Education
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Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. 2015
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University of Iowa, B.A. 2010
Awards and Honors
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Lawdragon, 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2024, 2023
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Everlaw Summit Awards, Rising Star in eDiscovery, 2023
Prior Affiliations
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The Cochran Firm, 2017-2021
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American Antitrust Institute, 2016-2017
Court Admissions
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District of Columbia
Michael D. Altebrando
Michael is a generalist litigator with a focus in antitrust, consumer class actions, and civil rights. He has drafted dozens of motions and briefs across a broad range of matters, including product liability, civil and constitutional rights, and general commercial litigation and has assisted in the preparation of amicus briefs in high-profile antitrust appeals across the country.
Michael recently represented the State of Utah as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the Antitrust & Data Privacy Section of the Attorney General's Office in the multistate antitrust suit against Google challenging its Play Store practices. In that capacity, Michael was the sole questioner for plaintiffs in deposing executives from Spotify, SoundCloud, and iHeart Media, and took part of the depositions of two Google executives and a Motorola witness. In its related trial victory against Google, Epic Games played Michael's remote Spotify deposition in its case-in-chief. Michael also led a team of States’ attorneys reviewing the more than 7 million documents produced in the consolidated cases, and was lauded by Everlaw for his "tenacity, ingenuity, and expertise" in that role.
Michael's experience at his prior associations is summarized below.*
Antitrust Litigation
Michael has contributed to multiple amicus briefs filed by the American Antitrust Institute in complex antitrust appeals, including:
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Supporting plaintiffs-appellees in Siegel v. Delta Airlines, Inc. in the Eleventh Circuit
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Supporting respondents in Visa Inc. v. Osborn in the U.S. Supreme Court
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Supporting plaintiffs-appellants in Valspar Corp. v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. in the Third Circuit
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Supporting neither party in Teladoc, Inc. v. Texas Medical Board in the Fifth Circuit
Consumer Class Actions & Product Liability
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Represented victims of Medicaid fraud scheme in class action against hospitals and their agents for conducting unnecessary surgeries on female patients in Virginia circuit court.
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Represented plaintiffs in a product liability action against party bus operators, vehicle parts manufacturers, and vehicle manufacturers in Virginia circuit court, which settled favorably.
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Represented employee in product liability action against elevator manufacturers, installers, and maintenance companies in D.C. superior court.
Civil and Constitutional Rights
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Represented victims of police misconduct involving the improper use of force in police shootings in multiple actions, including in the Eastern District of Virginia, D.C. superior court, and circuit courts across Maryland.
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Represented plaintiffs in invasion of privacy class action in D.C. superior court involving a scheme to film female students, which settled on favorable terms.
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Represented plaintiffs alleging an invasion of privacy scheme involving an unlicensed medical professional in Maryland circuit court.
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Represented multiple individual plaintiffs in actions involving sexual assault by police and other government agents in D.C. superior court and Maryland circuit court.
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Represented family of minor sexual assault victim in action against hotel company and their agents in Maryland circuit court.
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Represented numerous victims of shootings that took place on government-owned or subsidized housing projects in multiple actions in D.C. superior court.
Select Additional Litigation Experience
Appellate Litigation
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Represented plaintiffs-appellants in a precedent-setting action establishing the limits of the public duty doctrine in the District of Columbia. The D.C. Court of Appeals granted en banc review before the case settled on favorable terms.
Trial Litigation
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Represented whistleblowers in qui tam action involving Medicare fraud in D.C. superior court.
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Represented regional security company in a fraud action against insurance agent and brokerage firm, obtaining a favorable settlement.
Michael was born in New York City and grew up in upstate New York. He received his B.A. from the University of Iowa in ethics and public policy, political science, and philosophy in 2010. After college, he interned with the Hon. William Maher in Peekskill, New York, before attending the Georgetown University Law Center. At Georgetown, Michael was an assistant managing editor of the Immigration Law Journal and a research assistant to dean J. Peter Byrne. Before joining the Benedict Law Group, Michael litigated at The Cochran Firm in Washington, DC and was a fellow at the American Antitrust Institute.
Michael is admitted to practice only in Washington, DC, and his practice is supervised by a Firm principal admitted in New York.
*Some matters prior to admission under the supervision of admitted attorneys.