Michael Fluhr

Blockchain and Digital Assets

• ParaFi v. Egorov (SF. Sup. Ct.) – Won dismissal of claims by venture capital firms for securities fraud and trade secret misappropriation against Curve founder Michael Egorov
• Archer v. Coinbase (1st Dist. Ct. Appeal. Cal. 2020) – Won published appeal affirming summary judgment dismissing claims against Coinbase for not supporting BTC forks
• Zamfir v. CasperLabs (S.D. Cal.) – Defeated motion for preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin sale over $100M+ in cryptocurrency
• Nike, Inv. V. StockX LLC (SDNY) – Representing Nike in trademark infringement and dilution claims against StockX over sales of unauthorized Nike-branded NFTs
• Counseled DePIN Solana project providing cloud GPU access for AI modeling on export control and sanctions compliance
• Counseled large, public media company on creation of Polygon-based verification tool to authenticate media and identify AI-generated content
• Represented token issuer in arbitration against token sales platform for breach of the token sales agreement
• Counseled major film studio on creation of a blockchain-based protocol for authentication of news and other media content
• Counseled NFT issuer in response to California DOJ and SEC complaints
• Represented token issuer in arbitration against token sales platform for breach of the token sales agreement 
• Counseled major film studio on creation of a blockchain-based protocol for authentication of news and other media content
• Counseled NFT issuer in response to California DOJ and SEC complaints
• Counseled DeFi protocol company on response to hack resulting in loss of substantial assets
• Counseled major film studio on myriad NFT projects, including creation of NFT trading platforms, sales of media-themed NFTs, and regulatory compliance
• Advised large social media company on partnership with NFT platform to launch NFT collectibles
• Advised NFT platform on partnership with professional car racing organization to launch NFT collectibles
• Counseled ownership group for several professional sports clubs (including NHL and NBA teams) on creation of a platform to mint and trade NFT collectibles
• Counseled private equity firm on various issues relating to NFT collectible platform to assess potential acquisition of sports collectibles company
• Defeated motion for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order that could have enjoined client’s imminent sale of tens of millions of dollars' worth of new cryptocurrency and release of new blockchain
• Defended large, international cryptocurrency exchange against multiple lawsuits from customer alleging failure to support forked currencies, obtaining summary judgment and affirmance in published appellate decision
• Defended large cryptocurrency exchange against numerous consumer disputes, lawsuits, and arbitrations
• Defended large, international cryptocurrency exchange in several commercial disputes
• Defended cryptocurrency exchange against prelitigation allegations of trademark infringement in the distributed domain name space
• Defended SAFT issuer in securities fraud lawsuit
• Counseled foreign cryptocurrency issuer on compliance with US securities laws
• Counseled foreign cryptocurrency exchange on setting up unclaimed property law compliance program

Other Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution

• Defended AI company going public via SPAC against claims it breached contract to issue convertible note
• Defended venture capital firm focused on gaming against claims it tortiously interfered with SAFE investment in gaming company
• Defended private fund investing in manufactured housing communities against claims of securities fraud 
• Represented medical device distributor in lawsuit and companion arbitration against manufacturers alleging product defects
• Defended professional race truck team against lawsuit by race promoter alleging violations of race contracts
• Defended large music festival promoter in lawsuit arising from cancellation of festival
• Counseled medical technology company in prelitigation dispute with former director over trade secret theft and 
• Defended fitness SAAS company in class action alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act 
• Defended credit reporting agency in over a dozen cases filed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, obtaining multiple dismissals
• Represented foreign bank in litigation seeking to draw down on US$103 million line of credit, defeating motion by counterparty bank to enjoin draw down
• Represented investment bank in litigation over enforceability of interest rate swap

Products Liability Litigation and Counseling 

• Led internal investigation of alleged environmental contamination in coworking spaces
• Served as national coordinating counsel for international automaker, supervising the defense of hundreds of lawsuits across the U.S. and abroad, and obtaining myriad dismissals on the merits and without payment
• Led team of multiple law firms in defense of bus manufacturer and distributor in over sixty related lawsuits across multiple jurisdictions arising from a severe accident, obtaining dismissal with prejudice without payment
• Defended auto manufacturer in class action alleging defects in wheels, obtaining denial of class certification
• Obtained dismissal at trial, affirmed on appeal, for auto manufacturer and distributor against lawsuit by estate of deceased individual involved in a bus accident 
• Defended airplane manufacturer in lawsuit alleging fuel line defects leading to crash

Michael has argued and won several pro bono appeals and currently sits on the Ninth Circuit pro bono panel. Representative wins:

