Since arriving at Akin Gump in 2002, Michael C. Small has represented major corporations in commercial disputes, class actions, and constitutional matters. Mr. Small focuses his practice in the area of appellate litigation, and has authored numerous briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts for corporate clients and prominent public interest organizations involving many issues, including First Amendment, equal protection and due process, employment discrimination, intellectual property, federal jurisdiction, and commercial fraud. Mr. Small also regularly advises clients on overall legal strategy in trial court litigation.
Prior to joining Akin Gump, Mr. Small was the chief counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California from 1999 to 2000, where he coordinated litigation in the areas of freedom of expression and religion and racial profiling. He also was a visiting faculty member at UCLA Law School from 1997 to 1999, where he taught constitutional law, and is currently an adjunct professor at UCLA.
Mr. Small served in the U.S. Justice Department from 1993 to 1997, first as an attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides advice on federal constitutional issues—particularly in the fields of separation of powers and federalism—to the president, the attorney general and agency general counsels. Subsequently, Mr. Small was a deputy associate attorney general, assisting in the formulation of legal and political strategy for the Clinton administration on a wide range of civil rights matters, especially in the area of affirmative action reforms.
Mr. Small received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1982 and his J.D. in 1986 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was editor in chief of the Georgetown Law Journal. Following law school, he studied international human rights law in Great Britain on a Fulbright Scholarship.
Mr. Small is a member of the California and District of Columbia bars and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th and D.C. Circuits, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California. Mr. Small is the former president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Constitution Society and a member of the Human Rights Watch California Committee-South.