Michelle Nasser is a criminal and civil trial lawyer with extensive first chair trial and investigation experience. As a former federal prosecutor, Michelle focuses her practice on white collardefense and internal investigations. Michelle represents companies and individuals who are targets, defendants and witnesses in matters involving healthcare and government contract fraud, accounting and securities fraud, False Claims Act, FCPA, public corruption, and other financial fraud and white collar matters. Michelle has successfully represented publicly-traded companies, corporate executives, doctors, and high-ranking government officials in sensitive, complex, and high-profile white-collar matters initiated by the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, and prosecutors in various jurisdictions.
Michelle is an experienced healthcare litigation attorney, with an emphasis in False Claims Act litigation—she regularly represents a large healthcare corporation in responding to federal CIDs issued across the country, leads a variety of internal investigations related to government inquiries of healthcare companies, and defends companies and medical providers in FCA litigation.
Michelle also routinely represents corporations and individuals in complex civil commercial litigation and employment matters, including both the defense and prosecution of claims involving breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, and employment discrimination.
As a lead trial counsel, Michelle has tried to verdict 14 federal district court jury trials and one federal district court bench trial. In addition, she was a lead trial counsel in a state courtmatter that was dismissed by opposing counsel after four days of jury selection. She has questioned scores of witnesses in court and has taken and defended depositions of both fact and expert witnesses. She also has argued countless contested hearings involving constitutional, statutory, evidentiary and sentencing issues.
As appellate counsel, Michelle has briefed and personally argued 11 appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Before joining Dowd Bennett, Michelle served for more than 13 years as a federal prosecutor and supervisor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, serving in the office’s Major Case, Financial Crimes, General Crimes, and Violent Crimes sections. She led and supervised government investigations, prosecutions, trials and appeals involving various criminal offenses, ranging from complex financial, tax and healthcare fraud, to embezzlement, identity theft, money laundering, cybercrime, racketeering, violent crime, civil rights violations, extortion, human trafficking and public corruption. From 2010-2016, in addition to her other responsibilities at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Michelle led the office’s Human Trafficking Program, which entailed supervision of all federal human trafficking investigations and cases in the Northern District of Illinois.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Michelle was an associate at a large law firm in Chicago, and a law clerk for a federal judge in Chicago.
Representative white collar defense / internal investigation matters include:
Routinely acts as lead counsel representing companies and individuals who are targets or witnesses in grand jury investigations in various matters across different jurisdictions, particularly matters involving federal white collar investigations of fraud and public corruption in Missouri, Illinois and elsewhere.
Lead counsel designing and developing compliance programs in various industries, including a program regarding federal financial regulations and a program for a publicly-traded company.
Regularly defends large healthcare company in various ongoing False Claims Act lawsuits and government inquiries throughout the country, including responding to federal CIDs, leading related internal investigations, and defending company in national litigation matters.
Lead counsel representing large corporation in responding to CIDs issued by state Attorney General related to data privacy and antitrust investigation. No civil or criminal charges brought.
Lead counsel representing NCAA Division 1 university’s coaches in an internal investigation regarding the recruitment of a prospective student athlete. No civil or criminal charges were brought, and no disciplinary action taken.
Lead counsel representing an individual charged in a federal mail fraud scheme allegedly totaling several hundred thousand dollars.
Lead counsel defending healthcare corporation and medical provider in federal criminal and civil FCA investigation related to allegedly inappropriate use of CPT codes and submission of false claims to Medicare for unnecessary procedures and medical services not rendered.
Lead trial counsel in defense of the governor of the state of Missouri. After four days of jury selection, the case was dismissed by the prosecution.
Lead counsel representing a corporation in a multi-year FCA investigation by DOJ Civil Fraud Section and DOT-OIG involving the use of a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) subcontractor related to a multi-million dollar government contract. No civil or criminal charges were brought.
Led internal investigation for large healthcare company regarding possible violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. No civil or criminal charges brought.
Represented company in USDA accounting investigation. Led internal investigation and designed and implemented compliance program. No civil or criminal charges brought.
Representative civil litigation matters include:
Lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a civil lawsuit arising out of the Rams’s 2016 relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles. In the lawsuit, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and the RSA have sued the NFL, Rams, and NFL teams and owners for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation, and tortious interference with business expectancy. The lawsuit seeks damages, including restitution to the plaintiffs of the wrongfully-obtained $550 million relocation fee and punitive damages.
Lead counsel in obtaining complete summary judgment in favor of corporate client, dismissing with prejudice all plaintiffs’ race discrimination and retaliation claims filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, including claims of disparate treatment, disparate impact, and retaliation, and obtaining an order for plaintiff to pay client’s costs.