• Peasley v. Spearman, 2022 WL 2301992 (9th Cir. 2022) (obtained reversal of summary judgment dismissing prisoner's Eight Amendment claim he was denied medical care)
• People v. Spells, 66 A.D.3d 924 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009) (appearing as Special Assistant District Attorney, obtained affirmance of criminal charges for murder in second degree and criminal possession of weapon in third degree)
• People v. Pena, 60 A.D.3d 1089 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009) (appearing as Special Assistant District Attorney, obtained affirmance of criminal charges for robbery and grand larceny)

• "How New SEC Rule May Turn DeFi Participants Into 'Dealers'," Law360, March 21, 2024
• "Blockchain regulation: Speedbumps, roadblocks and superhighways," Cointelegraph, September 3, 2020
• Court upholds New York AG's Martin Act authority to investigate virtual currency fraud, State Attorney General Watch blog, 14 July 2020
• Court confirms Telegram injunction covers non-US purchasers, 2 April 2020
• Court grants SEC's motion for preliminary injunction against Telegram's sales of Gram cryptocurrency; Telegram appeals, 30 March 2020
• "NY Attorney General Files Fraud Claims Against Bitfinex and Tether," National Law Review, May 7, 2019
• "New York Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Securities Class Action Against Digital Token Issuer," National Law Review, April 9, 2019
• "SEC Issues Long-Awaited Cryptocurrency Guidance," Lexology, April 5, 2019
• "Preliminary Injunction in Blockvest Provides New Fodder for SEC Regulation of Digital Assets and Raises Scrutiny of Marketing Materials," National Law Review, February 20, 2019
• "Security Token Offerings: Old Wine in a New Bottle?," National Law Review, February 18, 2019
• "In re Tomahawk and the Securities Law Implications for Airdropped Tokens," September 7, 2018
• "Foreign Cryptocurrency Issuers Must Beware of U.S. Securities Advertising Restrictions," Oracle Times Cryptocurrency News, May 7, 2018
• "SEC and CFTC Offer Views on Regulation of Virtual Currency," IP Tech Blog, February 27, 2018

• Speaker, "DLA Piper (Canada) CCC&I Symposium: Crypto scams and new crypto regulation in Canada," Webinar, October 12, 2023
• Speaker, "NFT Legal Deep Dive: Securities law, entertainment unions, and licensing [Part III]," Federal Bar Association, May 24, 2023
• Speaker, "#web3 Legal Eagles: DLA Piper, The Platform Where Success is Solved," Edge of NFT Podcast & Outer Edge L.A., May 11, 2023
• Speaker, "Legal Matters in the Web3 Economy at the University of Chicago Law School," University of Chicago Law School Blockchain Conference, January 19, 2023
• Speaker, "Non-Fungible Tokens: Securities Law, Entertainment Unions and Licensing Strategies, " Lexology, November 15, 2022
• Speaker, "BHBA NFT Week: Regulatory Implications in the NFT and the Metaverse Spaces," Beverly Hills Bar Association, Zoom webinar, March 25, 2022
• Speaker, "Tokenizing Creativity: Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Intellectual Property," American Intellectual Property Association Mid-Winter Institute, February 3, 2022
• Moderator, Panel Discussion "The State of Blockchain Law 2020," Northern California Harvard Law School Alumni Association, March 5, 2020
• Speaker, "Blockchain 101: An Introduction to Blockchain Technology, Industry, and Regulation for Attorneys," California Lawyers Association, July 18, 2019
• Speaker, "Blockchain 101", 3DHEALS Global Healthcare Conference, April 21, 2018
• Moderator, Panel Discussion "Emerging International Issues in Regulation of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies," DRI Annual Meeting, October 17-21, 2018
• Panelist, Panel Discussion "Funders Fire," AI Global Tech Summit, May 11, 2018
• Panelist, "ICO? Where to Go?" German-American Chamber of Commerce sponsored event, September 7, 2018
• Presenter, "Everything Is the Same/Nothing Has Changed," NorCal eDiscovery Retreat, July 18, 2016
• Presenter, "A Closer Look at Social Media eDiscovery and Governance," Actiance Webinar, May 19, 2015
• Presenter, "Establishing In­House eDiscovery Playbooks, Procedures, Tool Selection, and Implementation," NorCal eDiscovery & Information Governance Retreat, April 26-27, 2015
• Panelist, "The Three Rs of Enterprise Discovery Management," Legal Tech New York, February 2014
• Panelist, "The Why of eDiscovery ­ Understanding the Frameworks: eDiscovery Goals," Laguna Beach eDiscovery Retreat, July 2013
• Panelist, "An Analytical Primer: Assessing the Pros & Cons of Established & Emerging Review & Analysis Paradigms," Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat, July 2013
• Panelist, "Laying the Foundations for eDiscovery Competence," Carmel Valley eDiscovery Retreat, May 2013
• Panelist, "The Unforeseen: eDiscovery Project Management," Legal Tech New York, January 2013