Traverse City, Michigan phone email

About Michael Naughton

  • Michael Naughton is an attorney and partner at North Coast Legal, PLC. Michael is currently the president of the Grand Traverse Leelanau Antrim Bar Association and serves as the treasurer of the Grand Traverse County Economic Development Corporation. Michael also served on the board of the 20 Fathoms incubator and is an officer of TCNewTech.

  • Michael has been an early member of the Michigan Technological University exploratory committee. He is a frequent writer on and guest in local media regarding the Traverse City economy, rural economic development and creating a 21st century infrastructure for Northern Michigan businesses.

  • As a practicing attorney, Michael is one of the leading legal authorities on digital privacy, corporate privacy compliance and electronic communication. He was recognized as a "40 Under 40" in the Traverse City Business News and has been named a "Rising Star" by Superlawyers Magazine for (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019). He represents clients in federal and state courts across the country and has represented public officials in high-profile matters in the City of Detroit. Michael has successfully argued at the United States Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He has also successfully tried cases in state and federal courts across the State of Michigan. He currently has a case pending with the Michigan Supreme Court on an issue of first impression.

Affiliations and Associations

  • Grand Traverse Leelanau Antrim (GTLA) Bar Association, President (2018 - 2019)
  • Recognized as 40 Under 40, Traverse City Business News (2017)
  • Grand Traverse County Economic Development Corporation, Treasurer, appointed by the Grand Traverse County Commission(2017 - 2019)
  • Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, District 3 Representative (2015 - 2018)
  • Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, Chairman of Technology Committee (2012 - 2018)
  • Superlawyers Rising Star (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018)
  • TCNewTech, Board (2016 - Present)
  • Utopia Foundation, Vice President (2015 - Present)
  • 20Fathoms, Board (2018)

Bar Admissions

  • Western District of Michigan
  • Eastern District of Michigan
  • Northern District of Illinois
  • Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • State Bar of Michigan

Presentations and Publications

  • Keynote Speaker at Traverse City Economic Club regarding changing economy of Traverse City (May 2019)
  • Law Firms Under Cyber-Siege, Master Lawyers Section State Bar of Michigan, (Spring, 2018)
  • A Modern Practice, GTLA Bar Association Presentation (April, 2018
    • How to Stay Out of Legal Trouble, Startology presentation (October, 2017)
  • Practicing Smarter to Save Time and Money, Michigan Assigned Appellate Attorney Service (November, 2016)
  • MIDC Compliance and the Upper Peninsula, State Bar of Michigan (October, 2016)
  • Update on MIDC, Circuit Court Judges for SCAO Region III & IV (October, 2016)
  • Update on MIDC, District Court Judges for SCAO Region III & IV (October, 2016)
  • Update on MIDC, Court Staff for SCAO Region III & IV (September, 2016)
  • Report on Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (June, 2016)
  • Frequent guest on The Ron Jolly Show, WTCM AM 580, to speak live, on the air, concerning on issues involving technology and the law
  • Stored Communications Act and Entrepreneurs, TCNewTech (October, 2015)
  • Managing E-Discovery Costs, ICLE (July, 2015)
  • Electronic Discovery and the Canada Evidence Act, Upper Canada Legal Institute
  • Featured in “New Technology, Traditional Legal Tests” Canadian Lawyer
  • Appeared on Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ as an expert for a live, in-studio interview on the Target credit card breach (December, 2013)
  • Buttressing Your Investigation with Cell Phone Data, Institute for Criminal Justice Education, Auburn University, Alabama (September, 2013)
  • Seeing is Believing: Presenting Electronic Evidence to a Jury, Upper Michigan Legal Institute (May, 2013)
  • ESI as a Teaching Tool for Juries, Michigan Young Lawyers Section (June, 2013)
  • Opening the Large Paper Case in the Digital Age, CJA Panel Attorneys Seminar (September, 2012)
  • FBA Panel Discussion with Judge Robert Cleland, Judge David Lawson, Daniel Lemisch, Chief of the Criminal Division (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Detroit), FBI Special Agent Matthew Zentz and Joseph Richotte on ESI and federal criminal practice (May, 2012)
  • Criminal Defense Series: Trial Strategy and Tactics, ICLE (June, 2012)
  • The Nimble and the Lazy: ESI and Criminal Practice, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Spring Conference (March, 2012)
  • Advanced Overview of New Forms of Electronic Discovery, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Fall Conference (November, 2011)
  • Electronic Discovery, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, Spring Conference (March, 2011)
  • U.S./Russian Federation Human Rights Comparative Analysis, Human Rights Symposium in Yoshkar Ola, Russia (June, 2005)