Attorney Spotlight – Get to Know Michael Hanlon

1. What inspired you to pursue a law career? I was drawn to the law to help people in a way that feels tangible, and I was less drawn to law in the abstract and more to the kind of work it allows you to do—untangling complicated situations where the facts aren’t obvious and the stakes are real.

2. Why did you choose the areas of law that you practice? Asset recovery and financial fraud work felt like a natural fit because it’s part legal analysis and part investigation. This takes problem solving to a new level where you’re reconstructing stories from incomplete information and against all odds. Particularly, this work also embraces the cross-border aspect which blends my passions for languages and the law into one.

3. What skills do you draw upon when it comes to your specific practice areas? I think at the forefront of the skills I draw upon to pursue asset recovery and financial fraud matters is the skill of curiosity and being comfortable with the unknown. Being able to navigate the unknown in a manner that is calculated and driven by a desire to unravel what really happened is essential to curating a plan and being able to deviate from said plan if need be.

4. What is the most rewarding part about your job? The most rewarding part of my job is getting clarity, or rather fighting to uncover clarity, where there initially wasn’t any. That is to say, it is enjoyable to hit the point where something that looked opaque starts to make sense, and you can actually do something with that understanding.

5. Tell us about a mentor who made an impact on your career. One of my many mentors taught me, through action and inaction, that in order to grow, you have to be willing to be wrong and even more willing to be corrected.

6. If you weren’t practicing law, what would you be doing? Given my love of languages, I would probably be an interpreter and/or translator.

7. What might people be surprised to learn about you? I have lived in Spain, Brazil, and Italy and speak Spanish and Portuguese fluently.

8. What is a good book or article you read recently? O Beijo do Rio by Stefano Volp.