Michael T. Mihm

Senior Lawyer

Michael Mihm’s unique trial practice focuses on plaintiff-side legal malpractice cases. The Best Lawyers in America® has four times named Michael as “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of Legal Malpractice Law–Plaintiff. Michael is one of the few plaintiffs’ attorneys in the United States to be certified as a specialist in legal malpractice law by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He brings malpractice lawsuits against some of the nation’s largest law firms involving some of the law’s most complex practice areas. Colorado Super Lawyers® magazine names Michael as of one of Colorado’s “Top 100” lawyers. In addition to Legal Malpractice Law, Michael is included among The Best Lawyers in America® in the field of Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiff.

Associations

Immediate Past President, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2015-2016

President, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2014-2015

President Elect, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2013-2014

Vice President, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2012-2013

Secretary, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2011-2012

Treasurer, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2010-2011

Executive Committee, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2009-Present

Legislative Counsel, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2009-Present

Board of Directors, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2008-Present

Member, American Board of Trial Advocates, 2014-Present

President, International Society of Primerus Law Firms Personal Injury Institute, 2019-2020

Executive Committee, International Society of Primerus Law Firms Personal Injury Institute, 2017-Present

Quality Assurance Board, International Society of Primerus Law Firms, 2016-Present

Member, International Society of Primerus Law Firms, 2010-present

President, Board of Directors, CLE in Colorado, Inc. (publishing and Continuing Legal Education non-profit arm of the Colorado Bar Association and Denver Bar Association), 2013-2014

Vice President, Board of Directors, CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2012-2013

Member, Board of Directors, CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2008-2014

Co-Editor, Business Torts Committee Website, American Bar Association, 2005-2007

Co-Director, Litigation Section Programs, Business Torts Committee, American Bar Association, 2008 – 2010

Corporate Counsel Committee, Litigation Section, American Bar Association

Member, American Bar Association, 1983-Present

Counsil of Presidents, American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America), 2014-2016

AAJ State Delegate, American Association for Justice, 2013-2016

Member, California Lawyers Association (formerly California Bar Association), 1983-Present

Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association

Litigation Section Executive Council, Colorado Bar Association, 2016-2019

Professional Liability Committee Chair, Colorado Bar Association, 1997-1999

Board of Governors, Colorado Bar Association, 2014-2015

Member, Colorado Bar Association, 1985-Present

Awards

Lawyers professional liability in Colorado

experience

In July 2019, Michael tried and won (for the defendants) a jury trial involving a partnership dispute among partners over a luxury real estate development and golf course community, defeating a fraud claim. Michael and his team obtained a jury verdict of $1.2 million on our clients’ counterclaim.

In May 2019, Michael settled a legal malpractice claim arising from mishandling of the tax treatment of revenues from patent infringement litigation. The settlement is confidential.

In January 2019, Michael and his colleague, James “Jim” Fogg, tried a surcharge action in probate court filed against a trustee accused of looting millions of dollars from several trusts. Michael and Jim recovered an $8.7 million judgment, including treble damages for civil theft, and almost $900,000 in attorney fees.

In September 2018, Michael settled a legal malpractice claim arising from the purchase and sale of an automobile dealership. The settlement is confidential.

In October 2017, Michael and his team negotiated a $3.0 million settlement in a wrongful death case arising from a collision between a bicycle and an automobile.

In June 2017, Michael tried (and lost) a medical malpractice case.

In October 2016, Michael obtained a nearly $2.0 million arbitration award (later confirmed as a judgment) in a breach of contract dispute on behalf of a minority owner being squeezed out of a recreational marijuana business.

In June 2015, Michael obtained a jury verdict in a business fraud/partnership dispute that later resulted in a confidential settlement and favorable buy-out of our client’s partnership interest.

In April 2014, Michael, with his colleagues Thomas Neville and Clayton Wire, obtained a $2.5 million jury verdict in a legal malpractice case involving control over a successful family-owned company.

In June 2013, Michael Mihm, with his partner Mike Ogborn and trial team at Ogborn Mihm LLP, obtained, at the time, one of the largest legal malpractice verdicts in the United States against one of America’s largest law firms.

