Among other landmark cases, he represented columnist Jack Anderson in the successful defense of a libel suit by the self-described Liberty Lobby. Among his notable media trials, he served as lead trial counsel for a Minneapolis TV station, obtaining a defense verdict after a six-week jury trial in a libel suit filed by a widow who claimed she had been falsely accused of murdering her husband. 

Best Lawyers reports that “Michael Sullivan is probably the best jury-trial lawyer for a media defendant bar none,” a view echoed by Legal 500, which has written that “clients consider him one of the best jury trial lawyers in the country.” Jack Anderson’s memoir describes Michael as “the soft-spoken Sullivan, a ferocious defender of the First Amendment.”   

Michael has taught media law as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and at the University of Maryland College of Journalism.

Prior to founding LSKS, Michael was a partner at Ross, Dixon & Masback, L.L.P. He began his legal career at White & Case in Washington, DC.

Notable Representations

Kendall v. Daily News Publishing Co.,  --- V.I. ---, 2011 WL 4434922 (V.I. Sept. 21, 2011).  Michael served as lead trial counsel for The Virgin Islands Daily News in a defamation suit by a local judge.  Following a two-week jury trial, the trial court entered judgment  in the newspaper’s favor. The Virgin Islands Supreme Court subsequently affirmed that decision. 

OAO Alfa-Bank v. Center for Public Integrity, 387 F. Supp. 2d 20 (D.D.C 2005). Michael led a team of LSKS attorneys in successfully defending the Center for Public Integrity in a libel suit brought by prominent Russian “oligarchs” arising from a report linking them to criminal activities during Russia’s turbulent transition to a capitalist economy.

Stepnes v. Ritschel, — F.3d —, 2011 WL 6113873 (8th Cir. Dec. 9, 2011). Michael and his LSKS colleagues successfully defended a CBS television station in an action alleging defamation and interference with contract claims arising from a news report on a developer’s “home give-away contest,” including his arrest on a charge of unlawful gambling. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the ruling that the plaintiff was a limited purpose public figure because he had voluntarily thrust himself to the forefront of the pre-existing controversy over the legality of the contest. The court further held that the plaintiff could not satisfy his burden to prove actual malice and that some of the challenged statements were substantially true.

Towler v. Sayles, 76 F.3d 579 (4th Cir. 1996). Michael served as lead trial counsel for award-winning director John Sayles and Miramax Films in a copyright infringement action arising from the highly acclaimed motion picture “Passion Fish.” After a one-week jury trial, the court entered judgment as a matter of law for the defendants, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed.