Michael McMillen joined the Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.'s corporate practice group as a partner in 2008.  His primary practice locations are the firm's Dubai and New York offices.  He also works from the firm's Riyadh and London offices. His practice focuses on Islamic finance, project finance and structured finance. 

Michael has twice been a recipient of the award for Best Legal Advisor in Islamic Finance by Euromoney Magazine.  Michael has also been the recipient of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Mahktoum award as Best Legal Advisor in Islamic Finance in North America.  He teaches Islamic finance at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Business.  He is a member of the Islamic Development Bank Task Force on the Global Financial Crisis. He publishes and speaks frequently on Islamic finance and project finance topics. 

Michael has taken the lead in various legal aspects of the capital markets initiative of the Islamic Financial Services Board, including topics such as the enforceability of the Shari'ah in different jurisdictions throughout the world, the use of sukuk (particularly asset securitization sukuk) as a backbone element for Islamic capital markets, the use of trust concepts in OIC jurisdictions (including civil law jurisdictions), and securities and capital markets laws in OIC jurisdictions, particularly as they relate to Shari'ah-compliant instruments, structures and transactions.

Michael works on the structuring of innovative financial products and structures for global financial institutions, investment funds, fund and asset managers, banks, investment banks, developers, rating agencies, equity investors and debt providers. Examples of his work in structuring Shari'ah-compliant funds and instruments include structures, financings and transactions relating to real estate acquisition and construction, sukuk (Islamic bonds and Islamic asset securitizations), hedge funds (including short sale and options structures), private equity, debt-side capital markets instruments (including the conversion of instruments to Shari'ah-compliant instruments), derivatives, commercial paper equivalents, factoring-refactoring, and various mezzanine financings.  

Michael has extensive project finance transactional experience throughout the world in the electricity, petrochemicals, mining, paper, industrial and infrastructure sectors, including Shari'ah-compliant projects.

Islamic Finance:

Islamic Product Structuring and Development:

• Structuring and transactional implementation of Islamic finance products and structures as counsel to various Middle Eastern, European, and United States financial institutions (including istisna'a, arboon, murabaha, mudaraba, musharaka, ijara, tawaruk and other structures). These are often Shari'ah-compliant equivalents of conventional Western financial instruments that are identified by clients.
• Extensive involvement with Shari'ah scholars and Shari'ah supervisory boards in the drafting and issuance of fatawa for Islamic finance products, structures and transactions throughout the world.
• Examples include the following (“first” designation is based upon observations of Shari'ah scholars and others):
  • The first “quadratic partnership” (construction, sales, management and tax agreements for Shari'ah purposes and (if elected) a partnership for tax purposes); implemented for health care and hotel funds and investments in entities with interest-based debt obligations
  • The first capital protected index tracking structure
  • The first distressed debt and bankruptcy fund (in process)
  • The first short sales and options trading (arboon) structures (and related screens and software)
  • The first factoring-refactoring structure
  • The first construction finance (istisna’a-ijara) structure for the United States and Europe (compatible with Western banking and legal requirements); widely used in real estate, project and other transactions
  • A sukuk al-musharaka structure (in 1997; then called a sharikat mahassa structure)
  • Development of retail, commercial and investment banking products for a new Islamic bank in Qatar and a new Islamic investment bank in Malaysia
  • Tax-efficient ijara real estate financing structures in the Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States

Real Estate Funds and Financings:

• Counsel to various funds, sponsors, fund managers and asset managers in connection with the formation and operation of funds that acquire properties in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
• Acquisitions and acquisition financings as counsel to acquirers and finance providers using tax-efficient ijara and quadratic partnership structures in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
• Construction and development projects and financings using ijara, musharaka, quadratic partnership, mezzanine and other structures in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
• Financings include individual transaction and cross-collateralized pool financings of different types
• Properties include residential (multi-family, single-family, gated communities, golf course communities, horizontal development projects), commercial and industrial (office, warehouse, and manufacturing)
• Structures include bifurcated and compound structures (involving conventional interest-bearing debt and Shari'ah-compliant elements) and unified structures (involving exclusively Shari'ah-compliant or conventional financing)

Other Funds:

• Counsel to sponsors and fund and asset managers in connection with the structuring and implementation of index tracking funds, ETFs, and bankruptcy and distressed debt funds

Project and Equipment Finance:

• Counsel to owners, owner participants, developers, operators, lenders, credit support providers, technology providers, contractors and subcontractors in a wide range of US and international multi-jurisdictional international projects and equipment financings (electricity, petrochemicals, mining, pulp and paper, industrial, aircraft, vessels)
• Jurisdictions include Brazil, Colombia, India, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan
• Financing arrangements include domestic and large international commercial lending, multi-lateral organization lending, public offerings, private placements, and other financing arrangements
• Experience includes the complete range of project documents, including: input, offtake, and operating agreements, construction contracts, subcontracting arrangements, architectural agreements, consulting agreements, real estate matters pertinent to project financings in the various jurisdictions, security arrangements, both onshore and offshore, with respect to all types of collateral and property
• Structures include BOT, BOOT, BOOT and leaseback, leverage lease, undivided interest, general and limited partnerships, among others, and the complete range or Shari'ah-compliant entities, structures and contractual arrangements

• American Bar Association, Member Islamic Finance Committee of the International Law Section, Chairman (2007 - Present)
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Member
• International Law Association, Member
• Islamic Financial Services Board, Capital Markets Initiative: Legal Aspects of Securities Laws, Trusts and Enforceability
• Islamic Development Bank, Task Force on the Global Financial Crisis and the Future of Islamic Finance, Member
• International Swaps and Derivatives Working Group on Islamic Finance, Member
• Trento Project for a Common Core of European Law, Participant and Author

• Best Legal Advisor in Islamic Finance: Euromoney: a recipient in 2004 (the first such award) and 2007
• Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Award: Best Legal Advisor in Islamic Finance in North America: a recipient in 2007
• Chambers USA: Banking and Finance: Islamic Finance

