About Michael Braun

Michael Franklin Braun has spent twenty-eight years in courtrooms, hearing rooms, and IEP meetings across the Southeast. His practice today is built around two things that are unusual in combination: a deep commitment to the families of children with disabilities, and a long career representing healthcare providers in the regulatory machinery that governs them. The same instincts that work in a school district hearing — read the statute carefully, hold the agency to its own rules, prepare like the case is going to be appealed — work in administrative law and Certificate of Need practice too.

Recognition

In 2025, Michael was named Lawyer of the Year by the Autism Law Summit, a recognition from a national conference for attorneys who practice in autism and special education law. He is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), the national professional association for attorneys representing children with disabilities, and a regular continuing legal education presenter on IDEA, autism law, and how to succeed at IEP meetings.

Practice

Michael represents:

• Families and students in special education matters — IEPs and 504 plans, IDEA due process hearings, manifestation determination reviews, transition planning disputes, and federal civil rights litigation when school districts will not follow the law.
• Families and therapy providers in autism advocacy — ABA coverage denials, ERISA insurance appeals, and policy and legislative work.
• Healthcare providers in administrative and regulatory matters — Certificate of Need, Medicare-certified home health licensing, state agency contested cases, and appellate review.
• Businesses and individuals in commercial and real estate litigation, with a track record of trial verdicts and successful appeals.

Representative Matters

A selection of cases Michael has handled. The full list lives on the case results page. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

• Sophie G. v. Wilson County Schools, 742 Fed.Appx. 73, 360 Ed. Law Rep. 7 (6th Cir. 2018) — federal civil rights appeal on behalf of a special education student. Read the case study →

• Hometown Home Health Care of Shelby County, LLC v. State Health Planning & Development Agency, 190 So.3d 44 (Ala.Civ.App. 2015) — Certificate of Need appellate review.

• McLendon v. Hepburn, 876 So.2d 479 (Ala.Civ.App. 2003) — civil procedure appellate matter.

• Alabama Act 2017-337 / House Bill 284 — successful lobbying for legislation requiring health benefit plans in Alabama to cover treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder under certain conditions. Read the story →

• Injured Contractor v. Oil Service Company — $1.1 million jury verdict at trial.

• Health Plan Member with Autism v. Major Health Plan — ERISA matter; all claims paid.

• Hometown Home Health Care v. State Health Planning — Certificate of Need contested case before the Alabama appellate courts.

• Subcontractor v. Military Prime Contractor — construction arbitration; all claims paid.

Background

Michael began his career at the Alabama Certificate of Need Board as an Agency Attorney from 1995 to 1997, working on certificate of need law, administrative law, regulatory law, agency rulemaking, and contested cases. Few attorneys who litigate Certificate of Need cases have served inside the agency that decides them.

He then practiced complex litigation and mass torts at Burr & Forman LLP in Birmingham before opening his solo Nashville practice in 1998. In the years since, he has tried cases in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Florida, and Hawaii, and is admitted to the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits along with nine federal district courts across the Southeast.

Education and bar admissions

• St. Thomas University College of Law — Juris Doctor, 1995
• Carson-Newman University — Bachelor’s Degree, 1991
• Tennessee (BPR No. 032669) · Georgia · Alabama
• U.S. Court of Appeals: Sixth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court: Tennessee (Western, Middle, Eastern); Georgia (Northern, Middle, Southern); Alabama (Northern, Middle, Southern); Northern District of Florida

Personal

Michael lives in the Nashville area with his wife Crystal and their five children. They are runners. He believes the most important part of this work is the call after the hearing, when a parent finally exhales.

Speak with Michael

There is no charge for an initial call. Most calls are returned the same day.

• Phone: (615) 378-8942
• Email: mfb@braun-law.com