Rick Michaels focuses his practice on corporate finance in the firm's Chicago location, where he is the office managing partner and a member of the firm's management board. His experience as a certified public accountant assists him in representing corporate clients in commercial matters on a global scale. Rick has extensive experience in advising medical device, manufacturing, financial service and transportation companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 companies to start-up ventures in a wide array of domestic and international matters. His global experience includes advising clients in connection with stock and asset acquisitions; joint ventures; licensing, marketing and distribution arrangements; private placements of securities; corporate financings, including aircraft financing; corporate governance and compliance issues; a variety of antitrust counseling and litigation matters; and tax planning and controversy matters.

Before joining Faegre Baker Daniels, Rick was a shareholder and former president and chair of Schuyler Roche, P.C. in Chicago.

Certifications

• Certified Public Accountant, 1973

Representative Experience

• Directed the acquisition of a Swiss-headquartered, multinational medical products manufacturing company and a Boston-based software development firm.
• Coordinated teams that included client officers, experts and local counsel in liquidating various European sale entities and restructuring European warehouse and distribution operations.
• Advised a client with a dominant market share about various antitrust issues related to the marketing, distribution and sale of its products, including responding to charges from European antitrust authorities.
• Defended tax return positions with the U.S. and foreign tax authorities, both on audit and in litigation.
• Supervised the litigation of a variety of domestic and international matters involving various contract issues, intellectual property rights, unfair competition, ERISA and employment issues.

Honors

• Illinois Leading Lawyers
• Illinois Super Lawyers
• Martindale-Hubbard — Peer Review Rating: AV®
• Who's Who in World, America and American Law
• Northwestern University Law Review
• Beta Gamma Sigma Commerce Honor Fraternity
• Belta Alpha Psi Accounting Honor Fraternity
• Pi Gamma Mu National Social Science Honor Society

Professional Associations

• Chicago Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• International Bar Association
• American Bar Foundation — Fellow

Civic Activities

• First Personal Financial Corp. and First Personal Bank — Board of Directors and Audit Committee
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans — Advisory Board 
• Northwestern University Alumni Association
• DePaul University Alumni Association
• St. Andrews Lutheran Church — Past chair and vice chair of congregation, past chair of Financial Stewardship Committee and former co-chair of Visitation Committee
• Northwestern University School of Law Fundraising Committee
• Union League Club of Chicago
• University Club of Chicago

Legal Updates

• "The Admissibility of Police Reports under the Federal Rules of Evidence," 71 Northwestern University Law Review 691, 1976-77