Michael D. Pinnisi

mpinnisi@pinnisianderson.com
43 West 43rd Street, Suite 453, New York, NY 10036-7424
  • Overview
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Licensure
  • Service Areas
  • Honors & Awards

Mr. Pinnisi provides commercial dispute resolution, contract negotiation, corporate governance, internal investigation, intellectual property, and other legal services for sophisticated corporate clients across the country.

He draws upon four decades of public, private, and academic work to bring rounded judgment to his engagements. His professional experience includes service as a Partner of the venerable law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP; GC/COO/CCO of billion-dollar+ hedge fund Hudson Executive Capital; CLO/COO of international music rights monetization conglomerate GoDigital Media Group; GC/VP of high-technology company Kionix, Inc.; advisor to officers and directors of a range of public and private companies; Honor Program Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice; Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in both its Civil and Criminal Divisions; special-assignment Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Washington, D.C. office; litigation associate of international law firms Shearman & Sterling and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell Law School.

Mr. Pinnisi is proficient in a number of technical subject matters, and is a named inventor in issued U.S. Patents regarding infectious disease treatment and 3D printing methods.

Mr. Pinnisi also is a federal-court-approved mediator, with experience representing parties in arbitration and mediation.

Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences, A.B. cum laude 1982
Aleph Samach honor society for student leaders
Honor Program, Department of Government
Vedder Political Science Scholar
Captain, Cornell Debate Association

Cornell Law School, J.D. 1985
Freeman Civil Rights Scholar
Moot Court Board

Chief Legal Officer, Chief Operating Officer, GoDigital Media Group, LLC, Worldwide, 2024 – 2026
Responsible for management of legal and operational matters for international conglomerate with diverse operations including monetization of music rights, financing of music ventures, marketing and sale of branded goods, and other services.

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Hudson Executive Capital, NY, NY, 2017 – 2024
Responsible for all legal matters and operations for SEC-registered financial adviser with over $1 billion in assets under management.

Senior Partner, Pinnisi & Anderson, Ithaca, New York, 2003 – 2017
Co-founder and senior counsel handling matters of commercial litigation, contracting, corporate governance, and intellectual property.

General Counsel, Vice President for Business Development, Kionix, Inc., Ithaca, New York, 1999 – 2003
Responsible for all legal matters of world leader in silicon micro-machines. Identified and developed new business opportunities and provided strategic advice to the CEO and Board.  Chaired the Failure Analysis Committee re technical product development.

Brown, Pinnisi & Michaels, P.C., Ithaca, New York, 1992 – 1999
Co-founder and senior litigator handling matters of commercial litigation, contracting, corporate governance, and intellectual property.

Adjunct Professor of Law and lecturer, Cornell Law School, 1992 – 2025
Offered courses in negotiation, pretrial litigation, trial and appellate advocacy; lectured regarding ethics and General Counsel issues.

Litigation Associate, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Washington, D.C., 1991 – 1992
Litigation counsel in national mass tort cases involving alleged L-tryptophan causation of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome epidemic.

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, 1988 – 1991
Represented the United States in civil and criminal cases in a wide range of subject matters, including cases of national significance.

Litigation Associate, Shearman & Sterling, New York, N.Y., 1987 – 1988
Commercial and bankruptcy litigation practice.

Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Honor Program, Washington, D.C., 1985 – 1987
Represented the United States in civil and criminal cases as a Trial Attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia, Criminal Division.

Bar Admissions:

  • New York State
  • United States District Court, Northern District of New York
  • United States District Court, Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court, Western District of New York
  • Untied States Court of Appeals for the Federal Court

Practice Areas:

  • Arbitration and Mediation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Formation and Governance
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Internal Corporate Investigations
  • Patent and Trademark Consultation
  • White Collar Criminal Defense
  • Best Lawyers in America
  • AV-Preeminent Rating, Judicial Edition, by Martindale Hubbell (its highest rating for a litigator)
  • Super Lawyers – New York
  • AVVO – 10 of 10 “Superb” rating
  • Who’s Who in America, in American Law, and in American Finance and Industry
  • Phi Delta Phi (Legal Service and Ethics Fraternity), Honorary Inductee, Cornell Law School Chapter