Michael grew up in Lake Charles, where he graduated valedictorian of Barbe High School in 1984. He obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989.
In 1992, He graduated from Arizona State Law School earning his degree of Juris Doctor. Michael is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, and Louisiana Association for Justice.
In addition to settling thousands of personal injury cases, Michael has successfully tried over one hundred cases in state and federal courts, including approximately 30 jury trials.
In one such case, a jury awarded his client the largest individual personal injury verdict reported in the state of Louisiana, over $26 million. In another case a jury awarded his client over $10 million.
Michael has obtained judgments totaling over $250 million dollars on behalf of his clients in cases in which he served as lead counsel or co-counsel.
Michael had been rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell®. This peer review rating is the highest and most prestigious rating awarded to lawyers for legal knowledge and ethics in practice.
Areas of Practice
100% Plaintiffs Personal Injury
Litigation Percentage
100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Bar Admissions
Louisiana, 1993
Texas, 2003
U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana
U.S. Supreme Court
Education
Arizona State University, College of Law, Tempe, Arizona
Juris Doctor – 1992
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Bachelor of Business Administration – 1989
Major: Finance
Representative Cases
Duncan v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co., 773 So.2d 670 (La. 2000)
Bertrand v. Air Logistics, Inc., 820 So.2d 1228 (La. App. 3 Cir 2002)
Gunderson v. F.A. Richard Associates, 44 So.3d 779 (La. App. 3 Cir. 2010)
Aguillard v. City of Lake Charles, 966 So.2d 722 (La. App. 3 Cir. 2007)
Honors and Awards
Top Lawyers of Acadiana Personal Injury Litigation- 2015
Professional Associations and Memberships
American Association of Justice, 1992 – Present
Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, 1992 – Present
American Inns of Court, 1995 – Present
