Michelle Tuma
Associate
Michelle has experience in a broad range of complex commercial litigation—including securities and M&A-related litigation, antitrust, and white collar and regulatory defense matters.
Michelle's practice spans securities, antitrust, and M&A litigation, as well as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance investigations and counseling. She has experience in various phases of litigation, from pre-complaint investigations through discovery and trial in both state and federal court.
Michelle represents public and private companies primarily in the financial services and banking sectors. She was part of the team which defended a major investment manager against allegations of antitrust and tortious interference at trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery and later simultaneously defended the same entity in the Delaware Superior Court and Southern District of New York. In addition, Michelle also assists companies with respect to potential mergers and acquisitions, serving as a member of the FCPA diligence team for various deals.
Michelle maintains an active pro bono practice, including representing individuals applying for asylum, challenging the use of ICE detainers to prolong the detention of those without U.S. citizenship in New York, and achieving a historic settlement against the Port Authority Police Department related to their alleged discriminatory policing based on sexual orientation in New York transportation facilities. Michelle also helps supervise and facilitate Winston’s involvement with the Transgender Legal Defense Fund’s Name Change Project.
During law school, Michelle interned for both the Hon. Paul G. Gardephe of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Cathy L. Waldor of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Michelle also interned at the Cybercrimes & Identity Theft Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Prior to law school, Michelle spent four years at the Illinois Innocence Project.
Recent Experience
Michelle was recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in the area of Litigation - Securities.
Recent Experience
Credentials
Education
Michelle received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law in 2018 and her B.A., summa cum laude, in political science & legal studies, from the University of Illinois-Springfield in 2015,
Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
Related Insights & News
- "Race, Crime, and the Public's Sentencing Preferences," Public Opinion Quarterly, Co-author, June 2022
- "Stare Decisis and the Electoral Connection: Do Retention Systems Affect Judges' Deference to Precedent?," State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Co-author, Nov. 2019
- "Revisiting Roll-Off in Alerted Optical Scan Precincts: Evidence from Illinois General Elections," Election Law Journal, Co-author, Oct. 2015
Winston Attorneys Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America 2025
August 15, 2024
March 7, 2024
February 22, 2023
December 19, 2022