Mike Stenglein specializes in resolving complex business disputes, principally in the construction and private equity space, and splits his time between Texas and New York. He founded and is Managing Partner of our Austin office, as well as chair of the firm’s Global Construction and Engineering Disputes practice, chair of the firm’s Contingency Fee Committee, and a member of the firm's Diversity Committee. Mike also previously served as head of the firm’s Contracts and Business Torts group as well as the firm’s ten-person Policy Committee.[[--readmore--]]

With respect to construction disputes, during his 30-year career Mike has lead teams in hundreds of complex disputes in courts and arbitral tribunals around the globe. In 2023, Mike was named Law 360 Construction MVP as well as American Lawyer Litigator of the Week for the Reficar victory (discussed below). He has also been recognized as Band 1 in Chambers where he is described as “an extraordinary litigator who is highly strategic in his approach and is also excellent at tactical work” and that he is "an extremely skilled advocate and communicator and his level of service is very high.” Under Mike’s leadership, King & Spalding was named Construction Group of the Year by Law360 in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Mike prides himself on being responsive 24/7 and has twice been named a BTI Consulting Group Client Service All-Star.

Mike represents clients in disputes involving all manner of infrastructure disputes including oil refineries, chemical plants, power generation facilities, LNG facilities, FPSOs, subway and rail failures, data centers, semiconductor manufacturing plants, wind farms, solar and battery plants, and office and retail buildings. By way of example, Mike was lead counsel for Refinería de Cartagena (Reficar) in a dispute arising from construction of a crude oil refinery. After a six-week hearing before the International Chamber of Commerce and our client was awarded nearly $1.3 billion in damages despite a contractual cap that appeared to limit damages to a small fraction of that amount. Then, despite efforts by the judgement debtor in UK and Netherlands Courts to extinguish the judgment as an unsecured debt, Mike lead the team that secured important courtroom victories resulting in Reficar obtaining a package worth approximately $900 million. In March 2024, Mike was again recognized by the American Lawyer for this achievement.

Mike’s focus is not limited to resolution of formal disputes. For example, he developed the K&S Quarterly Audit – a process designed to provide early identification of problems on construction projects that can lead to delays and cost overruns, recommend implementation steps to fix those issues, and avoid disputes. He also regularly counsels clients on issues during the progression of construction projects, again with the aim of avoiding formal disputes.

With respect to business disputes, Mike’s experience also includes resolution of complex business problems for industry leading clients, including in the private equity space. These matters usually involve complex contract issues for clients in the energy and technology industries, including intellectual property disputes (patent and trademark). Mike’s representative clients in this space include, Lotus Infrastructure Partners, D.E. Shaw & Co, D. E Shaw Renewable Investments, Capital Dynamics, Oaktree Capital Management, Arevon Asset Management, Axium Infrastructure, Macquarie Asset Management, Macquarie Capital, Ridgewood Infrastructure, and Instar Asset Management. Mike also has significant experience with very public, high-profile mass tort litigation involving contaminated ground water allegations.

Prior to the start of his legal career, Mike worked for five years as a Certified Public Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. Prior to joining King & Spalding in 2008, Mike was a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Dewey Ballantine LLP.