Michael L. Cioffi serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Opera, Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and also serves on the Board of Visitors and the communications committee for the University of Cincinnati, College of Law.
He is a strong supporter and active in a variety of civic and charitable organizations throughout the region, including the UC Foundation, YWCA Career Women of Achievement, Tender Mercies, Inc., Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati Art Museum, and fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Cancer Society and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Michael is experienced in the overall management and practice of complex commercial tort and environmental litigation including:
- litigation involving complex tort contract and trade disputes
- defending clients against lawsuits brought by the government pursuant to a variety of state and federal environmental programs, including CERCLA, RCRA, and TSCA
- representing clients in connection with private party cost recovery actions, alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, and internal environmental audits and investigations
- representing policyholders in state and federal courts in some of the largest, most complex environmental insurance coverage litigations, as well as policyholders in their pursuit of insurance coverage for products, first party property, intellectual property, and director & officer liability losses
- representing clients in mass tort litigation, including lawsuitsrelating to alleged exposure to products, chemicals, and/or alleged hazardous materials
Before joining Blank Rome, Michael was VP & Assistant General Counsel of American Financial Group, a Partner at Frost & Jacobs, a local Cincinnati law firm, and an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio.
experience:
- In Re: Chiquita Brands International, Inc. Alien Tort Statute and Shareholder Derivative Litigation, Case No. 08-MD-01916.
- American Premier Underwriters v. General Electric, Case No. 1:05-CV-437, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2012 (CERCLA cost recovery action against General Electric involving approximately $100 million).
- Lincoln Memorial University, Duncan School of Law v. ABA, Case No. 3:11-CV-608, United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, 2012 (representation of a law school challenging the ABA’s denial of accreditation).
- United States v. Lay, Case No. 08-3892, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2010 (Investment Advisor Fraud case).
- Paradise Farms vs. Chiquita, Case No. 1:02-CV-714, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2007 (representation of Chiquita in complex international trade and contract dispute).
- Maas vs. Penn Central Corporation, Case No. 2006-T-0067, Trumbull County, Ohio, 2007 (representation of railroad in complex class action litigation).
- Service Corporation International vs. Great American Insurance Company, 265 F. App’x 892 (11th Cir, 2008) (representation of an insurance company in coverage dispute involving wrongful burial and grave desecration at several cemeteries).
EDUCATION:
- University of Notre Dame, BA, magna cum laude
- University of Cincinnati College of Law, JD
ADMISSIONS:
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Ohio
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court – Northern District of Ohio
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Supreme Court of Ohio
MEMBERSHIPS:
- American Bar Association
- Cincinnati Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Ohio State Bar Association
Cost
Rate : $$$