Michael Li-Ming Wong is a partner in both the San Francisco and Palo Alto offices of Gibson Dunn.  He is a member of the firm’s national Securities Enforcement, White Collar Defense and Investigations and Privacy, Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Practice Groups.  Michael focuses on white-collar criminal matters, complex civil litigation, data-privacy investigations and litigation, and internal investigations.  He has garnered numerous state and national honors, including the following:

• San Francisco Daily Journal and Los Angeles Daily Journal, “Top Defense Verdict of the Year” (February 2019)
• Law 360, “MVP of the Year” for 2018, Cybersecurity and Privacy (November 2018)
• San Francisco Daily Journal and Los Angeles Daily Journal, “Top Defense Verdict of the Year” (February 2018)
• The American Lawyer, National “Litigator of the Week” (December 2017)
• Law 360, “MVP of the Year” for 2014, Securities (December 2014)
• San Francisco Daily Journal and Los Angeles Daily Journal, “Top Defense Verdict of the Year (February 2012)
• Recognized in The American Lawyer “Big Suits” column for trial results
• Thomson Reuters, Northern California “Super Lawyer” (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018)

Michael has tried more than twenty civil and criminal jury trials in federal and state courts, including five multi-week jury trials in recent years.  Three times the San Francisco Daily Journal and Los Angeles Daily Journal have recognized his trial and litigation victories as Top Defense Verdict of the Year in California.

Michael has also led numerous investigations across five continents.  He has represented many companies and individuals in enforcement matters, including those involving allegations of FCPA violations, pharmaceutical fraud, securities fraud, and trade secrets violations.

A Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), Michael assists clients with data-privacy counseling and litigation, including matters arising from data breaches and other cybersecurity matters involving law enforcement and governmental agencies.  He is lead counsel in numerous high-profile matters involving alleged data breaches.  Law360 recently honored Michael as national “MVP of the Year” in the Cybersecurity & Privacy category, and also featured Michael’s practice in recognizing Gibson Dunn as Cybersecurity & Privacy Practice Group of the Year for 2017 and 2018.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Michael served for more than eight years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, where he was lead counsel on some of the district’s most significant and high-profile matters.  During his tenure as a federal prosecutor, Michael served for several years as Chief of the White Collar Crimes Section, supervising investigations, prosecutions and trials involving white-collar fraud and public corruption.  Michael was also Chief of the Major Crimes Section.  He is a two-time winner of the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney.

Michael served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court, and to Judge José A. Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Publications

• Co-Author, “The Data Security Governance Conundrum: Practical Solutions and Best Practices for the Boardroom and the C-Suite,” Columbia Business Law Review (July 2015)
• Co-Author, “The Private Equity Trap: How Global Anticorruption Can Ensnare the Unwary Private Equity Professional,” Journal of Private Equity (Winter 2013)
• Co-Author, “World War Z: Why Life Sciences Companies May be in the Path of the ‘New’ Securities Enforcement & Litigation Onslaught, & How to Avoid Trouble,” Expert Guide: Fraud and White Collar Crime (August 2013)
• Co-Author, “The Devil’s in the Disclosures:  Compliance After Panther Partners,” Insights (April 2013)
• Co-Author, “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Pharma in the Chinese Market:  United States Law Enforcement Pursues Corruption Crackdown Across Entire Industry,” CPB Review (September 2010)
• Co-Author, “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Pharma:  Is DOJ Following Through on its Tough Talk Towards the Industry,” Bloomberg Law Reports – Risk & Compliance (June 2010)
• Co-Author, “Beefing Up ‘Corporate Miranda Warnings’:  Averting Misunderstanding and Detrimental Consequences in Internal Investigations,” Wall Street Lawyer (August 2009)