Lead counsel in obtaining a complete summary judgmentin favor of executive and favorable settlement for corporate client in gender discrimination and retaliation claim filed in St. Louis County Court.
Obtained full summary judgment in favor of corporate client, dismissing all plaintiff’s breach of contract, negligence, strict liability, and failure to warn claims filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, in which plaintiffs sought damages of approximately $120 million as a result of an explosion and fire at an oil refinery.
Representative matters as federal prosecutor include:
U.S. v. Wilder, et al. A lead counsel in kickback case involving Chicago White Sox scouting executive.
U.S. v. Leija-Sanchez, et al. Lead trial counsel in 6-week jury trial involving a multi-defendant international document fraud, money laundering, and racketeering conspiracy.
U.S. v. Piros.Lead counsel in embezzlement case involving a vice president of St. Xavier University
U.S. v. Koll. Lead trial counsel in bribery bench trial.
U.S. v. Rago. Lead trial counsel in tax fraud jury trial.
U.S. v. Knox. Lead trial counsel in jury trial involving visa fraud by a member of terrorist group Revolutionary United Front.
U.S. v. Christ, et al. Lead trial counsel in bribery jury trial involving a Foreign Service Officer.
U.S. v. Copeland. Lead trial counsel in bank fraud jury trial.
U.S. v. Adame. Lead trial counsel in arson-murder jury trial.
U.S. v. Sawyer, et al. A lead trial counsel in human trafficking jury trial.
Illinois
Missouri
J.D., Washington University School of Law, 2000
M.A., summa cum laude, University of Portland, 1997
B.A., magna cum laude, University of Notre Dame, 1995
Hon. James H. Alesia, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2000-2002
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, 2003–2016
Selected to Missouri Lawyers Media’s “The POWER List: White-Collar Defense 2021”
Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2021-present
Recognized by Best Lawyers® in Commercial Litigation, 2021
Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2020-present
Recognized by Best Lawyers® in Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2019-present
Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team, U.S. Department of Justice, 2015
Excellence in Law Enforcement Award, Cook County Crime Stoppers, 2012
Special Recognition Award, Illinois Arson Award Committee, 2011
Star of Distinction Criminal Justice Award, Chicago Crime Commission, 2010
International Achievement Award, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary’s Awards Ceremony, 2008
Meritorious Honor Award, Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, 2007
Federal Bar Association, St. Louis Chapter, National Delegate (2022), Board Member (2020-present), Member (2016-present)
Moderator, From White Collar Practice to In-House Roles: The View from the Other Side, Women’s White Collar Defense Association North America Midwest Region, November 4, 2021
Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, 2021
Panelist, What To Do When the Media Glare is On Your Client, 2021 Corporate Counsel Institute, September 27, 2021
Panelist, U.S. v. Kelly – “Bridgegate”comes to the Supreme Court, Federal Bar Association and Missouri Athletic Club Lawyers’ Group, May 28, 2020
Presentation, It Doesn’t End with Upjohn: Preserving Privilege and Other Ethical Considerations in Internal Investigations”, BAMSL’s White-Collar Crime Conference, April 10, 2019
Presentation, Investigations in the Age of #MeToo, 2018 Missouri Bar / Missouri Judicial Conference Annual Meeting, September 27, 2018
Panelist, To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate, That is the Question, Federal Bar Association, White Collar Criminal Law Program, October 11, 2017
American Inns of Court, St. Louis Chapter, Barrister Member, 2017-2019, 2021-2024
Presentation, White Collar Crime: Responding to Government Investigations, 2017 Bench & Bar Conference, The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, June 1, 2017
Supreme Court of Missouri Combatting Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Commission, Chair of Human Trafficking Education/Training/Awareness Subcommittee (appointed by Supreme Court of Missouri), member, 2017-2023
American Bar Association Center for Human Rights Working Group on Crimes Against Humanity (invited by Ambassador David J. Scheffer), member, 2016-present
Founder and Chapter Leader of the Missouri Chapter of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Adjunct Professor, Human Trafficking Law Seminar, 2015
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Adjunct Instructor, Trial Advocacy, 2014
Leadership Greater Chicago, Fellow, Class of 2012
Instructor, Trial Advocacy, DOJ’s National Advocacy Center
Dowd Bennett is a litigation firm with extensive courtroom experience. Led by trial-seasoned lawyers, including former federal prosecutors and judicial law clerks, our team shares tenacity, a passion for seeing cases through trial and a complete commitment to client service.
