Michael E. Borden

MICHAEL BORDEN leads the Government Strategies group, leveraging his considerable prior government experience to help leading institutions and individual clients navigate the most difficult crises involving government oversight. One of his strengths is developing nuanced, effective strategies to manage high profile and high stakes Congressional investigations and inquiries. Michael also provides lobbying assistance and strategic advice on policy matters to clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, media, technology, automotive, retail, and agriculture.

Counseling international clients is a cornerstone of Michael’s practice, and he has considerable experience advising foreign clients that are seeking to invest, expand, or operate in the United States. He helps clients navigate the myriad legislative and regulatory regimes impacting foreign companies and, when intervention becomes necessary, facilitates communication with U.S. federal and state agencies, as well as industry and trade associations. Michael has assisted foreign- and U.S.-headquartered companies manage the risks or fallout from U.S. government sanctions and red flag lists, and has prepared many of these clients to face not only U.S. congressional inquiries but also UK parliamentary inquiries and related legislation. 

Michael joined the firm after working for almost a decade on Capitol Hill, including as senior counsel of the House Financial Services Committee during the financial crisis and the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of banking, financial institutions, and government-sponsored enterprise policy for House Republicans. Michael managed issues related to bank safety and soundness, the resolution of systemically important financial institutions as well as consumer access to credit. He directed efforts to enhance the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he led the broader housing finance reform efforts in the House. Michael organized and crafted legislative amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act; negotiated, managed, and executed the House Republicans’ TARP, auto bailout, subprime lending, and mortgage rescue responses; and he drafted the SAFE Act to establish mortgage origination standards. He worked on the national security review process for investments in the United States, including the enactment of the Foreign Investment and National Security Act. Michael also handled consumer protection matters related to credit card practices, data security, money laundering, and internet gambling.

Prior to his tenure on the House Financial Services Committee, Michael served as a legislative aide to Representative Jim Leach. In that role, he focused on whether Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Farm Credit System, and industrial loan corporations were adequately regulated under existing law. Michael also drafted and led the effort to enact the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

“[Michael’s] strategic prowess stands out. He is thoughtful and tactful in his approach, able to read the situation and bring an interesting perspective.”
Chambers USA 2024

Michael has been ranked in Chambers USA for Nationwide Government Relations: Federal as well as Nationwide Government Relations: Congressional Investigations (2022–2025). Clients describe him as “a go-to lawyer” (2022) and “very knowledgeable about the government relations process, which is often complex, nuanced and opaque. He is familiar with the decision-making protocols, which is really helpful to us” (2024). Michael is also recognized as one of The Hill’s “Top Lobbyists” 2025 in the “Hired Guns” category.

Congressional Investigations

Michael has extensive experience representing clients in high stakes Congressional investigations. He has assisted many leading institutions and individuals with congressional inquiries, crisis avoidance, and mitigating collateral consequences. Michael’s engagements include representing some of the world’s most prominent financial institutions, public companies, and individuals in the following investigations:

• Counsel for a former executive of a leading social media platform in testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
• Counsel for one of the seven largest banks in the U.S. in relation to inquiries and oversight hearings by the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee.
• Counsel for a national bank investigated by the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee in connection to its sales practices. Sidley’s representation included preparing the CEO for hearings before both committees.
• Counsel for a former Treasury Department official before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in relation to an investigation into the largest CARES Act loan to determine if the loan was properly made. The individual was a key witness in the investigation.
• Counsel for a lending services provider in an investigation by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis related to fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program.
• Counsel for a trade association and its largest members in a series of direct inquiries by the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee.
• Counsel for a cryptocurrency and financial services company to manage Congressional inquiries and relationships.
• Counsel for a crypto mining company in responding to an inquiry from members of the House and Senate into its energy usage.
• Counsel for a Fortune 500 global energy company in an investigation by the House Committee on Natural Resources into the environmental impact of its power production in Puerto Rico.
• Counsel for an international food manufacturing company in an investigation by the House Oversight and Reform Committee related to the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator’s compliance with federal ethics laws.
• Counsel for a classified internet advertisement platform facing Congressional inquiries into its content filtering policies and procedures.
• Counsel for an individual subpoenaed by the House Select Committee on Benghazi as part of the Committee’s investigation into the events surrounding the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
• Counsel for one of the world’s largest automotive parts companies through a congressional investigation conducted by both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee.
• Counsel for a major national retail store chain in a data breach investigation conducted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sidley’s representation included preparation of the company’s witness for hearings before both committees.

Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy

Michael provides advice to clients in a variety of industries on policy matters, such as crafting strategies to communicate their positions to decision-makers and monitoring and preparing comments on legislative and regulatory proposals. Highlights of matters Michael has handled for clients include:

• A Norwegian energy conglomerate to lift a stop-work order issued by the Department of the Interior so it could resume construction on one of the largest offshore wind farms in the United States, a US$5 billion project that could power more than 500,000 New York homes and employ thousands of workers.
• A genetic sequencing company in lobbying Congress to support completion of a merger with a private company.
• A cryptocurrency and financial services company with policy needs, including commenting on regulatory proposals, responding to Treasury Department concerns, corresponding with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and providing insights to federal agencies seeking to implement the Biden executive order on cryptocurrencies.
• A Chinese video surveillance company facing U.S. and international scrutiny on issues related to national security, trade, privacy, and human rights.
• A Russian financial institution with international operations on ways to potentially mitigate U.S. sanctions.
• A coalition of auto parts manufacturers on the impact of the proposed border adjustment tax in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• An internet classified advertisement platform seeking to preserve the legal immunity provided to ISPs and other service providers by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. 
• Canadian investment funds on ways to amend legislation to reform the authority and operation of the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States.
• A U.S. stock exchange managing CFIUS and SEC reviews during a potential acquisition by Chinese investors.
• A British Columbia-based paper producer facing punitive countervailing duties on its exports of supercalendered paper to the United States.
• A national bank by providing legislative drafting assistance on housing finance reform legislation. 
• A Fortune 100 energy company seeking to comply with and modify derivatives-related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act. 
• An international power utility organization working to obtain a loan guarantee on revenue bonds whose proceeds would fund the necessary infrastructure and capital improvements to construct natural gas importation and pipeline infrastructure. 
• Agriculture companies looking to understand and comply with USDA programs including the Margin Protection Program for Dairy.