Michael D. Gavigan is Assistant Chief Legal Counsel for the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Michael is admitted to practice before the Minnesota Federal District Court and the State Courts of Wisconsin, New York, and Minnesota. Michael provides services in the following areas: Employment; Business, Contract, & Commercial Law; Real Estate, including housing issues; Construction Law; Business Formation and Organization; Civil Rights and Consumer Protection; and general civil litigation and appeals. Michael has successfully assisted hundreds of individuals and organizations assert and protect their rights through determined, creative representation both in the courtroom and outside it.

Michael graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School. There, he was a director for the National Moot Court and a supervising student attorney for the Civil Practice Clinic. While attending the University of Minnesota, Michael spoke at the ABA Young Lawyers Division teleconference entitled “Lessons in Public Education: A Community’s Challenge to Property Tax Assessments.”

Michael was also one of two founding student attorneys on the case of Odunlade et al. v. City of Minneapolis et al., 27-CV-10-26849. After admission to the bar, Michael successfully argued this case in front of the Supreme Court of Minnesota in 2012 on behalf of disaffected homeowners in Minneapolis. As a result of the advocacy of Michael and other colleagues at Wilson Law Group and the University of Minnesota Civil Practice Clinic, Minnesota homeowners can now band together to bring forth a joint tax petition to contest shared property tax issues.

Michael has been recognized as a North Star Lawyer for seven of the past eight years. This award signifies a commitment to serving his community by providing legal services to low-income Minnesotans. Michael and other North Star Lawyers combine to deliver thousands of hours of pro bono service over the course of a single year. Michael is also a member of the Federal Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, and Hennepin County Bar Association.

Michael received his bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in Political Science and Psychology, with a certificate (minor) in Integrated Liberal Studies. While attending school at Wisconsin, Michael was on the Dean’s List and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, where he engaged in various volunteer activities for the Madison community.