Mike Hooker concentrates his practice in the area of commercial litigation. During his more than 30-year career, he has litigated a variety of complex commercial actions, including contract disputes, business torts, products liability claims, shareholder disputes and derivative actions, antitrust and trade regulation issues, disputes between franchisors and franchisees, Section 1983 constitutional claims, real estate disputes, land use issues, unfair trade practice claims, telecommunications disputes, RICO and fraud claims, consumer protection claims, TCPA claims, data breach claims, multi-district litigation and banking disputes. Although Mike more often has represented defendants during his career, he also has prosecuted claims on behalf of plaintiffs in select cases.
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Mike Hooker concentrates his practice in the area of commercial litigation. During his more than 30-year career, he has litigated a variety of complex commercial actions, including contract disputes, business torts, products liability claims, shareholder disputes and derivative actions, antitrust and trade regulation issues, disputes between franchisors and franchisees, Section 1983 constitutional claims, real estate disputes, land use issues, unfair trade practice claims, telecommunications disputes, RICO and fraud claims, consumer protection claims, TCPA claims, data breach claims, multi-district litigation and banking disputes. Although Mike more often has represented defendants during his career, he also has prosecuted claims on behalf of plaintiffs in select cases.
Mike’s clients have relied on him on numerous occasions to guide them through complicated "bet the business" litigation. In addition to his broad commercial litigation expertise, he has extensive experience defending clients in significant class action cases, including defending a large qui tam case involving claims of Medicare fraud. His clients have ranged from individuals with substantial claims to large publicly traded companies. He also has represented franchisors, municipal and county governments, and privately held businesses of all sizes over the years.
Mike also focuses on cybersecurity, privacy laws, and electronic discovery, and works with clients to develop strategies for electronic data organization, retention and collection – both before and during litigation – so they are prepared to actively avoid, pursue or defend disputes in the most efficient way possible. Additionally, he assists clients in managing the security and privacy of their data, including actively responding to data breach incidents and ensuring compliance with state and federal data breach notification requirements.
In 2016, Mike received the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Outstanding Lawyer Award. This award recognizes an attorney who has exhibited superior legal ability in his or her field of practice, demonstrated true professionalism, and made a significant difference in the practice of law and the community. He was also was recognized in 2016 by Florida Super Lawyers as one of the "Top 100 Lawyers" in the State of Florida. This was the fourth time since 2009 that he received this recognition from his peers.
Mike is very active in local and state bar activities. He is a Past President of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, and the Federal Bar Association, Tampa Bay Chapter. He served as a representative of the 13th Judicial Circuit on The Florida Bar Board of Governors from 2010-2018 and was elected to the Board's Executive Committee.
Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar, he was a shareholder at Glenn Rasmussen Fogarty & Hooker, P.A. in Tampa, Florida.