Michael Justus

A tech-savvy litigator and counselor with broad experience in IP, advertising law and novel artificial intelligence (AI) issues, Mike spearheads Katten's firmwide AI Working Group. He brings a strategic approach to the legal protection and enforcement of his clients' IP and creative assets. From counseling on global trademark clearance and protection strategies to filing legal challenges against competitors' misleading ad campaigns, Mike offers a full range of support to his clients and their brands. Mike's experience handling complex matters in IP, advertising, and other legal and regulatory areas converges in his AI practice. He was awarded the AI Governance Professional (AIGP) certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP); the IAPP is not affiliated with any governmental authority.

Creative legal strategy informed by business reality

Mike understands that legal strategy and business goals must be viewed together. Similarly, he sees that IP, advertising, and related legal issues often converge and must be dealt with in tandem and in ways that an IP-only or advertising-only specialist may not see. Plus, his understanding of the many facets of branding (from trademarks and logos to packaging and color schemes to the tone and claims used in messaging) allows him to collaborate with clients to solve problems in unique ways.

As the head of our AI Working Group, Mike leads the firm's efforts to track developments related to AI and Generative AI (GenAI) to help clients navigate the evolving legal and regulatory landscape, as well as identify and address risks that AI may present to their businesses. Mike counsels clients regarding unique challenges arising from the use of GenAI tools involving copyright, confidentiality, right of publicity, trademark, advertising, licensing, and other legal and regulatory areas. Clients rely on Mike to help them strategize and implement policies for the use of AI by their employees and vendors, and to responsibly deploy AI in their businesses. He also tracks important case law and legislative updates from around the world regarding AI technologies and conducts trainings for clients' in-house legal departments and business teams. Additionally, Mike frequently delivers presentations on the topics of AI/GenAI and contributes thought leadership articles to publications such as Law360, which recently recognized him as a 2023 top guest author on the topic of AI in intellectual property law.

DC Bar Association; The Virginia Bar Association; The Florida Bar