Michael Pinnisi has over twenty years of legal and business experience centered around the protection of intellectual property and other business assets.

Prior to associating with Clarity, Mike served for 4 years as General Counsel and Vice President of Business Development for Kionix, Inc., a world leader in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). His work for this high technology company included design and management of a portfolio of over 100 patents, conduct of intellectual property litigation, licensing and other high level contracting, and the development of new product lines and business relationships.

In addition to the above noted activities, Mike also provided legal oversight for Kionix acquisitions, its acquisition by Caliente Networks, and the subsequent reformation of Kionix centered around non optics related MEMS applications that were creatively excluded from the Calient deal.

Prior to joining Kionix, Mike formed and managed Brown, Pinnisi, & Michaels, a mid sized Ithaca, NY based law firm specializing in trade secret and patent litigation, contract formation and dispute resolution, and liability management.

Before starting this private practice he was an Honor Program trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York City for Rudy Giuliani, focusing upon prosecution of frauds. His other legal experience includes work for major international law firms Shearman & Sterling in New York City and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in Washington, DC. As an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School he taught legal negotiation, trial practice, and appellate advocacy.

Mike contributes a broad range of legal and business management expertise to the Clarity M&A roster. He provides legal oversight to management, providing an expert assessment of legal risks stemming the complete range of corporate operations, including employees, contractors, partners, and customers. Additionally, Mike is a contributor on Clarity M&A M&A engagements for both buy side and sell side transactions.

Mike received his A.B. cum laude and J.D. from Cornell University.