Michael C. Manning, J.D.

Michael C. Manning, J.D.

Mike is noteworthy for his astute representation in a number of ground-breaking cases, locally and nationally. In the mid-1980's, the FDIC selected Manning to head its litigation against New York, mob-related money broker, Mario Renda. Manning's role in the successful multi-state civil and criminal prosecutions ultimately resulted in Renda's conviction and incarceration and are chronicled in the book, Inside Job. In 1989, Manning acted as lead counsel in MDL-834 -- the Lincoln Savings/Charles Keating cases. At the time, MDL-834 was the largest commercial litigation in U.S. history, involving over 51,000,000 pages of documents and over 600 depositions. Manning's team collected nearly $300 million and coordinated dozens of related criminal and administrative matters. Mike's leadership of those cases is detailed in the book, Trust Me. Manning also accepted representation of an employee of the Arizona State Bar in her successful claim of sexual harassment against the Bar and its executive director. In 2000, Manning achieved an $8.25 million settlement against Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) - the largest-ever wrongful death and civil rights settlement in the history of Arizona. In early 2006, Manning and his trial team achieved a $9 million federal court verdict against the MCSO and Maricopa County in another wrongful death case.

Manning was recognized by the National Law Journal in its triennial selection of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America."

Additionally, Manning is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (commercial litigation). He also selected by Southwest Super Lawyers magazine in 2007 and 2009 for Business Litigation. In 2005, he was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the Valley's legal community by the Business Journal's editorial board in its "Best of the Bar" edition - one of only four Arizona attorneys to receive that honor.

The May 2007 edition of Arizona Attorney magazine listed one of Manning's verdicts as the third largest jury award in Arizona for 2006. Previously, the May 2005 edition featured the Top 10 Verdicts of 2004. Manning was lead counsel in two of the ten cases, most notably the largest and the sixth largest jury awards in Arizona that year.

• In 1995, Manning was retained to pursue Arizona's then current Governor, J. Fife Symington, III, for fraud in connection with a real estate loan. A few months after his fraud complaint was filed, the governor was indicted on 23 counts of fraud which paralleled Manning's allegations. Manning successfully tried that fraud/bankruptcy case.

• In 2001, Manning achieved the second largest commercial punitive damages verdict in Arizona history. The jury awarded Manning's client a defense verdict on claims made against his clients and then awarded over $26 million in punitive damages.

• In the summer of 2004, Manning tried back-to-back three-week jury trials. Manning won both trials with unanimous jury verdicts. His clients in these commercial fraud and breach of contract trials were awarded more than $20 million in damages.

• In 1972, Manning ran in the general election for secretary of state for the state of Kansas. He was only 21 years old. After losing to the incumbent in a tight race, Manning worked for the governor for two years before enrolling in law school.