Mike was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. He later relocated to Florida where he attended undergrad at Florida State University and obtained a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice. Mike went on to become a police officer and spent five years serving his community at the Tallahassee Police Department. During his tenure as a law enforcement officer, Mike investigated hundreds of car wrecks and other types of accidents—many of which involved catastrophic injuries or death. He was later promoted to detective, a role in which he investigated a multitude of crimes ranging from complex white-collar crime to violent crimes, including death investigations.
Mike ultimately decided he wanted to begin a new career as an attorney. To achieve this new goal, he attended night classes at Barry University School of Law in Orlando, Florida. During the daytime, he worked full time as an injury claims investigator for insurance companies. In these dual roles, Mike not only learned about the law, but also about how things work in the world of insurance claims and investigations. This experience would ultimately prove critical to Mike’s development into the lawyer he is today.
After law school, Mike gained significant courtroom and jury trial experience as an Assistant State Attorney (Florida’s equivalent of Assistant District Attorney) and served as lead counsel in over fifty jury trials. He later took this courtroom experience and applied it to the civil side when he went to work as a defense attorney for two of the largest auto insurance companies in America: GEICO and later State Farm. In doing so, he gained additional trial experience and a wide breadth knowledge into how insurance companies defend personal injury claims, how these claims are assigned value, and the things insurers do to try to defeat or minimize such claims.
When Mike was on the “other side” working for the insurance companies, he defended hundreds of the very same types of personal injury claims he helps injured folks with today. Mike tried so many jury trials as an insurance defense attorney that he was board certified a Civil Trial Advocate in just three years by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) in 2013 (recertification earned in 2019). The NBTA is accredited by the American Bar Association under procedures and criteria endorsed by the North Carolina State Bar. Applicants must undergo a rigorous evaluation process involving, among other things, confidential peer and judicial reviews. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, “There is no dispute about the bona fides and the relevance of NBTA certification….” Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois, 110 S.Ct. 2281 (1990).
Each and every year since 2013, Mike has earned an “AV Preeminent” rating by the world’s largest lawyer rating service, Martindale-Hubbell. This is the highest possible rating and a significant accomplishment—a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence. Mike once had the honor of being a guest instructor at the prestigious National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) at Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C.
All of Mike’s experience has enabled him to be an effective and well-rounded trial lawyer. This experience, coupled with his tenacious advocacy and superior work ethic, lets him help his clients in the best possible way. When Mike is not working, you might find him spending time with his wife and daughter, hiking, snow skiing, riding his bikes, or volunteering his time for a wide variety of causes.