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Leavey School of Business Santa Clara University
Department ofFinance

Dana, Michael

Mike Dana

Lecturer, Business Law Course Coordinator

Curriculum Vitae (CV)


Mike Dana is an attorney who teaches courses in business law. He brings to Santa Clara University a breadth of law practice and academic experiences. His diverse expertise equips him with insights into the full spectrum of legal issues that business students may face as they pursue a variety of career paths.

Prior to beginning his academic career in 2012, Mike spent 13 years as a full-time business litigation attorney. He worked for two of Arizona’s largest national law firms (Snell & Wilmer and Quarles & Brady), well-regarded midsize firms, and his own solo law practice. Mike handled complex business disputes for a range of clients – from publicly traded fortune 500 companies, to startups, to individuals. Over the course of his legal career, Mike tackled issues arising from commercial transactions, partnership and shareholder disputes, real estate, the internet, financial services, construction, intellectual property, business torts, securities transactions, and employment agreements.

Mike has taught business law courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level. He enhances his business law curriculum with the critical writing and human communication skills essential for resolving the legal challenges faced by business professionals. He sharpened his expertise in those interdisciplinary areas by teaching courses in conflict resolution, argumentation, public speaking, business communication, and group communication.

Mike graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Rhetoric and Communication Studies. He earned his J.D. from the University of Arizona, where he served as Executive Note Editor of the Arizona Law Review.

September 2016