Michael Keane joined Garfunkel Wild, P.C. in 1992. Michael primarily handles clients’ pre-dispute, litigation, and alternate dispute resolution needs.  He also is a credentialed mediator and arbitrator.

Michael’s practice includes a wide variety of commercial and health care matters. He has arbitrated and tried contract and corporate disputes, real estate and construction matters, civil rights cases, antitrust cases, insurance disputes and disputes arising in the not-for-profit and academic world.  In addition, Michael handles a large volume of health care industry disputes. In fact, Michael is a trained arbitrator and mediator who serves as a dispute resolver with the American Health Lawyers Association.

Past trials include Michael serving as lead defense counsel in a case arising from the break-up of a large surgical practice involving issues of medical competency, hospital surgical coverage, and interpretation and enforcement of restrictive covenants. Not only did the jury return a defense verdict, but also awarded the firm’s client significant damages on its counterclaim. He also successfully handled the trial and appeal of a dispute between two hospitals over reimbursement for pediatric residents, and, in another recent case, tried a dispute between a large multi-specialty practice and one of its former partners.

Michael has also been lead defense counsel in two highly publicized health care antitrust trials involving cutting edge managed care issues. The first of these jury cases went to trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the second was commenced in the Eastern District of New York. In the health care reimbursement arena, Michael has arbitrated and litigated many claim denial disputes, and frequently serves as arbitrator in a range of managed care and health care disputes.  Michael has represented both providers and payors and the subject matters have ranged from claim by claim analyses to allegations of vast inappropriate payment methodologies.

In his work representing academic institutions, Michael has some of the leading decisions involving a university’s rights to inventions developed on campus grounds, and a university’s rights to establish its unique criteria for the admission or rejection of prospective students.  He has represented universities and hospitals in litigation spawned by COVID-19 mandates and closures.

Trained as a mechanical engineer, his technical background proves particularly useful in construction, software, electronic data storage and delivery systems, and mechanical/power system cases.

Before beginning his legal career, Michael worked as a civilian mechanical engineer for the Department of the Navy, where he wrote ship repair specifications and, after a bid was awarded, supervised construction and repair in shipyards throughout the United States. Michael possessed a United States Coast Guard license as a Third Assistant Engineer for steam and motor vessels of unlimited horsepower.

Prior to joining Garfunkel Wild, P.C., he was an associate at a New York City firm, where he was a member of the litigation department.