Michael G. Blaz, Esq. is an Assistant General Counsel of the National Rifle Association, headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. He was admitted to practice law in Virginia and Washington, D.C. in 1989. He has represented the NRA in a variety of legal matters since 1995, including litigation, intellectual property, legislative analysis, law enforcement liability, regulatory compliance, employment law and transactional matters. He previously worked for a large law firm in Washington, D.C. where he was counsel to some of the nation's leading insurance carriers in insurance coverage disputes over CERCLA/Superfund environmental clean-ups and other types of liabilities. Additionally, he represented many of the firm's business clients in administrative proceedings, jury trials and appellate proceedings, as defense counsel in some cases and as plaintiff's counsel in other cases. Mr. Blaz also maintained a criminal law practice and has significant experience in defending against major felony charges at preliminary hearings, bench trials, jury trials, and appeals. His background also includes extensive involvement in campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a Dean's List student and an Honor Society member at Auburn University and received degrees in Political Science, Psychology and Philosophy in 1986. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame in 1989. Mr. Blaz's faculty experience includes teaching in public school system of South Bend, Indiana while attending Notre Dame Law School, presenting seminars on the Second Amendment at the National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. and teaching other attorneys in courses on criminal law and courses on civil law, which were approved for CLE credits in many states.