Michael J. Silverman

Michael Silverman is a partner in and General Counsel of Duane Morris LLP. He is the chair of the firm’s Information Technologies and Telecommunications Practice Group and a member of the Trial Practice and Professional Liability Defense Groups.

As General Counsel, Mr. Silverman provides risk management and ethics guidance to the firm’s more than 800 lawyers. Mr. Silverman also maintains an active litigation practice, and regularly defends law firms against all manner of claims.

Mr. Silverman represents clients in computer, e-commerce and technology law transactions, systems development disputes, commercial disputes and shareholder disputes. Mr. Silverman has counseled clients (vendors and users) on negotiating and drafting systems development contracts and outsourcing agreements, domestic and international software license agreements, Web hosting and development agreements, and telecommunications service agreements.

Mr. Silverman has also litigated a number of large-scale information technology and e-commerce system failure disputes, as well as complex financial fraud, shareholder trade secret, non-competition, and commercial disputes in state and federal courts and before arbitrators.

Mr. Silverman also counsels clients regarding numerous areas of e-commerce and Internet law, including structuring relationships, processes and contracts for e-commerce endeavors (such as joint ventures, channel partner, ASP and co-marketing arrangements) and for delivering products and services to consumers and businesses over the Internet.

He assists clients in managing IT and Internet law issues in M&A transactions and counsels clients on privacy and security issues relating to Internet and network-based activities.

Recently, Mr. Silverman managed a team of Duane Morris lawyers negotiating more than 800 customer contracts in a year for one of the world’s largest information database providers. He assisted the client in the development of its suite of form customer contracts to license its products, enter into e-commerce relationships with business partners and provide services to end users.

Admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Mr. Silverman is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Representative Matters:

• Successfully completed a two and a half month arbitration against one of the largest computer system developers in the world regarding the failure of its three year system development and outsourcing project.
• Successfully represented the Resolution Trust Corporation at the trial of a former lawyer who defrauded a federally insured bank of millions of dollars via a complex scheme of financial transactions.
• Obtained a unanimous decision from the California Court of Appeal reinstating a $1.05 million jury verdict in favor a developer of air-cargo facilities against a major city and its airport. The appellate court reversed the post-trial judgment overturning the verdict, ruling that the trial court erred in determining that the developer’s claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing was time-barred. Airis SFO, LLC v. The City and County of San Francisco, (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 22, 2010).

Admissions:

• Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Supreme Court of Illinois

Experience:

• Duane Morris LLP, – General Counsel, 2004-present
• Holleb & Coff, Chicago, Illinois, – Partner, 1998-1999
• The Morton Group, Chicago, Illinois, – Consultant, 1987-1988
• Laventhol & Horwath, Chicago, Illinois, – Senior Auditor and Consultant, 1985-1987

Professional Activities:

• Certified Public Accountant, Illinois, 1985
• Certified Fraud Examiner
• American Bar Association