Michael N. Shannon
Managing Member
Complex Commercial Litigation, Class Action Defense, Products Liability Defense, Information Technology Litigation, Toxic Tort Litigation, Eminent Domain Litigation
Mr. Shannon has more than 20 years of experience in commercial and other litigation. His practice focuses primarily on complex commercial litigation, class action defense, products liability defense, and toxic tort litigation. Mr. Shannon is listed with The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers in the area of Business Litigation.
Immediately after law school, Mr. Shannon worked for two years as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen M. Reasoner, who served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Mr. Shannon has represented a variety of clients in his private practice including shareholders in closely held businesses, multi-national automobile and heavy truck manufacturers, outdoor advertising companies, personal water craft and recreational product manufacturers, insurance companies, high-wealth individuals, national banking institutions, title insurance companies, and multi-national aluminum and oil companies. He has handled matters in many areas, including products liability, personal injury, class actions, consumer fraud, toxic torts, fiduciary actions, ERISA, employment discrimination, antitrust, shareholder disputes, franchisor-franchisee, contractual disputes, annexation, condemnation, and will contests.
Recently, Mr. Shannon successfully defended the owner of a nursing home in a wrongful death action filed by the family of a deceased resident. Mr. Shannon successfully represented the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission in an illegal exaction suit where the plaintiff sought a diversion of more than $32 million in gas lease revenues away from the Game & Fish Commission to the State of Arkansas General Fund. The case was dismissed by the Pulaski County Circuit Court for failure to state a claim and the dismissal was affirmed in a unanimous decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court. He also successfully prosecuted a commercial litigation case resulting in a judgment of more than $10,000,000 for his client.
A fifth-generation Arkansan, Mr. Shannon was admitted to practice in Arkansas in 1992 and in Missouri and Kansas in 1993.
He and his wife, Jennifer, and their four (4) children live in Little Rock.
Education
University of Arkansas School of Law (J.D., with high honors, first in class, 1992)
Presidential Scholar, 1991-92
Notes and Comment Editor, Arkansas Law Review
Arkansas Tech University (B.A., 1989)
Alfred J. Crabaugh - Most Outstanding Senior Award
Associations and Affiliations
Member, American Bar Association (Litigation and Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Sections), Arkansas Bar Association, Pulaski County Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, and Arkansas Bar Foundation
Publication
Co-Chaired Committee that produced The Guide to Arkansas Statutes of Limitation (4th Ed.) for Young Lawyers Section of Arkansas Bar Association
Charitable Organizations
Arkansas Easter Seals, Annual Campaign VIP Chair (1999 – 2000); Arkansas Easter Seals, Development Council (1999 – 2001); Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, Stewardship Chair (1996), Staff Parish Relations Committee (1998 – 2000, Chair 2000), Long-Range Planning Committee (2007 – present); Committee on Lay Leadership (2010); Volunteer, Give-A-Kid-A-Chance; Access School’s Golf Tournament Steering Committee (2008 – present); Coach, Junior Deputy Baseball (2003 – 2004; 2006 – present); Coach, Upward Basketball (2010); Pleasant Valley POA Long-Range Planning Committee (2004 – 2006).