Michael Wildes

Michael Wildes is Managing Partner of Wildes & Weinberg, P.C. and is currently serving in his fifth term as the Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. He is a former Federal Prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn (EDNY-1980-1993). Mr. Wildes' firm was founded in 1960 by his father, the late Leon Wildes, whose best-known accomplishment was his successful representation of former Beatle John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their widely publicized deportation proceedings. 

Michael Wildes has testified on Capitol Hill in connection with anti-terrorism legislation and is internationally recognized for his representation of prominent individuals, business leaders, artists, entertainers, athletes, and families navigating complex U.S. immigration matters. He is also a frequent legal commentator and analyst on immigration and national security matters for network television.Throughout his career, Mr. Wildes has represented a diverse clientele including Fortune 500 executives, celebrity artists and athletes, Nobel prize winners, and heads of state along with thousands of immigrants pursuing their own American Dream. (Some notable clients: Yoko Ono Lennon, Sinead O’Connor, Boy George, Pelé, Karim Benzema, Mike Tyson, Melania Trump, Dolly Parton, Jean Georges, Gisele Bundchen, Ana Ivanovic, Lionel Richie, Tom Clancy, and Millie Bobby Brown, among others).

Mr. Wildes is an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo   School of Law where he has taught Business Immigration Law for the over 15 years and an Externship as part of the Field Clinic Faculty. He the author of Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door, (2018) and From Origin to Opportunity: Unlocking U.S. Immigration Law (2026), both published by the American Bar Association.