Michael A. Betts
Partner
Michael A. Betts has advised clients in complex commercial, employment, and cross-border disputes spanning industries such as life sciences, healthcare, financial services, technology, consumer goods, and the arts. He has secured favorable results for clients at every stage of litigation, including in federal and state courts, and in domestic and international arbitration and mediation.
Michael has extensive experience in litigation involving scientific and regulatory complexity, with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare sectors. He draws on his science background to engage effectively with technical subject matter and distill complex issues for courts and decisionmakers. He regularly works alongside scientific and industry experts to analyze detailed factual records, develop expert theories, and prepare witnesses for deposition and trial. He has helped clients navigate disputes involving valuation models, post-acquisition integration, and other high-stakes issues, including in matters with alleged liabilities exceeding one billion dollars.
Prior to co-founding Betts Diplas PLLC, Michael practiced in the Complex Commercial Litigation and Product Liability & Mass Tort groups at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City. In 2019, he was seconded overseas to the headquarters of a global pharmaceutical company, where he handled numerous breach of contract and indemnification claims and worked directly with business, quality, and regulatory teams. After leaving Big Law, he maintained a solo litigation practice focused on commercial and employment disputes, in which he represented and achieved favorable results for both plaintiffs and defendants. In that role, he also provided strategic counseling to clients navigating legal and business risks.
Representative matters include:
- Representing Johnson & Johnson in mass tort and related bankruptcy proceedings involving talc liability claims, including securing disqualification of over 15,000 ballots improperly submitted by a plaintiffs’ law firm;
- Counseling a global pharmaceutical company in over 20 confidential matters, worth billions of dollars, including multiple domestic and international arbitrations arising from M&A, licensing, supply, and collaboration agreements;
- Advising Paramount Global in indemnification litigation in state and federal courts involving alleged legacy chemical product liabilities;
- Defending the Israel Museum and obtaining dismissal of replevin claims over the 14th-century Bird’s Head Haggadah on personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens grounds;
- Advising a global pharmaceutical company on post-acquisition indemnification strategy involving high-profile product liability litigation, including developing legal arguments ultimately adopted in a public arbitration victory against a former transaction counterparty;
- Representing a biotechnology company in ICC arbitration over post-acquisition technology transfer obligations and the valuation of uncommercialized products;
- Advising pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in post-M&A disputes concerning purchase price adjustments, milestone payments, and escrow arrangements, as well as in litigation and negotiated resolutions related to inaccurate securityholder registers, unpaid former shareholders, and contested redemptions involving deceased or misidentified holders;
- Negotiating and litigating strategic exits from CDMO and licensing agreements on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, including disputes over termination rights and post-exit obligations;
- Advising a biotechnology company in shareholder disputes concerning alleged misclassification under the Fair Labor Standards Act;
- Successfully litigating employment discrimination claims based on gender and disability;
- Negotiating separation agreements with outgoing officers and directors on behalf of a financial technology company;
- Resolving wage and hour claims with the New York State Department of Labor on behalf of an arts center;
- Representing a major media company in insurance and indemnity litigation in state court, federal court, and mediation; and
- Responding on behalf of a medical services provider to government investigations involving alleged violations of the False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute, and Stark Law.
Michael has also represented non-profit organizations in a wide range of pro bono matters, including employment disputes, internal governance, and regulatory issues.
He graduated from Columbia Law School, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, with a second major in Classical Languages, from Duke University. During law school, he interned at the Texas Office of the Attorney General in the Solicitor General Division and Antitrust Division.
Education
Columbia Law School, J.D., 2016 (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar)
Duke University, B.S., 2011
Admissions
New York
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Certain matters described above were handled by Michael A. Betts prior to the formation of Betts Diplas PLLC.
