Michael J. Baratz

Michael J. Baratz is a partner at the law firm, Steptoe & Johnson LLP. His practice areas include international arbitration, mediation, commercial litigation, judgment enforcement, financial services, asset recovery, and energy litigation. As a part of the Steptoe team, he has handled several high-profile cases.

He has litigated commercial disputes before both Federal and state courts. He has also represented clients before many arbitral bodies. These include the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the Zurich Chamber of Commerce, and the American Arbitration Association.

Mr. Baratz has extensive experience of appearing before trial and appeal courts throughout the nation. He provides pre-judgment remedies to clients seeking to obtain arbitral awards in international courts. He helps his clients in obtaining recognition and enforcement of judgments. He has successfully handled issues having cross-border emphasis. Several publications have featured his work. His high-profile cases have also featured in the news.

His noteworthy cases include representation of Motorola in its claim against former Turkish telecom company Telsim owners for fraudulent conduct in a $2 billion loan. He and his team obtained $2.13 billion and $1 billion in compensatory and punitive damages respectively after a fully-contested fraud judgment in the federal court in New York City. They also enforced the arbitral award in the US and many European countries.

Baratz was on the Steptoe team for representing ExxonMobil seeking to get payment from PDVSA for Venezuela’s expropriation without compensation of the rights of an ExxonMobil subsidiary and its interests in the joint venture. His team obtained many pre-awards in this case.

He and his team represented US Airways against Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. and one of its ex-MD’s for inappropriately investing its funds in ARS. His team secured $30 million awards from FINRA arbitration panel after 64 days of evidentiary hearings in New York City.

Michael Baratz attended The George Washington University and obtained his Bachelor’s of Arts degree while graduating magna cum laude in 1999. He was a part of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa society and won the Joshua Evans III Prize in Political and Social Science.

He later earned his Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School. He graduated with honors in 2002. He won the Imogen Williford Constitutional Law Award. He also participated in the George Washington Law Review.

Attorney Baratz has obtained several bar and court admissions including the District of Columbia, the state of Maryland, the Supreme Court of the United States, the US Court of Federal Claims, the US District Courts of the Districts of Columbia and Maryland, the US Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia, the Fourth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals.