Boston College

Suffolk University Law School

Short-Term Judicial Ethics, Judicial Discipline & Judicial Performance Advisor at USAID/Ethiopia Feteh (Justice) Project

Portland, Maine, United States

In addition to having extensive experience in pretrial proceedings and trials, Mike has briefed and argued cases before the Maine Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and he was lead counsel in a petition for certiorari considered by the United States Supreme Court.  Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ assigned a rating of “AV Preeminent” to Mike, reflecting that peers ranked him as having achieved the highest level of professional excellence, including in the categories of legal knowledge, analytical capabilities, judgment, communication ability, and legal experience, and as having met very high ethical criteria.

McCloskey, Mina, Cunniff & Frawley, LLC

Attorney

Provides instruction to police, law enforcement, corrections and other public safety audiences regarding the practical legal considerations of various subject matters, including: the use of deadly force by law enforcement personnel; internal affairs, police accountability, oversight and leadership considerations; the Fourth Amendment and related search and seizure considerations; the Fifth Amendment and related police interview and interrogation considerations; the Sixth Amendment and related right to counsel considerations; investigation of major criminal offenses; and, court testimony by law enforcement officers and police prosecutor considerations.

Dirigo Safety

Adjunct Instructor

Provides judicial training and judicial reform expertise supporting adoption of best judicial practices, including substantive judicial services, court administration, and court management activities.

L. L. Jacobson & Company, LLC

Judicial Training/Judicial Reform Advisor

Advising the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia and the Judicial Administration Council of Ethiopia in the revision of judicial ethics, judicial discipline and judicial performance standards applicable to judges in the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia, the Federal High Court of Ethiopia and the Federal First Instance Court of Ethiopia.  Conducting validation sessions regarding proposed reforms with judicial representatives, training sessions with judges from all three levels of the federal courts of Ethiopia and training-the-trainer sessions for judges who will assist in promoting the implementation of the judicial ethics, judicial discipline and judicial performance reforms.

USAID/Ethiopia Feteh (Justice) Project

Short-Term Judicial Ethics, Judicial Discipline & Judicial Performance Advisor

Co-designed and co-presented a Workshop for Court Administrators and other officials of the Lahore High Court (Punjab Province, Pakistan) in Bangkok, Thailand.

U.S. Department of Justice (United States Embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan)

Short-Term International Court Administration Advisor (Consultant)

Designed and presented a Workshop on Transparent and Efficient Court Administration with the following objectives: (1) Investigate U.S. and international best practices for solutions to the challenges of efficient administration of justice in Ukrainian courts, including the minimization of frivolous complaints claiming judicial misconduct or lack of integrity; (2) Investigate U.S. and international best practices on case management to propose ways to adapt those practices for Ukraine; (3) Production of specific recommendations to improve the transparency and efficiency of court administration, thereby promoting more efficient and effective adjudication of commercial disputes in Ukraine; and, (4) Facilitation of Ukraine’s implementation of international legal obligations with the aim of improving the country’s trade and investment climate.

United States Department of Commerce // Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP)

Short-Term Court Administration Advisor

Responsible for the development of a practical guide / bench book for judges regarding the adjudication of property rights claims in the civil courts of Kosovo, blending legal principles and requirements with best practices in caseflow management, workflow management, time management, and other judicial functions and skills.Together with PRP colleagues, conducted liaison with President Judges, Civil Judges, Professional Legal Associates, Court Clerks and Court Administrators to ensure that the proposed guidance on best practices for efficient and fair adjudication of property disputes is developed collaboratively and corresponds with the need and expectations of the judicial institution and civil society in Kosovo, as well as legal requirements.Coauthor, with Attorney Bardhyl Hasanpapaj and Kosovo Court of Appeals Judges Albert Zogaj, Valon Totaj and Zenel Leku, of the KOSOVO CIVIL LITIGATION MANUAL, a May 2019 publication released by USAID/Kosovo in the Albanian and Serbian languages.  Combining technical guidance with practical advice and examples, the MANUAL provides practical information to assist Kosovo judges in the timely movement of civil cases from submission to a fair resolution.  In addition to printed copies distributed to Kosovo civil judges, the MANUAL was published in digital format on websites maintained by the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Kosovo Supreme Court so that it is easily accessible to court staff, court legal associates, lawyers, unrepresented parties, law professors and students, and members of the public.  This publication was the result of a joint effort by the USAID/Kosovo Justice System Strengthening Program and the USAID/Property Rights Program in collaboration with the Kosovo judicial institution.

USAID/Kosovo Property Rights Program

International Judicial Reform Expert (Short-Term)

Co-designed and co-presented a Workshop for Court Administrators and other officials of the Lahore High Court (Punjab Province, Pakistan) in Bangkok, Thailand containing the following elements:o	The Well Organized & Well Managed Courto	Key Ingredients of a Well Managed Courto	Caseflow and Workflow Managemento	Strategic Planning, Action Planning & Monitoring and Evaluation Planning in the Court Administration Settingo	Change Management in the Court Administration Settingo	Ethics, Discipline & Evaluation of Performance in the Court Administration and Judicial Settingso	Effective Communication in the Court Administration SettingGuided the development of a preliminary needs assessment and an action plan as a precursor to development of a full strategic plan for Court Administrators in the Lahore High Court.

Presentation of a Workshop on Transparent and Efficient Court Administration with the following objectives:o  Investigate U.S. and international best practices for solutions to the challenges of efficient administration of justice in Ukrainian courts, including the minimization of frivolous complaints claiming judicial misconduct or lack of integrity.o  Investigate judicial ethics and conflicts of interest in the context of the U.S. practice and the Ukrainian Code of Judiciary Ethics.o  Investigate U.S. and international best practices on case management to propose ways to adapt those practices for Ukraine.o  Investigate U.S. and international best practices regarding the application of expert testimony, to propose ways to adapt those practices for Ukraine.o  Produce specific recommendations to improve the transparency and efficiency of court administration, thereby promoting more efficient and effective adjudication of commercial disputes in Ukraine.o  Facilitate Ukraine’s implementation of international legal obligations with the aim of improving the country’s trade and investment climate.

U.S. Department of Commerce / Commercial Law Development Program

Short-Term Court Administration Advisor (Consultant)

Provided expertise to the USAID Justice Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (implemented by the National Center for State Courts and DPI) in its collaboration with rule of law institutions to enhance institutional capacity to conduct prosecutor guided investigations, particularly with regard to serious corruption and economic crime cases.

USAID Justice Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Short-Term International Expert for Prosecutor Guided Investigations (Corruption & Economic Crimes)

Advised Council members and support staff of the Kosovo Judicial Council and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council on the implementation of the functions and obligations of the Councils, including strategic planning, action planning, and monitoring and evaluation planning activities, as well as disciplinary and evaluation procedures regarding judges and prosecutors.  Providing expertise as part of a EuropeAid program established by the European Commission in Kosovo fulfilled by Human Dynamics Public Sector Consulting of Vienna, Austria.

European Union Support to the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council

Senior Short-Term Expert (Functions of the Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial Council)

Providing strategic planning and rule of law expertise in support of the Kosovo Judicial Council and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council as part of a EuropeAid program established by the European Commission in Kosovo fulfilled by Human Dynamics Public Sector Consulting of Vienna, Austria.

Senior Short-Term Expert (Strategic Planning & Rule of Law)

Mike worked extensively with judicial and prosecutorial authorities in Kosovo as part of a U.S. government effort to help build a well-run, fair system of justice through a process of restructuring and reformation.  During his tenure in the Balkans, Mike served as a legal advisor to the Kosovo Constitutional Court, the Kosovo Judicial Council, the Kosovo Judicial Institute, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the Kosovo Ministry of Justice (regarding the Department of International Legal Cooperation and the State Advocacy Office), and the USAID Model Courts Program.  In general terms, Mike’s role in those positions was to facilitate reforms of the Kosovo judicial and prosecutorial institutions.  Among other initiatives, he developed and delivered programs designed to strengthen substantive judicial services, ranging from legal reasoning and writing of judicial decisions to case and hearing management, to case backlog and delay reduction, and providing a particular focus to applications of the best ethical practices.  He also had substantial responsibility in planning for the reinstitution of judicial functions in North Kosovo after the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia reached a normalization agreement that dissolved de facto partitioning of the North from the rest of Kosovo that followed Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.

USAID Effective Rule of Law Program Kosovo (Checchi)

Legal Advisor, Ethics Advisor & Judicial Training Advisor

Taught courses in trial practice, as well as sentencing law and strategy.  The courses are taught in a dialogic and participatory mode, with a heavy reliance on case studies.  The goal is prepare law students for practice in federal and state courts through the use of a Socratic dialogue in the classroom, accompanied by simulated, but realistic, courtroom settings for mock trials, hearings, and law practice vignettes.

University of Maine School of Law

Adjunct Professor of Law

The MCCLOSKEY RESOURCE GROUP is comprised of former federal prosecutors and agents, as well as other experts in relevant forensic fields. It offers a unique combination of expertise and experience in a confidential format to the business, professional, government, and legal communities.

McCloskey Resource Group, LLC

Partner (Forensic Services)

Co-Chair of the Technology, Security & Investigations Practice Group and Associate Counsel to the Litigation Practice Group.

Preti Flaherty

Served as a Special Assistant District Attorney on a pro bono public basis at the Kennebec County (Maine) during the fall of 1999, where he handled criminal matters in the Augusta (Maine) District Court.

Kennebec County (Maine) District Attorney's Office

Special Assistant District Attorney

Serving in permanent posts of duty in Boston (Special Agent in 1972; Supervisory Special Agent from 1995-1999), New York City (Special Agent from 1972-1978), and Portland, Maine (Special Agent from 1978-1979, and Senior Special Agent 1979-1995) and performing temporary duty in many other locations, Mike investigated and supervised complicated cases that were often interstate or international in scope and involved sophisticated criminal organizations, or were designed to improve the quality of life in the communities where he worked, and included risky undercover assignments.Mike was a regular member of prosecutor-investigator teams that presented complex criminal cases to federal grand juries and then tried the indicted cases to federal juries, and he frequently testified as a percipient or expert witness in connection with those matters. He emerged from his federal law enforcement career with a reputation for demonstrating a high level of professionalism, superlative leadership skills, and an unusual record of accomplishment.

Drug Enforcement Administration

Supervisory Special Agent

Assigned to the Central Complaint Unit, Drug Control Unit of the Criminal Investigation Division, and the Roxbury Police Station.

Boston Police Department

Police Cadet

Completed a fellowship sponsored by the Boston Mayor's Office of Public Service, which yielded recommendations for the modernization of the Boston Police Department's training regimen.

Michael Cunniff

Michael Cunniff