Michael T. van der Veen

Nominated as Attorney of the Year by The Legal Intelligencer and Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Philadelphia, PA by Forbes Advisor

As founder of the firm, Michael T. van der Veen effortlessly combines accessibility, experience, negotiation, collaboration, and compassion to achieve results. He is the rare trial attorney who excels in both civil litigation and criminal defense. Known for his unwavering commitment to serving as the voice of the victim and advocate for the accused, he has established his reputation by winning multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in State and Federal Courts, as well as winning major criminal trials across the country.

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In recent years, Michael T. van der Veen has lived up to his status by accepting and successfully representing multiple high-profile clients that most other legal practitioners had considered too difficult or controversial. Mr. van der Veen has been retained and appeared Pro Hac Vice in numerous jurisdictions throughout the country, including Massachusetts, New York, Washington D.C.,  Delaware, Texas, and Alabama. He successfully represented former President Donald Trump in the fourth presidential impeachment trial in American history by securing an acquittal. Recently, attorney van der Veen represented the Trump  Organization in New York where he tried a two-month-long tax fraud trial brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Other high-profile clients include Brandon “Bam” Margera, Joe “Cole” Barletta, Phil Nordo, the estate of Fanta  Bility, and numerous defendants in the January 6th investigation. In fact, much of his work has been featured on major news broadcasts including CNN, CBS,  MSNBC, Washington Post, Fox News, NPR, New York Times, and The  Philadelphia Inquirer. (See ‘More About Michael T. van der Veen’ below for more information.)

Michael T. van der Veen started his legal career focused solely on criminal defense in Chicago where he successfully represented the founder of the National AIDS Brigade in a landmark case. At that time, state statutes criminally punished individuals for possessing hypodermic needles. Securing an acquittal by employing the necessity defense, attorney van der Veen helped change the law not only in Chicago but throughout the country. After spending six years exclusively doing criminal defense litigation, attorney van der Veen moved to Philadelphia. At that time, he began integrating personal injury and commercial litigation into his repertoire. Attorney van der Veen has secured numerous multimillion-dollar settlements and jury verdicts in both State and Federal Courts. Further, he has saved many corporations from unfair and oppressive government regulations and has won outright victories for small companies and owners embroiled in complex corporate litigation.

Always a serious student, Michael T. van der Veen graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1981 and earned a B.A. in political science from Ohio Wesleyan in 1985. He earned his first law degree, a J.D., from Quinnipiac School of Law in 1988. He is a 1992 graduate of the National Criminal Defense College and earned an LLM in Trial Advocacy with the highest honors from Temple University School of Law in 1995.

Underscoring his legal abilities and reputation, Michael T. van der Veen has been named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® list for twenty consecutive years from 2005 to 2024. In 2024, the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® named attorney van der Veen as Philadelphia’s top 100 lawyers. He was named a Finalist for the 2022 Pennsylvania Legal Awards Attorney of the Year. In 2024, Michael was named in Forbes Advisor's "Best Criminal Defense Lawyers Philadelphia, PA Of 2024" List. Along with being one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys® among the ranks of some of the most esteemed White-Collar and General Criminal Defense Attorneys throughout the country. He was also chosen by his peers as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only honorary society for accomplished trial lawyers. He also often serves as an independent legal expert for print and television news media.

A resident of Chester County, he has two daughters with his wife, Marion.

In the News

As one of the nation's foremost criminal defense trial attorneys, Michael T. van der Veen is regularly in the news, either as a legal analyst about issues of national import (CNN, MSNBC, NBC) or for his high-profile representation of clients. Click here for his recent media appearances.