• Islamic Finance Columnist, The National, a daily newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates
• "Islamic Project Finance: An Introduction to Principles and Structures", constituting the entire issue of Global Infrastructure, Volume III, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., 2009
• "Islamic Capital Markets in the First Decade: Developments and Issues for the Future", in Islamic Wealth Management, Sohail Jaffer, ed., at 12, Euromoney Publications, 2009
• "Islamic Finance and Infrastructure", in A Practitioner's Guide to Islamic Finance, Humayan Dar and Umar Moghul, eds., Chancellor Publications, 2009
• "Sukuk in the First Decade: by the Numbers", co-author with John A. Crawford, in Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes Quarterly Newsletter, December 2008
• "Securities Laws, Enforceability and Sukuk", chapter 3 of Islamic Finance: Surveys on Global Legal Issues and Challenges, Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim and Madzlan Mohamad Hussain, eds., Islamic Financial Services Board, John Wiley & Sons, 2008
• "Trust Laws and Islamic Finance", co-author with Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, chapter 4 of Islamic Finance: Surveys on Global Legal Issues and Challenges, Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim and Madzlan Mohamad Hussain, eds., Islamic Financial Services Board, John Wiley & Sons, 2008
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Equivalents to Western Mortgage-Based Financings: Structures and Primary and Secondary Markets," The Common Core of European Law: Laws of Mortgage (tentative title; a report of the "Trento Project"), Gary Watt, Cornelius Van der Merwe and Francesca Fiorentini, eds., Cambridge University Press, (forthcoming)
• "Asset Securitization Sukuk And Islamic Capital Markets: Structural Issues In These Formative Years," 25 Wisconsin International Law Journal 703, 2008
• "Sukuk in Its Infancy: Missteps and Sequel", Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes Quarterly Newsletter, May 2008
• Sukuk and Islamic Bonds: Towards a Viable Secondary Market, Harvard Law School and Harvard Islamic Financial and Investment Program articles from the Proceedings of the Sixth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2008
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Hedge Funds: Commencing With First Principles," The Middle East: The Potential for the Hedge Fund Market, Carol Bonnett and Sarah Barham, eds., ISI Publications, 2008
• "An Overview of Capital Markets Regulatory Approaches Affecting Islamic Finance," The Middle East: The Potential for the Hedge Fund Market, Carol Bonnett and Sarah Barham, eds., ISI Publications, 2008
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Infrastructure and Project Finance," Infrastructure Finance, Henry A. Davis, ed., Euromoney Books, 2008
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Project Finance: Module 5," Informa Professional Academy, London, 2007
• "Islamic Project Finance," Handbook of Islamic Banking, chapter 14, M. Kabir Hassan and Mervyn K. Lewis, eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, London, 2007
• "Contractual Enforceability Issues: Sukuk and Capital Markets Development," 7 University of Chicago Journal of International Law 427-467, Winter 2007
• "Islamic capital markets: developments and issues," 1 Capital Markets Law Journal 136-72, 2007
• "Law and Islamic Finance: An Interactive Analysis," co-author with Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Islamic Finance: The Regulatory Challenge, chapter 7, 132-197, Rifaat Abdel Kareem and Simon Archer, eds., John W. Wiley & Sons, Singapore, 2007
• "Toward an Effective Legal Framework for Islamic Finance: Securities Laws, Trusts, Enforceability and Sukuk," Islamic Financial Services Board, April 19, 2007
• "Toward an Effective Legal Framework for Islamic Finance: Trusts and Asset Securitization Sukuk," Asian Development Bank and Islamic Financial Services Board, March 2007
• Co-author with Abradat Kamalpour, "An Innovation in Financing – Islamic CMBS, in Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securitisations: Developments in the European Market," chapter 21, 382-412, Andrew V. Petersen, ed., Sweet & Maxwell, London, 2006
• "Sukuk Issuances and the Glimpse of the Secondary Market," Euromoney Islamic Finance Yearbook, Euromoney Books, London, 2006
• "Sukuk and Islamic Bonds: Towards a Viable Secondary Market," Proceedings of the Sixth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006
• "Creating a Secondary Market," Islamic Banking & Finance, Issue 11, 21-23, July 2006
• Foreward: "Islamic Finance Review 2005-2006: a year of integration and globalization," Islamic Finance Yearbook, Euromoney Books, London, 2005-2006
• "Raising the game of compliance: people and organisations," Islamic Finance Yearbook 2005-2006, Euromoney Books, London
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Project Finance: Module 5," Informa Professional Academy, London, 2006
• "The Shirt as an Environmental Adaptation," The Shirt Report, The Shirt Store, New York, New York, July 2005
• "Structuring a Securitized Shari’ah-Compliant Real Estate Acquisition Financing: A South Korean Case Study," Proceedings of the Fifth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2004
• "Structuring the Shari’a-Complaint Transaction Involving Non-Compliant Elements," Islamic Asset Management: Forming the Future for Shari’a-Compliant Investment Strategies, Sohail Jaffer, ed., Euromoney Books, 2004
• "Shari’a-Compliant Project Finance," Part I: Project Financing and Islamic Jurisdictions – Saudi Arabia, Middle East Executive Reports, Volume 24, No. 8, August 2001, July 2002
• "Shari’a-Compliant Project Finance," Part II: Project Financing and United States Jurisdictions, Middle East Executive Reports, Volume 24, No. 9, 2003
• "A Comparative Study of Capital Markets and Securities Laws in the Middle East," The Middle East: The Potential for the Hedge Fund Market, Carol Bonnett and Sarah Barham, eds., ISI Publications 2008 (forthcoming)
• "Shari’a-Compliant Project Finance," Part III: Project Financing and United States Jurisdictions, Middle East Executive Reports, Volume 24, No. 10, 2003
• "A Shari’ah-Compliant Istisna’a-Ijara Construction, Mini-Perm and Long-Term Finance Structure for Project Financings, Including United States Case Studies," Proceedings of the Fourth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2002
• "Islamic Shari’ah-Compliant Project Finance: Collateral Security and Financing Structure Case Studies," 24 Fordham International Law Journal 1184, Vol. 24, No. 4, April 2001
• "A Collateral Security Structure for Project and Secured Financings," Proceedings of the Third Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance: Local Challenges, Global Opportunities, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2001

Michael is a frequent lecturer, including at the Law School and Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (2006 - Present) and for the Middle East Partnership Initiative of the Wharton Executive Education Program (2007).  He also is an instructor at Informa Professional Academy in London (2006 - Present).

