Michael W. Gaches

Mike represents and provides legal counsel to a wide range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, international corporations, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. He defends against virtually all employment- and labor-related claims, including individual and class/collective claims regarding wrongful termination, discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, wage-and-hour violations, trade secret and non-competition and non-solicitation violations, and the breach of collective bargaining agreements. Mike handles all phases of litigation from initial case inception through resolution. He provides expert legal counsel on litigation risk mitigation to company managers and executives and defends management action before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and in arbitration.

Before joining Tucker Ellis, Mike served more than 18 years as a litigator for the Transportation Security Administration, a component agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As TSA’s Deputy Chief Counsel for Litigation, Mike directed and implemented nationwide strategy across a wide range of areas – including labor and employment, constitutional law, torts, regulatory compliance and enforcement, and cybersecurity. He led a team of nearly 70 attorneys and professional staff responsible for all TSA-related federal court and administrative litigation, as well as labor arbitration.

Previously, as TSA’s Assistant Chief Counsel for Employment & Labor Litigation, Mike oversaw more than 30 attorneys and staff defending the agency against claims under numerous employment statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Rehabilitation/Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Federal Labor Standards Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Act. Mike has personally litigated hundreds of cases to resolution as lead counsel.

Mike also served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he handled federal felonies and misdemeanor cases, involving drug, fraud, extortion, assault, and immigration offenses – from initial appearance through trial, sentencing, and appeal.

As an adjunct professor of law at Washington & Lee University, Mike teaches courses in litigation and trial advocacy and frequently speaks at employment law symposia and professional development programs.

Outside the office, Mike and his wife Lauren live near Annapolis, Maryland, with their two children. As a family, they are active participants in the equestrian community and enjoy traveling, good restaurants, and spending time with family and friends.