Mike helps clients structure and close complex deals. His experience includes more than $15 billion in M&A, financing, real estate, and commercial transactions. He also uses his experience as a negotiator to resolve difficult disputes and regulatory matters. During his tenure in the Hogan administration, Mike settled a multi-year licensing dispute with the owner of Maryland’s largest hydroelectric facility, oversaw the financial restructuring of the Purple Line light rail P3 project, and negotiated a solution to bring Baltimore City's failing wastewater treatment plants back into compliance.
Mike is known for his ability to solve unusually challenging and unprecedented problems. While serving as Governor Hogan's chief legal counsel, he directed all legal aspects of the governor's response to the COVID-19 pandemic—a response that was upheld in court and widely lauded as one of the most effective and balanced in the nation.
Prior to serving in government, Mike was the general counsel of Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,500-acre multimodal logistics hub at the site of the former Bethlehem Steel mill, one of the largest brownfields in the country. He led the company's effort to negotiate agreements with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maryland Department of the Environment, creating a framework for the cleanup and redevelopment of the property. He was responsible for all legal, government, and regulatory affairs for the company's marine terminal, short line railroad, and real estate businesses. Mike joined Tradepoint after serving as general counsel for its parent company, Redwood Capital Investments.
Mike began his legal career in Venable's Corporate Finance and Securities Practice Group, representing clients in mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising transactions, joint ventures, and other complex transactions. During his first tenure at Venable, he represented, among other significant matters, the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the development of several Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) programs, including the $4 billion Small Business Lending Fund and $5 billion Auto Supplier Support Program.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mike was a software developer.
Related Practices
Experience
Government Experience
- Chief legal counsel, Office of Governor Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr.
- Assistant secretary, Maryland Department of the Environment
- Senior policy advisor, Maryland Department of the Environment
Representative Matters
- Led the State of Maryland's strategy for relicensing the Conowingo Dam, including a landmark $200 million settlement agreement with Exelon Generation Company that preserves Maryland's largest source of renewable energy and provides funding for major water quality investments in the Chesapeake Bay
- Represented the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the development of several TARP programs, including the $4 billion Small Business Lending Fund and $5 billion Auto Supplier Support Program
- Negotiated a project labor agreement with building trade unions to ensure labor harmony at Tradepoint Atlantic, and managed the company's response to an organizing campaign by the largest union of maritime workers in North America
- Represented Redwood Capital Investments in its $365 million purchase of the assets of a senior living company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Represented Redwood Capital Investments in the $670 million sale of a portfolio company, Wexford Equities, to BioMed Realty
- Represented Mercantile Bankshares Corporation in several M&A transactions, including its $6 billion sale to PNC and its acquisitions of F&M Bank, James Monroe Bank, and Community Bank of Northern Virginia
- Represented MBNA Corporation in several M&A transactions, including its acquisition of a Nexstar Financial
- Represented Ferris Baker Watts as underwriter of several public offerings and in its $230 million sale to Royal Bank of Canada
- Represented The Federalist Group in its sale to an Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. with honors University of Maryland School of Law 2002
- Editor, Maryland Law Review
- B.B.A. Accounting and Management Information Systems Loyola University Maryland 1997
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
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England and Wales (Solicitor)
Note: Michael Pedone is authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under registration number 826497 in his individual capacity. Venable LLP is not authorized or regulated by the SRA. While Michael is employed by Venable LLP, his SRA authorization and regulation do not apply to our firm, the services we offer, or the work carried out by other lawyers at our firm.
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Recognition
- Chambers USA, Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions, 2010 – 2011
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2011