For more than 25 years, Michelle Holman Kerin has distinguished herself as an experienced and formidable litigator, trying numerous cases to verdict before juries and arbitrators and handling complex motion practice. She is ranked in “Band 1” by Chambers & Partners for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2026) and has been named an Oregon Super Lawyer since 2024.
Michelle handles a broad range of high stakes matters for corporations and individuals, including complex civil litigation, internal corporate investigations involving allegations of fraud, criminal conduct, or financial or governance malfeasance, and government civil and criminal investigations. Michelle is frequently called upon to guide clients through parallel civil and criminal proceedings and the complex strategic issues they present.
For the 12 years prior to joining Angeli & Calfo, Michelle served as an Assistant United States Attorney and as the Deputy Chief of the Economic, National Security and Cyber Crime Unit, where she directed federal prosecutors, staff, and law enforcement and was designated one of the District's Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) prosecutors. In her time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she prosecuted and supervised some of the largest and most complex white-collar cases in the District of Oregon, directing multi-district investigations involving money laundering; securities, bank, wire, investment, bankruptcy, tax, and mortgage fraud; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations; and cyber, national security, and environmental crimes.
Michelle was also a shareholder at Farleigh Wada & Witt, a regional law firm, where she represented businesses, executives, and financial institutions in complex civil business litigation. She also represented special litigation committees in internal corporate investigations and federal receivers in civil enforcement actions brought by agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
Michelle served as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School for more than ten years and as faculty at the National Advocacy Center, the Department of Justice’s national training center.
Representative Matters
Representation of online travel agency in class action litigation alleging personal injury arising out of placement of surveillance cameras by company employee in sensitive areas on the company’s campus
Secured a declination on behalf of a client under federal investigation for conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering involving more than $10 million in potential loss. After a counter-investigation and presentation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to bring charges.
Represented a large manufacturer importing goods from China in a False Claims Act investigation concerning the alleged failure to pay applicable tariffs, negotiating a successful settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Represented a medical professional in multiple civil lawsuits brought by victims while the parallel criminal cases proceeded, navigating both by first, obtaining stays in the civil matters and then securing a favorable settlement with the victims and the insurer.
Represented a California real estate developer indicted on federal wire-fraud charges. The case was ultimately dismissed after presentation of factual and legal deficiencies in the government’s case.
Represented a public employee in a criminal investigation involving allegations of conflicts of interest and misuse of confidential information. Following negotiations that exposed key legal issues with the government’s theory of the case, the government declined to prosecute.
Represented a former employee of large technology companies who was charged in a federal theft-of-trade-secrets case. Following negotiations, the client received a probationary sentence and no judgment of restitution.
As an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted the CEO and president of Sunwest Management, then the fourth-largest assisted-living organization in the country, obtaining a wire-fraud conviction in what was, at the time, the largest investment fraud in the history of the District of Oregon—more than 1,000 victims and over $300 million in losses (United States v. Harder).
Led a system-wide mortgage-fraud investigation into Lighthouse Financial Group, one of the largest mortgage brokers in the Portland metro area, securing the convictions of 13 individuals, including realtors, mortgage brokers, accountants, straw buyers, and the company’s president and CEO.
Prosecuted a sophisticated ring that robbed high-end jewelry stores across the country (United States v. Young), ultimately solving more than 20 thefts in multiple states involving over $3 million in stolen diamonds and obtaining 11 convictions, including the individual and corporation that fenced the diamonds. The case was featured on national television and is the subject of a young-adult book.
Served as lead Filter AUSA in United States v. Bundy, arising out of the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge, leading a law-enforcement team in reviewing voluminous seized evidence for privileged material, coordinating with prosecutors across five districts, interacting with counsel for 27 defendants, and testifying in court regarding the review process.
Prosecuted the first synthetic-drug case in the District of Oregon (United States v. Dimov), a multi-defendant ring distributing and marketing spice and bath salts, navigating novel issues of law and extensive motion practice.
