Michael Aprahamian, a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, is a commercial litigator with emphasis on shareholder disputes, fiduciary duties, licensing issues and insurance law. He is a frequent speaker on professional responsibility and legal ethics. In addition, he is a member of the firm’s Insurance & Reinsurance Industry Team, and Distribution & Franchise and Appellate Practices and has litigated numerous cases across the country, and frequently speaks and writes on matters involving distribution law. He is a co-author, along with several other Foley attorneys, of the CCH Treatise entitled Product Distribution Law Guide.
Mr. Aprahamian received his B.A. degree, with honors, in political science and behavioral science and law from the University of Wisconsin. His J.D. degree was conferred by Yale Law School in 1992, where he was publishing editor of the Yale Law Journal. From 1992 to 1993, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Richard D. Cudahy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Mr. Aprahamian has been elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Mortar Board Honor Society and has been repeatedly selected for inclusion in the Wisconsin Super Lawyers® lists for his business litigation work. He was also selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013 for his commercial litigation work. In February 2011, he was appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to a three-year term to serve as one of two lawyers on the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, the commission investigating and prosecuting allegations of misconduct or disability on the part of Wisconsin judges and court commissioners.
Mr. Aprahamian has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system.
Mr. Aprahamian's professional affiliations include membership in the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American and Milwaukee Bar Associations.
From 1994-2008, he served on the board of directors and executive committee of the Center for Blind and Visually Impaired Children, Inc. ("CBVIC"), and served as its president from 2008-2010. In 2010, he facilitated the merger of CBVIC with the Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired, and has served on the board of directors of the merged organization as its vice president from 2010 to the present.
Mr. Aprahamian frequently contributes to trade associations and seminars. The following are among the articles and presentations authored by Mr. Aprahamian:
- Ethics 2010 – You Ethics People Don't Have a Clue
- Ethics 2009 – Ethics Hangover
- Law of Product Distribution
- Robinson Patman Act Primer
- Ethics 2008 – Let’s Get Ethical
- Ethics 2007 – Quantum of Ethics
- Legal Considerations in Merging Two Distribution Networks
- Legal Considerations in Marketing Through Distributors
- Getting Your Bang for Your Buck Out of Contractual "Best Efforts" Provisions
- Dealing with Financially Challenged Distributors
- Can I Change My Channel of Distribution from Independent Distributors to Include Internet and Mass Merchandisers?
- Picking Your Battlegrounds: Best Practices Re: Choice-of-Forum and Choice-of-Law Provisions in Distributor Contracts
- State Regulation on Distribution Relationship (Or Where Fools Rush In)
- Best Efforts by the Distributor or Franchisee – What Does It Mean and How Do You Enforce It?
- The Implied Obligation of Good Faith: Legal Morass or Useful Tool?