Partner

Mike is a partner with SmithAmundsen.  Prior to private practice, Mike garnered significant trial experience as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Lake County, Illinois.  Mike acts as one of the firm’s lead trial attorneys on many high profile product liability, construction, and retail liability cases.

Throughout his career, Mike has defended a multitude of product liability cases involving everything from brake systems to ozone generators and destruct units to cosmetic manufacturing processes.  He has served as lead counsel in cases involving toxic poisoning, deaths and catastrophic loss due to product defects, fire, and explosions.  Mike is an expert in consumer product safety law and regularly designs programs for manufacturers to bring their products into compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act.  He has also constructed a product compliance/audit program for the world's seventh largest furniture maker and drafted warnings for two high technology consumer products of medical device companies.  Mike's retailing clients include well-known Fortune 100 merchandisers.

Mike’s construction expertise includes representing general contractors, prime contractors, real estate developers, landowners and second tier contractors, and insurers in all types of construction-related litigation including construction defect cases.  He also completed the OSHA 10 Hour Construction Course in 2006.  He has successfully litigated issues of tenders of defense, hold harmless agreements, and indemnification agreements.  A prominent defense attorney, Mike has served as counsel on many significant cases in opposition to the top trial attorneys in Chicago.

Mike was named to the Illinois Super Lawyers* list for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012, a peer review designation published by Law & Politics magazine.  In addition, the 2009 Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition recognizes him for his work in construction litigation.  He has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell for his legal ability and ethics.  Mike was also named a Leading Lawyer in construction law and products liability defense law by Law Bulletin Publishing Company and will be featured in the 2010 Midwest Construction Directory.  In addition, Mike has been named to the 2012 and forthcoming 2013 editions of Who’s Who in America.

*The selection of attorneys to the Super Lawyers list and Leading Lawyer lists does not guarantee a positive client outcome in any specific legal matter or engagement nor constitute a representation by the firm of SmithAmundsen about the caliber of legal work performed by any other attorney not selected as part of these lists.

Speaker, "Ethics Presentation," ACE North American Claims and ESIS, Wilmington, DE, July 2011.

Speaker, "Evaluating Cases," ESIS Claims Professionals, Chatsworth, CA, June 2011.

Speaker, "Ethics," ESIS Claims Professionals, Tampa, FL, April 2011.

Speaker, “Bleacher Risk Management and Maintenance,” National School Boards Association’s 70th Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, April 2010.

Speaker, “Money is the Root of All Evil,” USLAW Conference, Miami, FL, April 2010.

Speaker, “Construction Supervisory Liability,” Concrete Contractors Association, OSHA 30 Hour Safety Course, Oak Brook, IL, March 2010.

Speaker, “Jury Psychology in Large Loss Cases,” ACE Westchester Specialty Group, Chicago, IL, March 2010.

Speaker, “OCIP and CCIP Construction Contracts,” Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Hoffman Estates, IL, February 2010.

Speaker, “Claims Handling in Construction,” client seminar, February 2010.