K. Michael Gaerte

K. Michael (Mike) Gaerte is a Partner at Dentons, practicing in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group and the national White Collar and Government Investigations group, specializing in Dispute Resolution. He concentrates on criminal defense at both the trial and appellate levels, with experience in civil and health care litigation, and defense of professional licensure cases before state licensing boards.

Mike has conducted internal criminal corporate investigations into allegations of environmental and health care‑related criminal activity, defended False Claims Act and Whistleblower (Qui Tam) allegations, and assisted with search warrant, subpoena, and Civil Investigative Demand responses. He is a frequent lecturer in the area of criminal defense. He served on the Marion County Judicial Selection Commission as an Indianapolis Bar Association appointee (2017–2025).

He holds a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law (2001) and a B.A. in Political Science from Xavier University (1998). He is admitted to practice in Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana.

Mike has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation (2024–2026) and Criminal Defense: White‑Collar (2025–2026), and in the Indiana Super Lawyers list in Criminal Defense (2024–2025).