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.