Michael Strauss joined the Word Bank Group in October 2008 as a Senior Counsel in the Legal Affairs and Claims Group of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). Michael’s work at MIGA focuses on infrastructure investments, with an emphasis on projects in Francophone Africa.
Prior to joining MIGA, Michael served as legal counsel at the International Monetary Fund, managing the Fund’s legal relationship with a portfolio of member countries in Africa, South and Central Asia and Europe. Before that, he spent five years in securities and mergers and acquisitions practice in the Washington, London and Paris offices of the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. At Cleary Gottlieb, Michael was involved in transactions in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Russia, Morocco and Pakistan, including such projects as Mittal Steel’s hostile takeover bid for Arcelor, Maroc Telecom’s initial public offering (the first ever in Morocco) and Mechel Steel’s US-registered public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
Michael graduated with a Bachelor’s cum laude from Williams College in 1994, a Masters from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy in 1999 and a JD from Stanford Law School in 2001. He has been a member of the New York Bar since 2002.