MIKE LEVY represents individuals and corporations in major criminal cases and investigations. He recently argued in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of “Bridgegate” defendant Bill Baroni, former Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, winning a unanimous 9-0 decision by the high court that overturned Baroni’s criminal conviction and ordered the charges against him dismissed. Mike is also one of the lawyers defending a major multinational telecommunications equipment company against charges of racketeering, trade secret theft, bank fraud, and other alleged offenses in a pending federal criminal case in the Eastern District of New York. In addition to white collar criminal defense at the trial and appellate level, Mike’s practice also focuses on securities enforcement matters, internal corporate investigations, corporate compliance counseling, and commercial litigation and disputes. He regularly represents individuals and corporations before the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other government and regulatory agencies.
Prior to joining Sidley in 2016, Mike spent 13 years as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, including three years as that office’s Chief of Appeals. As Chief Appellate Attorney, Mike supervised all aspects of the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office’s criminal practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and counseled the United States Attorney and other senior members of the office on complex legal and strategic issues in the areas of insider trading and securities fraud, public corruption, terrorism, money laundering and cybercrime. Mike has personally briefed and/or argued more than 100 criminal appeals in four circuits and the United States Supreme Court. Prior to becoming Chief of Appeals, Mike spent a decade prosecuting cases in a variety of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s white collar units, including the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, the Complex Frauds unit and the Public Corruption unit. He was lead or co-lead counsel on 11 federal trials. Mike started his legal career as an associate in Sidley’s Washington, D.C. office, following a clerkship with United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
Mike is ranked by Chambers USA among the leading lawyers for New York White Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2021–2024). Chambers quotes one client as stating that he is “a very smart, hard-working and dedicated professional with excellent judgment.” Mike is recommended for Dispute Resolution: Appellate and Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense in The Legal 500 US 2017. He also serves as a vice chair of the UJA White Collar & Securities Enforcement Group.