Michael's speeches include the following:

• "Myths and Misconceptions of Islamic Financing", Making International Business Work in Distressed Markets, International Symposium for the Center for American and International Law, Plano, Texas, June 17, 2009
• "Structuring a Shari'ah-Compliant Transaction in the United States", New York City Bar Association, New York, New York, June 10, 2009
• Participant and Islamic Finance Panelist, Qatar Law Forum, Doha, Qatar, May 29-21, 2009
• "Islamic Project Finance in the Current Markets: An Introduction", Arabian Power and Water Conference, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 31, 2009
• Islamic Finance and the Current Economic Crisis: Looking to the Opportunities", 9th GCC Banking Conference, Manama, Bahrain, March 25, 2009
• "Modern Islamic Finance: An Introductory Overview", National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, Washington, D.C., February 17, 2009
• Shari'ah-Compliant Commercial Real Estate Finance", PLI Commercial Real Estate Financing 2009: How the World Changed, New York, New York, February 12, 2009
• "Sukuk", a full-day seminar as part of Syndicated Lending in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 4, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: An Introduction Contemplating Enforcement or Restructuring", International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C., December 1, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: Current Issues", Net Impact, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 15, 2008
• "Modern Islamic Finance: Markets, Myths and Misconceptions", Concordia College, Bronxville, New York, November 20, 2008
• Islamic Finance: Markets, Myths and Misconceptions", U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 6, 2008
• Summit Chair, 2nd Islamic Finance World Summit, New York, New York, October 20-23, 2008
• "Current Islamic Finance Markets: Issues and Perspectives", Islamic Finance Seminar of Fulbright & Jaworski, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2008
• "Sukuk: Islamic Bonds and Securitizations", 2nd Islamic Finance World Summit: Special Seminar, New York, New York, October 20, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: An Issues-Oriented Introduction", Islamic Finance Seminar of Fulbright & Jaworski, London, England, September 30, 2008
• "Islamic Real Estate and Project Finance Involving US Clients: Practices and Trends", New York City Bar Association, September 18, 2008
• "Shari'ah-Compliant Real Estate and Project Finance: Practices and Trends", The International Islamic Finance Forum, September 15, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: Myths and Misconceptions", World Affairs Council of Houston, Houston, Texas, August 22, 2008
• "Islamic Finance of Aircraft", American Bar Association, Aircraft Financing Subcommittee, New York, New York, August 8, 2008
• "Sukuk and Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities", Structuring Sharing Compliant Financial Instruments, London, England, July 9, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: An Issue-Oriented Introduction", The Middle East: Legal Perspectives on Doing Business in the Region, New York, New York, June 11, 2008
• "Legal Considerations Affecting the 'Export' of Islamic Asset-Backed Products," Leaders in Islamic Finance Summit, Istanbul, Turkey, May 28, 2008
• "Exploring Global Markets: Funds and New Products", Leaders in Islamic Finance Summit, Istanbul, Turkey, May 27, 2008
• "Islamic Project Finance: An Issue-Oriented Introduction", New York City Bar Association, Committee on Project Finance, New York, New York, April 29, 2008 
• "Frontiers in Islamic Infrastructure Finance," a day-long seminar as part of the World Bank Frontiers in Infrastructure Finance, the World Bank, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 26, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: An Issue-Oriented Introduction", Middle East Partnership Initiative, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 21, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: An Issue-Oriented Introduction", Columbia University Law School, April 17, 2008
• "Islamic Finance and Islamic Finance Issues Pertaining to Special Operations," Special Operations Seminar, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Marrakech, Morocco, April 13-15, 2008
• "Modern Islamic Finance: Selected Introductory Topics", University of Pennsylvania Muslim Students Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 26, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: Selected Introductory Concepts," New York University Law School, New York, New York, March 5, 2008
• "Sharī'ah-Compliant Commercial Real Estate," Practising Law Institute, San Francisco (January 31, 2008), New York (February 14, 2008) and Chicago (March 27, 2008)
• "Structuring Sukuk Transactions: A Workshop," Amman, Jordan, March 2008 (a two-day or three-day private workshop which will include multiple transactional case studies)
• "Islamic Finance Structures", Goldman Sachs & Co, New York, New York, February 13, 2008
• "Islamic Finance: Introduction", Goldman Sachs & Co, New York, New York, February 13, 2008
• "Fatāwā in Financial Transactions," New York City Bar Association, New York, New York, January 27, 2008 (part of a symposium on the history of fatāwā)
• "Innovations in Sukuk: Addressing the Potential for Sukuk in Non-Islamic Jurisdictions," International Islamic Finance Forum, Zurich, Switzerland, October 30-31, 2007
