Litigator Michael J. Nelson Joins Jenner & Block

"Michael's experience is a strong fit with our clients' complex commercial litigation needs, and he will immediately add value to our practice," said Craig C. Martin, chair of Jenner & Block's Litigation Department.  "We're especially pleased that Michael will be able to add depth of experience to our strong and growing practices in environmental, sports and energy law."  In May, the firm announced the launch of its new Energy Practice with the addition of three high-ranking officials from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – Suedeen G. Kelly, Max J. Minzner and Jeffery S. Dennis – to work with established Jenner & Block Partners Randall E. Mehrberg, David W. DeBruin and Matthew E. Price.

An experienced litigator, Mr. Nelson has successfully litigated high-stakes and enterprise-threatening matters across the United States.  For example,

• Sports – Mr. Nelson has represented sports clients at the professional, collegiate and high school levels in concussion, contract, name-image-likeness, licensing, antitrust, TV rights fees and apparel disputes. His diverse experience includes the high-profile Reggie White and American Needle football cases. Notably, he helped his client win the landmark dismissal of the first putative concussion class action in the nation against a statewide high school athletic association.
• Energy – He has represented and advised energy companies, private equity firms and banks on a variety of energy disputes regarding purchase agreements, joint ventures, oil and gas leases, overriding royalties, pipeline matters, regulatory matters, gathering agreements, and other business litigation. He has experience with upstream, midstream and downstream clients in the industry.
• Environmental – Mr. Nelson has represented clients in a variety of environmental litigation matters, including CERCLA/Superfund, Oil Pollution Act, toxic tort, negligence, nuisance, trespass, and municipality claims as well as insurance and indemnity matters. He has particularly deep experience with PCB contamination and sediment sites. Notably, he helped a client win cutting-edge victories in a case that Law360 profiled as one of 'the biggest environmental cases of 2015.'

"Jenner & Block's reputation as a premier trial firm and a leader in complex commercial litigation, along with its values of professional excellence and public service, make it the right firm for me to further develop my practice," said Mr. Nelson.  "I look forward to working with the firm's highly regarded lawyers across practices and helping clients with their most complex and highest risk disputes."

Mr. Nelson previously practiced in the Chicago and Houston offices of Latham & Watkins.  Before joining Latham, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Daniel Manion of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Hon. Paul Gadola of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  Among other activities, he serves on Law360's Sports Editorial Advisory Board and on the board of Trinity High School in River Forest, IL.  He has represented a variety of pro bono clients in nonprofit, criminal, civil rights and immigration matters. 

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK'S COMPLEX COMMERCIAL LITIGATION PRACTICE
Clients from around the world rely on Jenner & Block for their most complex and challenging business cases.  Our trial prowess in high-profile litigation is well known.  The BTI Litigation Outlook 2014, an in-depth analysis of the litigation market, ranked Jenner & Block as "A Powerhouse in Complex Commercial Litigation," one of just five law firms that clients see as best in that area.  The American Lawyer previously selected us as one of the top five litigation departments in the United States.  Citing our impressive business victories for Fortune 500 clients, the magazine singled out Jenner & Block for our "astonishing" trial results and "hard fought" settlements.  Chambers Global legal directory has described Jenner & Block as a firm with "bedrock strength in trial work," while reporting that our clients "remain steadfast in their support, describing the group as 'absolutely outstanding.'"

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK
Jenner & Block (www.jenner.com) is a law firm with global reach, with more than 500 lawyers and offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. The firm is known for its prominent and successful litigation practice and experience handling sophisticated and high-profile corporate transactions.  Firm clients include Fortune 100 companies, large privately held corporations, financial services institutions, emerging companies and venture capital and private equity investors.  The American Lawyer named the firm as the #1 pro bono firm in the United States, a distinction it has had seven of the past 10 years; the firm has been ranked among the top 10 in this category every year since the ranking began in 1990.

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