About Michael R.
Michael R. Egger took an unconventional route to law. He began his academic life in music, earning a B.A. in music from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1976 and an M.A. in music theory from the Eastman School of Music in 1979. After several years that bridged the arts and technology, he returned to graduate study, completing an M.B.A. in Management Information Systems at the University of Dallas in 1986. He finished his legal training at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, receiving his J.D. in 1991.
That sequence of degrees shaped a professional profile that combines artistic discipline, technical literacy and legal training. The analytical habits developed in music theory and the systematic thinking of information systems informed his approach to legal problems. After law school he established his career in California. He is admitted to practice in that state and has worked in private practice at Fenwick & West LLP.
At Fenwick & West he has been part of a firm known for serving technology and life sciences companies, but his own pathway to the firm runs through several distinct fields of study. His academic background allows him to engage with clients who operate at the intersection of business, technology and creative work. He brings an appreciation of process and structure drawn from both musical analysis and systems design to the practice of law.
Colleagues describe him as methodical in his preparation and clear in his writing. He tends to favor direct explanation over complex prose. That style can help in settings where technical details matter and stakeholders need straightforward answers. Over time he has built a practice that reflects the multiple strands of his education rather than a single narrow specialty.
Outside of litigation or transactional matter details, he has an interest in how disciplines inform one another. That interest is visible in the way he frames issues: he looks for patterns, sequences and constraints, then tests possible solutions against those structures. His clients have included companies and individuals who value that kind of analytical clarity.
He currently practices in California at Fenwick & West LLP.