• "Structuring Sukuk and Sharī^cah Compliant Transactions: A Workshop," IBC Global Conferences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 6, 2007
• "Structural Innovations in Sukuk: Addressing the Potential for Sukuk in Non-Islamic Jurisdictions," International Islamic Finance Forum, Zurich, Switzerland, October 30-31, 2007
• "Case Study: A Global Shari’ah-Compliant Real Estate Fund," Islamic Finance Summit 2007: Innovations in Shariah Compliant Finance for US-Based Financial Institutions, Financial Research Associates, New York, New York, October 29-30
• "Workshop: Sukuk and Beyond to Alternative Investments," Islamic Finance in North America, New York, New York, October 25, 2007
• "Islamic Project Finance" (and Some Basics of Modern Islamic Finance), Financial Management Association Annual Meetings, Orlando, Florida, October 19, 2007
• Panel Chairman: "Integrating Shari’ah-Compliant Products and Impact of Islamic Finance on Conventional Standards and Regulations," National Bureau of Asian Research, Washington, D.C., October 18, 2007
• "An Overview of Regulatory Issues of Relevance to the Emerging Islamic Finance Industry," National Bureau of Asian Research, Washington, D.C., October 18, 2007
• "Innovative Financial Products in Islamic Finance; Current Developments in Islamic Finance," New York City Bar Association, Committee on Foreign and Comparative Law, New York, New York, September 25, 2007
• "Islamic Finance: Sukuk, Practicing Law Institute Hot Topic Telephone Briefing," July 9, 2007 (broadcast nationally)
• "Securities Laws Relating to Islamic Finance and ABS: A Comparative Analysis," Islamic Securities Laws Conference of Suruhanjaya Sekuriti and International Organization of Securities Commissions, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 19, 2007
• "Islamic Finance," Middle East Partnership Initiative, Wharton Executive Education, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 6, 2007
• "Developing a Framework for Islamic Finance: Report on the Use of Trusts in Shari’ah-Compliant Capital Markets Transactions," Annual Meeting of the Islamic Financial Services Board, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 28, 2007
• "Trusts: An Issuance Vehicle for Sukuk?, Islamic Financial Services Board Conference on Developments in Islamic Finance, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 28, 2007
• "Shari’ah Issues in Leasing (Ijara) Transactions, Banking and Financial Law School," Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Bar Association, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 27, 2007
• "Sukuk al-Mudaraba and Sukuk al-Musharaka Transactions," Banking and Financial Law School, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Bar Association, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 27, 2007
• Keynote Address: The Future of Islamic Finance, Banking and Financial Law School," Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Bar Association, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 27, 2007
• "Doing Business in Saudi Arabia," New York City Bar Association, New York, New York, March 8, 2007
• "Recent Developments in Islamic Finance," New York City Bar Association, New York, New York, March 8, 2007
• "Islamic Finance: An Introduction," Proceedings Upon the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the University of Wisconsin International Law Journal, Madison, Wisconsin, March 2, 2007
• "Islamic Finance: An Introduction Focusing on the Current State of the Markets," Goldman Sachs (internal continuing legal education and business education program), London, England, February 27, 2007
• "Islamic Finance: An Introduction and Sukuk: Shari’ah-Compliant Bonds and Securitizations," Private Banking Seminars of Wachovia Bank, Charlotte, North Carolina, May 22, 2006
• "Sukuk and Islamic Bonds: Towards A Viable Secondary Market," Proceedings of the Sixth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 23, 2006
• Chairman, "Understanding the Legal Risks of Asset Securitization and Insolvency in Islamic Finance," Islamic Financial Services Board Conference, London, England, March 14-15
• "Leaders Forum: Leaders in Islamic Finance – Exploring the Potential for Global Expansion," The International Islamic Finance Forum, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 19-23
• Chairman and Presenter, "Issues in Shari’ah-Compliant Project Finance," The International Islamic Finance Forum, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 19-23
• "Sukuk Structures for the Global Markets in Sukuks: Developments and Challenges, The International Islamic Finance Forum, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 19-23
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Securitization and Sukuk Structures: The Bahrain Financial Harbour Sukuk as a Case Study," Proceedings of the Sixth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2007
• "ABCDX: An Istisna’a Forward Sale Partnership for Construction Finance," The International Islamic Finance Forum, Institute for International Research, Istanbul, Turkey, September 26-28, 2005
• "An Overview of the Modern History of Islamic Finance and Current Developments in Islamic Finance," The Committee on International Monetary Law of the International Bar Association, as two-day summit at the Bank of England, London, England, April 22-23, 2005
• Session Chairman: "Improving Trust in Your Markets: What’s on the Mind of the Investor?" World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Muscat, Oman, April 2, 2006
