Michael P. Kniffen

Michael Kniffen is an associate in the litigation department of Morrison & Foerster's San Francisco office. He has a broad practice in complex business litigation at the trial and appellate levels. He specializes in intellectual property and international business disputes. His experience includes preparing a successful Ninth Circuit appellate brief that obtained a rare reversal of summary judgment in a pro bono First Amendment case.

Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Mr. Kniffen served a two-year clerkship under Chief Judge Emerita Alicemarie H. Stotler, United States District Court for the Central District of California. During his clerkship, he handled pre-trial and post-trial motions in a variety of civil cases, claim construction and several motions for summary judgment in patent cases, and sentencing and revocations of supervised release in criminal actions. He also assisted the Honorable James V. Selna with his motion calendar in both civil and criminal matters, including the multidistrict litigation proceedings styled as In Re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation.

Mr. Kniffen received his J.D. from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law. He received his LL.M. from the London School of Economics, where he specialized in international business law.