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 Michael Li-Ming Wong
Partner




Ropes & Gray
Three Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111-4006

T +1 415 315 6363
F +1 415 315 6001
+1 415 315 2350 secretary
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PRACTICES
Antitrust

    Litigation
    Practice

    Michael Li-Ming Wong is a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Ropes & Gray. An experienced courtroom attorney who has never lost a trial, Michael focuses on white-collar criminal matters, internal corporate investigations and complex civil litigation.

    Professional Experience

    As first-chair trial counsel, Michael has tried nearly twenty jury trials to verdict. He has also briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has extensive experience in both civil and criminal litigation in federal and state courts across the country.

    Recent representative matters include:
    • Secured complete grant of summary judgment—one month before jury trial and nine months after retention as replacement trial counsel—on behalf of Hospital Corporation of America in seven-year-old lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging federal antitrust claims and state unfair competition violations;
    • Defeated plaintiff classes’ attempt to block $1.7 billion merger between Bare Escentuals & Shiseido; presented oral argument at court hearing on behalf of Bare Escentuals, leading to bench ruling in favor of client; 
    • Obtained complete dismissal of breach-of-contract action filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of provider of electronic data interchange services;
    • Representation of former General Counsel of global bank headquartered in London, in connection with criminal investigation jointly conducted by U.S. Department of Justice and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office;
    • Representation of Fortune 500 health-care products company in connection with federal investigation into alleged physician kickback scheme and off-label marketing of pharmaceutical drugs;
    • Representation of Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) compliance in numerous countries;
    • Representation of global private-equity firm in FCPA due diligence in connection with proposed acquisition of pharmaceutical distributor with operations in Central America and South America;
    • Led on-the-ground FCPA internal investigations on behalf of clients in numerous countries, including those in Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
    • Representation of hospital system in internal investigation involving suspected billing fraud;
    • Representation of Southern California hospital in internal investigation involving whistleblower allegations of Stark Act violations;
    • Representation of national hospital system in qui tam matter involving False Claims Act allegations.

    Prior to joining Ropes & Gray in 2008, Michael served for more than eight years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Chief of the White Collar Crimes Section, where he supervised a team of experienced Assistant United States Attorneys and oversaw investigations, prosecutions and trials concerning corporate fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, bank fraud, environmental crimes, civil rights offenses, and public corruption. Michael was a founding member of the Northern District’s Stock Options Backdating Task Force and also represented the Northern District on the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force.

    From 2004 to 2005, Michael served as Chief of the Major Crimes Section, where he trained and supervised all new Assistant United States Attorneys and oversaw the largest and busiest unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

    As an Assistant United States Attorney, Michael served as lead counsel on some of the district’s most significant and high-profile matters, including cases involving allegations of multi-million dollar fraud schemes, health care fraud, commodities fraud, stock-options backdating, mortgage fraud, and public corruption. His cases have been covered in national publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, as well as by local newspapers and Bay Area television stations.

    In 2004, and again in 2008, Michael was flown to Washington, D.C., to receive the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney.

    Michael has taught trial advocacy at Stanford Law School, University of California-Hastings College of the Law, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina.

    Prior to law school, Michael was a reporter for a daily newspaper. He won numerous professional awards for his investigative journalism, including the Associated Press Managing Editors’ Newswriting Award and the Kansas City Press Club Award for Excellence in Journalism.

    Honors & Awards

    • U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney (2004, 2008)
    • Numerous law enforcement awards and commendations, including the FBI Director’s Award (2007)
    • Selected as one of the nation’s “Best Lawyers Under 40,” National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2005)
    • Temple Bar Scholar in London, England (1996)


    Publications


    Selected Media


    Presentations & Speeches

    • Moderator & Panelist, “False Claims Act Liability for U.S. Stimulus Recipients: Why the Obama Administration’s Largesse Comes With Strings Attached,” National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (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)
    • Panelist, “Internal Investigations to Protect Whom? When the Medicine is Worse Than the Cure,” Minority Corporate Counsel Association CLE Expo, Chicago, IL (March 2008) 
    • Panelist, “Corporate Investigations: What Every General Counsel Should Know,” NAPABA National Convention, Las Vegas, NV (November 2007) 
    • Panelist, “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance in China: Best Practices,” NAPABA National Convention, Las Vegas, NV (November 2007) 
    • Panelist, “Implications of the Supreme Court’s Hamden Decision on the War on Terror,” NAPABA National Convention, Philadelphia, PA (November 2006) 
    • Panelist, “Options Backdating: What You Need to Know,” California Society of Certified Public Accountants, Litigation Section, San Francisco, CA (October 2006)
    • Panelist, “Parallel Proceedings in Corporate Fraud Matters,” NAPABA Regional Conference, Marina del Rey, CA (July 2006) 
    • Keynote Speaker, “Investigating White Collar Cases,” International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA (June 2006) 
    • Speaker, “Common Themes in Medicare Fraud Prosecutions,” FBI Conference on Health Care Fraud Investigations, San Francisco, CA (April 2006) 
    • Panelist, “Requests for Electronic Discovery,” ABA Annual National Convention on White Collar Crime, San Francisco, CA (March 2006) 
    • Panelist, “Calculating Loss in Securities Fraud Cases Post-Booker,” National Economic Research Associates Annual Conference, Aspen, CO (July 2005) 
    • Panelist, “Balancing Security and Liberty,” Independent Sector Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA (November 2003) 
    • Panelist, “Balancing National Security and Civil Liberties,” League of Women Voters (televised locally), Pleasanton, CA (June 2003) 
    • Panelist, “How to Try a Health Care Fraud Case to Jury,” Tricare National Health Care Conference, San Francisco, CA (June 2003) 
    • Speaker, “Computer Provisions of the USA Patriot Act,” U.S. Department of Justice Law Enforcement Coordination Conference, Monterey, CA (January 2003)


    Professional & Civic Activities

    • Board of Directors, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival
    • Co-Chair, Criminal Law Committee, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
    • Member, Asian American Bar Association, Bay Area Chapter 
    • Honorary Member, Commercial Bar Association of London
    • Member, Temple Bar Committee, American Inns of Court
    • Member, Edward J. McFetridge Inn of Court


    Bar Admissions
    • California
    • District of Columbia


    Clerkships
    • Honorable Jose A. Cabranes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
    • Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States


    Education
    • 1994, J.D., magna cum laude, Harvard Law School; Boykin C. Wright Prize; Mead Prize; Editor, Harvard Law Review
    • 1990, B.A. (English), Pomona College; Phi Beta Kappa


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