Presentations & Speeches

• Speaker, “Lessons from Jury Research Both During and After Trial,” Bridgeport Conference on Jury Persuasion, San Francisco (April 2017)
• Speaker, “FCPA in China for 2017,” Strafford Webinar (January 2017)
• Speaker, “The Year of the Hack: Data Breaches and Consequences for Companies,” National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) National Conference, New Orleans (November 2015)
• Speaker, “Audit Committee Investigations,” ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Chicago (September 2015)
• Speaker, “How Deposition Testimony Plays Out at Trial,” Bridgeport Deposition Workshop, San Francisco (March 2015)
• Speaker, “Big Data, Bigger Deal,” University of San Francisco Law School (Feb. 2015)
• Speaker, “The Era of Big Data:  Balancing Privacy Rights, Law Enforcement Needs, and Corporate Interests,” National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) National Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona (November 2014)
• Speaker, “FCPA in China for 2014:  Compliance Strategies Given China’s Unique Cultural and Governmental Intricacies,” Strafford Webinar (July 2014)
• Speaker, “Anti-Corruption Compliance and Operational Strategy for China,” American Conference Institute Advanced Forum on FCPA & Anti-Corruption for the Life Sciences Industry, New York (April 2014)
• Speaker, “Between Scylla and Charybdis:  When Civil and Criminal Liability Converge,” Defense Research Institute Professional Liability Seminar, New York (December 2013)
• Speaker, “Assessing and Mitigating Third-Party Fraud and Corruption Risk,” Accelus Governance, Risk and Compliance Forum, San Francisco (October 2013)
• Speaker, “SEC Enforcement in China,” (美国证券交易委员会在中国执法), CPE SEC Accounting and Reporting Conference, Shanghai, China (June 2013)
• Speaker, “Anti-Corruption Enforcement in China,” (美国海外反腐败法在中国的实施), CPE SEC Accounting and Reporting Conference, Shanghai, China (June 2013)
• Speaker, “Anti-Corruption Enforcement in China on the Rise,” Strafford Webinar (March 2013)
• Speaker, “Advanced Trial Advocacy,” NAPABA National Conference, Washington DC (November 2012)
• Speaker, “The Ostrich Defense Will Not Fly:  The Future of Global Anticorruption Enforcement and What You Need to Know Now to Avoid Being Targeted,” CLE Seminar, San Francisco and Palo Alto (March 2012)
• Speaker, “U.S. Enforcement in the Life Sciences Industry,” Seminar on Life Sciences Law, Tokyo & Osaka, Japan (June 2011)
• Speaker, “FCPA Enforcement in Asia,” Seminar on Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Law, Taiwan Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (台灣區電機電子工業同業公), Taipei, Taiwan (April 2011)
• Speaker, “Inside the Mind of the U.S. Prosecutor,” Seminar on Extraterrorial Reach of U.S. Law, Taiwan Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (台灣區電機電子工業同業公), Hsinchu, Taiwan (April 2011)
• Panelist, “False Claims Act Litigation,” Minority Corporate Counsel Association CLE Expo, Chicago, IL (March 2011)
• Program Chair & Moderator, “Inspiring Integrity:  How In-House Counsel Can Respond as an Investigation Unfolds,” NAPABA National Conference, Los Angeles, CA (November 2010)
• Panelist, “Reverse Angle Discussions of the FCPA,” NAPABA National Conference, Los Angeles, CA (November 2010)
• “Securities Law Roundtable,” California Lawyer (September 2010)
• Moderator & Panelist, “False Claims Act Liability for U.S. Stimulus Recipients:  Why the Obama Administration’s Largesse Comes With Strings Attached,” NAPABA National Conference, Boston, MA (November 2009)
• Panelist, “Finding Your Own Trial Style,” NAPABA National Conference, Boston, MA (November 2009)
• Panelist, “FCPA Implications of Investing in Chinese Life Sciences Companies,” PharmAsia Summit, San Francisco, CA (October 2009)
• Panelist, “The Mortgage Meltdown:  Recent Trends in Securities Litigation,” National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Regional Conference, Los Angeles, CA (June 2009)
• Panelist, “Anatomy of a Corporate Scandal,” NAPABA National Convention, Seattle, WA (November 2008)
• Guest Lecturer, “Prosecuting Business Crimes,” Seminar on Criminal Law, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT (April 2008)