I represent the world’s leading technology companies in the courtroom when they face new and unsettled issues found at the intersection of law and innovation.
About Michael
Michael G. Rhodes is nationally recognized as a leading trial lawyer for innovators and disruptors. He formerly was the Global Chair of Cooley LLP’s cyber/data/privacy practice group, Global Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Clients such as Google, Facebook (Meta), Open AI, the Kardashians, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Noom, Zoom, Plaid, Coinbase, the Golden State Warriors, Niantic (PokémonGo), and Turo all look to Mike for trusted advice. Mike has been lead trial counsel for Facebook in four jury trials (settling one during trial and obtaining winning verdicts in the other three). In April 2022, Mike was lead counsel for the Kardashian-Jenner family in the high profile celebrity trial involving claims of defamation brought by Angela White (aka Blac Chyna) - obtaining a complete jury win.
For many years, he has been acclaimed as one of the nation’s top lawyers:
• An American Lawyer "Litigator of the Year"
• Chambers USA: top lawyer in commercial litigation, IP litigation, privacy and data protection
• Benchmark Litigation - top 20 trial lawyer in California
• 8-time Law360 MVP in the "Cybersecurity and Privacy” category
• The Daily Journal Top Cyber Lawyer, Top IP Litigator; Top 100 Lawyers in California (multiple years)
• The National Law Journal: "Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazer"
• Legal 500: "Leading Trial Lawyer" Hall of Fame
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America
• IAM Patent 1000 top lawyers for IP litigation (multiple years)
• Managing Intellectual Property IP Star (multiple years)
• The Recorder: "Attorney of the Year" for high-profile achievements in court
• American Lawyer Litigator of the Week and runner up (multiple times)
Education
Loyola Law School
JD, 1984, with honors
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
BA, 1980, History
Court admissions
Supreme Court of the United States
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US District Court for the Central District of California
US District Court for the Eastern District of California
US District Court for the Northern District of California
US District Court for the Southern District of California
US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
Rankings & accolades
The American Lawyer: Litigator of the Week
Law360: Privacy & Consumer Protection MVP (2011-2017)
Daily Journal: Top IP Litigators in California
Billboard: Top Music Lawyers
Daily Journal: Top 100 Lawyers in California
National Law Journal: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Trailblazer
Chambers USA: Band 1 for Privacy & Data Security: Litigation – Nationwide (2023)
Chambers USA: Privacy & Data Security: Litigation – Nationwide (2020 – 2022)
Chambers USA: Litigation: General Commercial – California (2020 – 2023)
Chambers USA: Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation – California (2020 – 2023)
Legal 500: Hall of Fame, Leading Trial Lawyer, Cyber Law, Data Protection and Privacy
Benchmark Litigation Star
Managing Intellectual Property: IP Star
Intellectual Asset Management: IAM Patent 1000
The Recorder: Attorney of the Year (2010)
Best Lawyers in America: Commercial Litigation; Derivative Litigation; Intellectual Property Litigation
Southern California SuperLawyers: Business Litigation
Memberships & affiliations
American Bar Association
San Diego County Bar Association