About Mike

You’ve been hurt. Or someone in your family’s been hurt. You’re looking for someone to help. It’s important to hire someone who shares your priorities and will systematically work to maximize the value of your case.

In the About Us section we describe how we run our firm and handle cases. This tells you a little bit more about me.

It All Started With Soccer

I’m very competitive. And I like hard work.

When I was growing up, I devoted a tremendous amount of effort and energy into soccer. I loved the “beautiful game.” When I was 12 years old, I juggled the soccer ball over 1,000 times.

My first soccer coach (Bruce Campbell) shaped the rest of my life. He was probably the most competitive person I’ve ever met.

Bruce was almost, but not quite, good enough to play professional soccer. By the time he started coaching us, he was in his mid-30s.

Bruce played-in for every scrimmage. He never took it easy on us. It was not unusual for him to slide tackle kids on the gravel playfield where we practiced when it was too muddy to train on the regular pitch.

Hard work and great coaching paid off. I was recruited by the coach at Stanford, and then spent most of my time on the bench.

Success at this point is measured in a couple of different ways: friendships that started on the soccer field, sharing my love for soccer with my kids, and helping to coach my son’s team.

Love And Marriage

I waited a long time to get married and have a family. It gave me a new perspective on how an injury can affect the whole family.

At first it was just me, my wife Shera and our cats. But then Juniper and Olivia joined us. And then Marcellus. And then a household of dogs and cats.

It’s cliché, but having kids changes everything. Or, at the very least, puts a new spin on life. They’re the focal point of just about every decision we make and just about everything we do. They’re a source of constant delight. And they’ve made me incredibly efficient—not a second’s wasted during the day.

Selectivity: A Key to Success

Over the last 30 years of my career I achieved a lot of professional success. It’s a source of pride. But more importantly, it’s given me the opportunity to be selective about the cases we take.

Selectivity ties directly into the “life ethic.” I like working hard on good cases and for good clients. And good cases with good clients are usually the most profitable.

It’s important to hire an attorney that runs a profitable firm. Attorneys who make money are in a position to make the best decisions about whether cases should settle or go to trial. No reason to be shy…before hiring an attorney, ask if the firm has any debt and how much money it made last year.

It’s critical to me to have enough time to spend with my family and do the things that – outside of the law – are really important to me. Tennis, riding my bike, skiing and coaching soccer consume most of my time when I’m not working or with my family.

Conflict And Resolution

There are few things I like more than conflict and resolution. That’s probably why I decided to become a lawyer.

Hard work, creativity and aggression get cases resolved. And resolving cases is really what we’re here to do for clients. It’s how we add value.

Most cases are settled. But, sometimes, there are disagreements that can’t be resolved without going to trial.

Trials have consequences. There are winners and losers. There’s no bigger stage to display all the hard work that’s gone into preparing the case and, most importantly, for our clients to tell the jury about what happened and how it has affected them.

For me, the first day of trial is like clicking into my bindings at the top of a steep, rocky, exposed slope. Basically, a no-fall zone. The stakes are high…but so is the potential reward. On skis you push off, make a decisive pole plant, and initiate your first turn. Once you’re in the moment there’s nothing better.

The same feelings are there before jury selection starts. But once I stand up and introduce myself, all of a sudden I’m exactly where I was meant to be.

When you hire a trial lawyer, you need to pick someone who really likes going to trial and isn’t going to flinch.

Learn Something New

I learn something new every day. And I like change.

We’re always trying to figure out better ways to handle cases. To make the process quicker. More efficient. And to get better results. We’re always evolving and always looking to learn something new.

Maybe that’s why it’s so important to us to listen to clients. Because when there’s engagement we learn something, clients learn something, and cases resolve for more money.

Wrap Up

That’s a lot about me. I hope it helps.

If we end up working together, I’m going to make you tell me everything about you. That way we’ll be even. And, more importantly, it will help me tell your story and maximize the value of your case.