing, and data security best practices. His comprehensive experience in insurance litigation includes handling of both liability and property claims from investigation through litigation, along with representation in matters concerning first and third-party coverage, subrogation, and bad faith disputes. Michael has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes financial services litigation involving fraud, mortgage-backed securities, and securitization trustee obligations. 

Special accolades include recognition as one of “The Best Lawyers in America” for 2023 and 2024, being featured in Lawdragon's "500 Leading Litigators in America" for the last two years, and acknowledgment as a "Top Author" by JD Supra spanning 2018 to 2023. Michael was also named a "Minnesota Rising Star" by Super Lawyers for five consecutive years and previously honored as an "Up & Coming Lawyer" by Minnesota Lawyer. The Minnesota State Bar Association deemed him a "North Star Lawyer" multiple times, for providing at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services. Minnesota Lawyer also named him "Attorney of the Year" in 2013, highlighting his exceptional achievements in the legal field.

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude (2006); Minnesota Law Review, Managing Editor
• Boston College, B.A., History, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa (2002)

Languages

Representative Matters

Kelley v. BMO Harris Bank, N.A.: Member of the trial team for Douglas Kelley, the Trustee of the BMO Litigation Trust, related to one of the largest Ponzi scheme cases in U.S. history. In November 2022, Robins Kaplan secured a $564 million jury verdict, the largest in Minnesota history. In June 2023, a federal judge in St. Paul issued an Order for BMO Harris Bank to pay pre-and post-judgment interest on the $564 million jury verdict, bringing total liability to over $1 billion in favor of the client.

McDougall v. CRC Industries, Inc. et al. No. 20-1499 (D. Minn. 2023): Member of the trial team that helped secure a landmark $7.75 million verdict against CRC Industries for its failure to prevent the foreseeable misuse of its aerosol dust remover products. The verdict follows the 2019 death of Cynthia McDougall, who was killed in a vehicle crash after an individual who huffed CRC Duster struck her car head-on. This is the first dust remover case of its kind to go to trial.

Fillner v. City of Rochester, et al.: District of Minnesota (2020): Our client was unresponsive in the back of her minivan when a City of Rochester police officer reached in and yanked her out and onto the pavement in one motion. She sustained physical injuries to her upper right arm bone including displacement and the bone being broken into three or more fragments. Surgery was required to repair and additional surgeries may be required in the future.

Kraft Foods Group, Inc./Mondelez International, Inc. v. Starbucks Coffee Company: 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.

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.

State Farm Auto Insurance v. Xiong (Ramsey County District Court, Minnesota): 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.

Smile Center v. Delta Dental of Minnesota (Hennepin 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.

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2023-2025 editions)
• Listed in “500 Leading Litigators in America,” Lawdragon (2023-2025)
• Named a "Top Author" by JD Supra (2018-2023)
• 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, 2022-2023)
• Named "Attorney of the Year," Minnesota Lawyer (2013)

Civic

• Volunteer Lawyers Network, Benefactors Board
• St. Thomas Academy Board of Trustees
• The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Governing Member
• Collegeville Institute Board of Directors
• DFL Lawyers Committee, Co-Chair
• Nativity County Fair Steering Committee

Professional

• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Federal Bar Association

Speeches

• 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)

Media Mentions

• "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)

Multimedia