Mike Kenstowicz has drafted appellate briefs, pleadings, and dispositive, evidentiary, discovery, and procedural motions for matters in federal and state courts. He has particular experience defending clients against products liability and public nuisance claims and has drafted motions challenging the use of financially interested counsel in public nuisance litigation. He also has assisted clients in removing cases to federal court and obtaining the transfer of cases to multidistrict litigation forums.
Mike maintains an active pro bono practice. Mike recently drafted the principal briefing for a degree-of-guilt hearing in a Pennsylvania trial court to defend a client against a first-degree murder charge. He currently represents clients seeking asylum before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Mike's commitment to service extends to his position as a board member of Partners in Progress, a nonprofit that supports sustainable development and quality educational opportunities in rural Haiti.
Before and during law school, Mike served as a research assistant to Judge Richard Posner and Professor William Landes at the University of Chicago, where he performed economic analysis of law and judicial behavior research. Mike's empirical scholarship on judicial behavior has been published in the University of Chicago Law Review and the Temple Law Review Online. Immediately prior to joining Jones Day, Mike clerked for then Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Experience
- The University of Chicago (J.D. 2016; Book Review & Symposium Editor, Law Review; Research Assistant to Judge Richard A. Posner and Professor William M. Landes, 2012-2016; B.A. in Law, Letters, and Society with honors 2012; Student Marshal Honors; Phi Beta Kappa)
- Pennsylvania, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third and Seventh Circuits, and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- Law Clerk to Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (2018-2019)