• "Recent Developments in Islamic Finance," World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Muscat, Oman, April 2, 2006
• "Recent Developments in Islamic Finance," The Seventh Annual Islamic Finance Forum, Institute for International Research, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 13-15, 2005
• "Legal Regulation of Islamic Finance on a Global Basis: A Proposal to Develop Enforceable Paradigms for Shari’ah-Compliant Structures," Global Islamic Finance, a conference sponsored by the Islamic Financial Services Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and hosted by the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait, March 1-3, 2005
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Real Estate Finance in Europe and the United States," The Fourth Annual Islamic Finance Summit, London, England, February 22-23, 2005, Euromoney Seminars
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Structures for Real Estate Acquisition Financing in the US and Europe," The Modern History of Islamic Finance, First Annual Conference on Islamic Finance of the School of Business of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, December 2, 2004
• "Real Estate Development and Construction Financing, and Financing of Private Equity Transactions," The Modern History of Islamic Finance, First Annual Conference on Islamic Finance of the School of Business of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, December 2, 2004
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Real Estate Finance in the United States and Europe," at Islamic Finance: Recent Developments, Association of Corporate Counsel and the New York State Bar Association, New York, New York, November 30, 2004
• Chairman, Islamic Finance: Recent Developments," Islamic Finance: Recent Developments, Association of Corporate Counsel and the New York State Bar Association, November 30, 2004
• "Islamic Hedge Funds: The Shari’ah-Compliant Short Sale," The International Islamic Finance Forum, Istanbul, Turkey, September 27-29, 2004
• "Structuring Shari’ah-Compliant Transactions Involving Non-Compliant Elements: Use of the Nominate Contracts," Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association, Section on International Law, Atlanta, Georgia, August 7, 2004
• "Structuring the Shari’ah-Compliant Transaction: A South Korean Securitization," The Sixth Annual Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance: Local Challenges, Global Opportunities, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 8, 2004
• "Enforceable in Accordance with Its Terms: A Proposal Regarding Islamic Shari’ah," the Fourth Meeting of the Council and Second Meeting of the General Assembly of the Islamic Financial Services Board, Bali, Indonesia, April 2, 2004
• "Presentation on the Enforceability of the Shari’ah under the Secular Laws of England and the United States," Conference sponsored by the Islamic Financial Services Board, London, England, March, 2004
• Chairman of The Second Annual Islamic Finance Summit, "Achieving Growth Through Dedicated Innovation," Euromoney Seminars and The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, London, England, January 21-23, 2003
• Presentation on "Islamic Hedge Funds," The Second Annual Islamic Finance Summit, Achieving Growth Through Dedicated Innovation, Euromoney Seminars, London, England, 2003
• "A Shari’ah-Compliant Hedge Fund," The Second Annual Islamic Finance Summit, Achieving Growth Through Dedicated Innovation, Euromoney Seminars and The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, London, England, January 21-23, 2003
• "Islamic Financing Products in the United States: Structures and New Developments," at Islamic Finance: Myths and Realities, MEIDIC Conferences, Washington, D.C., September 26, 2002
• "Shari’ah-Compliant Financial Transactions and Instruments, "The International Islamic Finance Forum, Institute for International Research, Geneva, Switzerland, July 22, 2002
• "A Shari’ah-Compliant Istisna’a - Ijara Construction, Mini-Perm and Long-Term Finance Structure for Project Financings, Including United States Case Studies," Fifth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance: Local Challenges, Global Opportunities, Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 6, 2002
• "The Islamic Economy," The International Islamic Finance Forum, Institute for International Research, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 18, 2002
• "The Leveraged Lease," American Association for Leasing and Finance, 21st Annual Fall Conference, Tucson, Arizona, November 7-9, 2001
• "Islamic Shari’ah-Compliant Financial Structures: Construction Finance and Acquisitions," Villanova Law School and Villanova University Islamic Finance Forum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 10, 2001
• "Islamic Construction and Mini-Perm Finance Program: A United States Case Study," National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, Washington, D.C., November 13, 2000

1982 - M.D., Distinction in Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1976 - J.D., Highest Honors, University of Wisconsin Law School 
1972 - B.B.A., Highest Honors, University of Wisconsin - Madison

While attending law school, Michael was the Research & Writing Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.

• Medical-legal ethics and bioethics
• Child development
• Opera
• Golf