Partner
Dallas
Tel: 1.214.969.2922
Fax: 1.214.969.5100
Email: mlrice@jonesday.com

Profile | Experience

Related Services

• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
  • Class Action and Multidistrict Product Liability Litigation
  • Consumer Goods Product Liability Litigation
  • Coordination of Product Liability Litigation
  • Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Other Health Care Product Liability Litigation
  • Toxic Tort Exposure Litigation (Chemical, Environmental, and Occupational)
  • Trial Experience in Product Liability Cases
• Trial Practice
  • Class Action Litigation
  • Commercial Disputes
  • Consumer Fraud & Warranty Litigation
• Securities and Shareholder Litigation & SEC Enforcement
  • Securities Fraud Class Actions
  • Shareholder Derivative Actions
  • Accounting & GAAP Issues

Mike has substantial experience in complex, multijurisdictional civil litigation, including class actions, before state and federal courts throughout the United States. The substantive areas of his practice have involved product liability, toxic torts, fraud, contract, securities class actions, executive compensation, insurance coverage, and oil and gas. Mike also has handled several Texas state court appeals and assisted with numerous appeals to other state and federal appellate courts.

Mike is a member of the Firm's product response team, which was organized to provide broad-ranging advice to clients involved in product recalls. Mike is currently one of the lead Jones Day lawyers for Mattel in multiple U.S. and foreign class action lawsuits arising from the sale of toys allegedly containing lead in excess of regulatory standards. The U.S. actions have been coordinated at Mattel's request by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in the Central District of California, where Mattel is headquartered.

As counsel for Colt's Manufacturing Company in the litigation brought by cities, states, and other public entities and associations against the firearms industry, Mike is currently leading a multiple-firm briefing team. In the trial of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. AA Arms, Inc., et al. (E.D.N.Y.), he led the trial briefing team and argued almost all trial motions on behalf of more than 35 manufacturer defendants in the case tried to a defense verdict with respect to Jones Day's client, Colt. The defense win in NAACP was selected as one of the top 10 defense verdicts of 2003 by The National Law Journal. As part of the representation of Colt, Mike has argued motions to dismiss on behalf of all defendants following the enactment of the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005. He argued the appeals related to those motions on behalf of the firearm manufacturers in the Second Circuit, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and the Indiana Court of Appeals as well.

In addition, Mike has been actively involved in the defense of Xcel Energy in several suits related to alleged global warming, including the highly publicized public nuisance lawsuits brought by eight states, the city of New York, and certain private land trusts alleging that the emissions of CO2 by various utilities have substantially contributed to global warming (State of Connecticut, et al. v. American Electric Power Company, Inc., et al. and Open Space Institute, Inc., et al. v. American Electric Power, et al., U.S. Dist. Ct., Southern District of New York). On September 15, 2005, the trial court granted defendants' joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The case is on appeal. Mike also led the briefing for Xcel in an action brought by property owners in Mississippi alleging that various utilities, oil companies, and coal companies had contributed to global warming, which in turn intensified the effects of Hurricane Katrina (Comer v. Murphy Oil USA, U.S. Dist. Ct., Southern District of Mississippi). That action was dismissed and is currently on appeal. Mike is also representing Xcel in a newly filed action alleging that various utilities and oil companies have played a role in global warming causing damage in the Artic sufficient enough to require the relocation of the Native village of Kivalina in Alaska (Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., U.S. Dist. Ct., Northern District of California).

Furthermore, Mike served as first-chair counsel for Texas Instruments in a multiday evidentiary class certification hearing in an action alleging entitlement to overtime for workers participating in TI's voluntary HazMat teams (Hughes v. Texas Instruments Incorporated, 95th Judicial Dist., Dallas County, Case No. 97-9246-D). Class certification was denied, and summary judgment was granted for TI. Mike also was lead counsel in the appeal of the trial court's judgment, which was affirmed by the Dallas Court of Appeals.

Texas

University of Missouri-Columbia (B.S. magna cum laude 1984); The University of Texas at Austin (J.D. with honors 1987)