Michael Cullen

Michael Cullen has over 25 years of experience, specializing in complex, cross-border investigations, deals and disputes in Latin America. Mr. Cullen helps clients investigate, understand and resolve numerous regulatory, operational, legal, political, social and reputational issues and challenges in the region.

Mr. Cullen regularly works with clients to resolve cross-border conflicts and crises involving Latin America on the most favorable legal, financial and reputational terms. Drawing on a combination of expert witness work, privileged consulting, investigative fact-finding and public relations and message management, Mr. Cullen develops multidisciplinary strategies and tactics to successfully achieve the client’s legal and commercial objectives. This includes commercial litigation, class actions, regulatory disputes, and international arbitrations. Mr. Cullen regularly uses this multidisciplinary approach to help clients manage and respond to risks and crises that might arise in their Latin American operations, including around corruption, fraud, political disruption, labor and social unrest, and other related reputational risks and challenges.

Mr. Cullen led the most extensive anti-competition investigation in Colombian history on behalf of a large U.S. manufacturing client. The investigation took place over several years and covered multiple Latin American and Caribbean jurisdictions. He also oversaw complex investigations into alleged corruption and serious manipulation of records in the Andean region on behalf of a leading U.S. pharmaceutical company.

Mr. Cullen also provided an expert report for external counsel on the state of the political, social, regulatory and security environment in the oil and gas industry for a high-profile, multi-billion-dollar environmental litigation case in South America. He similarly advised a leading mining company on political, social and reputational risks around the globe and mapped out key local stakeholders and issues involved with in a multi-billion-dollar acquisition. His experience includes developing compliance programs and conducting anti-corruption workshops and employee trainings for a wide variety of clients with international operations in complex and opaque jurisdictions.

Mr. Cullen was invested as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2020 for his commercial and charitable work in Colombia over the course of a decade.