J.D., Emory University School of Law, 2013
Founder, Supreme Court Advocacy Project
Founding Partner
Mike
Burshteyn
mike@burshteynpolin.com
- Led a 10 person trial team of litigators handling billions of dollars in controversy. Former Partner at Greenberg Traurig, litigator at MoFo and Perkins Coie
- Ex founder and CEO of CryptoMove
- Daily Journal Top 100 leading commercial litigators, 40 under 40 Law360
Biography
Mike litigates and tries complex business and technology disputes. His cases involve AI, crypto, investor and computer fraud, defamation, antitrust, privacy, data security, trade secret, copyright, trademark, and other novel Internet law and technology issues. He is lead counsel in multiple cases involving more than $100m in controversy. Mike also represents clients in cybercrime, crypto, and consumer protection investigations and regulatory inquiries. He has litigated matters in federal and state courts in California, New York, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, Utah, Puerto Rico, Wyoming, Washington, D.C., and internationally. In the last 18 months, Mike has led over eight bet-the-company urgent crises involving cross-TROs and PIs in nationwide federal courts, including multi-week preliminary injunction trial proceedings. In 2026, the Daily Journal recognized Mike as one of 100 leading commercial litigators in California.
Mike previously founded and was the CEO of CryptoMove, a security startup that developed novel moving target defense technology. He draws on this business background to serve as outside general counsel to crypto, SaaS, AI, e-commerce, and other technology startups, as well as individual and institutional investors. Mike helps these innovators define and manage their legal roadmaps based on practical business needs across corporate, financing, M&A, licensing, IP, regulatory, and other issues.
Mike graduated from Emory Law School and, as a visiting student, attended the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he worked in the Samuelson Law and Technology Clinic. Mike analyzed early legal implications of bitcoin and blockchain technologies as an associate editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.
Mike honed his passion for client advocacy during his time as a college debater at University of California, Berkeley, where he led the Cal debate team to the number one national ranking. Mike maintains an active pro bono practice defending internet rights, security researcher rights, and justice remediation.
Credentials
Education
B.A., University of California at Berkeley, 2009
Copeland Award (’07-’08), #1 Ranked Two-Person Debate Team in U.S.A. Runner up (’05-’06).
Winner of Harvard (’05, ’07), Dartmouth (’06), UT Austin (’08), Gonzaga (’06), Fullerton (’08), Kentucky (’05, ’07), and Pepperdine (’04) debate tournaments.
Selected matters
Experience
01Crisis.
- Handled 8+ Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction situations with tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and billions at issue in the last 18 months involving computer hacking, crypto, AI, tortious interference, and false advertising in California and nationwide federal courts, including leading multiple weeks of preliminary injunction trial proceedings in federal court.
- Represent high growth and Fortune 500 companies in existential competitive, cybercrime, and security incident preparation and response, including internal and forensic investigations, remediation, law enforcement coordination, insurance claims, and post-incident disputes. Recovered $200m+ in stolen assets.
- Represent high growth and Fortune 500 companies in existential competitive, cybercrime, and security incident preparation and response, including internal and forensic investigations, remediation, law enforcement coordination, insurance claims, and post-incident disputes. Recovered $200m+ in stolen assets.
02Technology & commercial disputes and counseling.
- Lead counsel in nationwide dispute between large health technology SaaS platform companies with cross-claims for tortious interference, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and related claims.
- Lead counsel in dispute between large real-estate residential technology companies involving antitrust, false advertising, and defamation claims.
- Represent emerging growth startups and venture capital funds in dozens of business disputes with vendors, founders, and portfolio companies involving dollars, crypto, and stock.
- Outside general counsel to multiple startups in AI, enterprise SaaS, consumer, crypto, and other industries.
- Represented corporate venture capital investor in Delaware warrant dispute.
- Represented seller in litigation with private equity acquirer relating to earnouts and Delaware competition law.
- Represent multiple startups and individuals in competitor and investment cases.
03AI, Internet, Trade Secrets, Copyright, Trademark, Defamation.
- Lead counsel in trademark and defamation dispute regarding community of founders behind multiple top billion dollar+ AI companies.
- Lead counsel in multiple offensive and defensive trade secrets and business libel cases.
- Represent large and small technology and Artificial Intelligence companies in matters involving deepfakes, AI safety, data collection, and other AI litigation and regulatory topics.
- Develop and executed global enforcement takedown campaigns involving software theft, trademark and copyright infringement, bots, scams, fraud, and other forms of platform abuse.
- Represent billionaire individuals, major brands, and large and small companies in defamation cases and controversies in California, New York, Texas, and international jurisdictions. Achieve favorable rulings on anti-SLAPP issues.
- Represent world-famous visual, glass, and sculpture artists in trademark and copyright enforcement litigation.
- Regularly litigate Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) claims.
04Crypto.
- One of the first lawyers litigating major crypto disputes on behalf of funds, individuals, DeFi projects, L1 chain foundations and labs companies, and major exchanges.
- Pioneered multiple novel legal strategies on issues of first impression in jurisdictions across the USA and worldwide.
- Lead counsel in multiple $100m+ crypto fraud and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act litigations in federal and state courts, including in California and New York.
- Lead counsel in $100m+ smart contract exploit and market manipulation civil recovery action in SDNY. Represent victim witnesses in related criminal trial.
- Lead counsel in $30m+ arbitration involving contract and inducement issues.
- Chased and recovered $250m+ in stolen crypto in USA, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
- Represented crypto project in $140m+ cryptocurrency token dispute.
- Defeated multiple pleading motions, including anti-SLAPP, and made new law.
- Resolve consumer protection and class action claims against crypto projects and products.
- Represent crypto organizations and exchanges in Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Department of Justice (DOJ) inquiries and investigations.
05Pro bono
- Represent bird rescue organization in defamation and security incident response.
- Represent nonprofit against copyright troll.
- Represent security researchers in anti-circumvention and hacking issues.
- Represented tenants in pro bono unlawful detainer litigation, achieving voluntary dismissal.
- Represent nonprofit organizations in nationwide survey of gun violence laws.
- Represented formerly incarcerated firefighter in record-clearance petition.