Michael A. Lafleur

Michael is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy, and Enforcement Practice Group. Based out of the firm’s Boston office, Mike has deep experience in litigation, investigations, and other regulatory matters involving state-level regulators and state attorneys general. Mike assists clients in navigating complex administrative proceedings and procedures, advises clients on litigation risk and the coordination of litigation strategy, including discovery and settlement negotiations, and provides representation at all stages of trial and appellate litigation. His extensive casework and litigation experience ensures that clients will receive sound guidance through all stages of complex government investigations.

Prior to joining the firm in 2023, Michael spent nearly 10 years litigating enforcement actions on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including as an assistant attorney general for the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, where he specialized in defending state regulatory actions in state and federal court. Previously, he was an assistant district attorney for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston, where he prosecuted numerous trial and appellate matters.

Michael earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School where he was the chief managing editor of the Suffolk Transnational Law Review.

• Defended an enforcement action by the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation before state trial and appellate courts, resulting in a published appellate decision, Anketell v. Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, 195 N.E.3d 464 (Mass. App. Ct. 2022).
• Defended the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs in a challenge under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act to her regulatory approval of a major public infrastructure project in Boston Harbor.
• Co-led the defense in a class action matter asserting claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and state law against the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development’s program for housing homeless families.
• Authored the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court brief filed by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, MassHealth, in an interlocutory appeal raising complex issues of federal and state Medicaid law.
• Represented the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education in successfully moving to dismiss a faculty union’s declaratory judgment action challenging academic restructuring measures at a state community college.
• Served as a key member of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office team tasked with defending the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s statewide, COVID-19 masking policy.