Articles

Co-Author with Nicole M. Quintana, “The Cutting Room Floor: Finding the Story in Complex Cases.” The Warrior, Spring 2020, pp. 37-43.

“Rule 12. Defenses and Objections,” 13 Colo. Prac., Civil Procedure Forms & Commentary, West’s Colorado Practice Series (3d ed. 2019).

“Former Rule 109, Uniform Arbitration Act, Section 13-22-201, et seq.,” 13 Colo. Prac., Civil Procedure Forms & Commentary, West’s Colorado Practice Series (3d ed. 2019).

Managing Editor, Lawyer’s Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2005-2018). This two-volume, 53-chapter book focuses on legal ethics and lawyers’ professional liability issues. Managing editor and contributing author since 2005. Annually updated and expanded.

Chapter 4, “Conflicts of Interest,” in Lawyer’s Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2005-2018).

Co-Author with Nicole M. Quintana, Chapter 49, “Fundamentals of Legal Malpractice Litigation,” in Lawyer’s Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2018).

Co-Author with Nicole M. Quintana, Chapter 50, “Causation and Damages in Legal Malpractice Litigation,” in Lawyer’s Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2018).

Co-Author with Nicole M. Quintana, Chapter 51, “Common Law Legal Malpractice Claims,” in Lawyer’s Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2018).

Co-Author with Nicole M. Quintana, Chapter 53, “Defense to Legal Malpractice Claims,” in Lawyer’s Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2018).

“Thinking Like a Business Owner: Why it is Important to Your Legal Career,” 2017 Primerus Young Lawyers Section, Client Service Boot Camp, International Society of Primerus Law Firms, Law Vegas, Nevada (February 8-10, 2017).

“CTLA Teaches,” Trial Talk, Vol. 64, Issue 4, June/July 2015, at 5.

“New Lawyers: The Key to CTLA’s Future,” Trial Talk, Vol. 64, Issue 3, Apr/May 2015, at 5.

“Finding Our Moral High Ground,” Trial Talk, Vol. 64, Issue 2, Feb/Mar 2015, at 5.

“Look to the Future,” Trial Talk, Vol. 63, Issue 7, CTLA’s Special 60th Anniversary Issue, October 2014, at 5.

“Tip Of The Spear,” Trial Talk, Vol. 63, Issue 5, Aug/Sept 2014, at 5 (Remarks on Election as CTLA President, August 7, 2014).

“Avoiding Legal Malpractice in Interstate Trucking Cases,” The Lawyer’s Log Book, Vol. 1, No. 4, Oct-Nov 2011, at 32.

Co-author with L. Dolan, Chapter 6, “Legal Bases for Lawyers’ Liability for Malpractice,” Colorado Attorney’s Professional Liability Handbook (Robin L. Beatty ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 1999).

Co-author with L. Dolan, Chapter 7, “Common Law Legal Malpractice Claims,” Colorado Attorney’s Professional Liability Handbook (Robin L. Beatty ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 1999).

Co-author with L. Dolan, Chapter 9, “Liability to Third Parties,” Colorado Attorney’s Professional Liability Handbook (Robin L. Beatty ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc.,1999).

Co-author with L. Dolan, Chapter 10, “Conflicts of Interest,” Colorado Attorney’s Professional Liability Handbook (Robin L. Beatty ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 1999).

Co-author with L. Dolan, Chapter 11, “Damages for Injuries or Losses Caused by Legal Malpractice,” Colorado Attorney’s Professional Liability Handbook (Robin L. Beatty ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 1999).

Co-author with L. Dolan, Chapter 12, “Defenses to Legal Malpractice Claims,” Colorado Attorney’s Professional Liability Handbook (Robin L. Beatty ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 1999).

“Risks of Multi-State Practice of Law,” Whoops: Colorado Bar Association Malpractice Prevention News, April, 1999.

“Software Piracy and the Personal Computer: Is the 1980 Software Copyright Act Effective?,” IV Computer Law Journal 1971 (1983).

Areas of Practice

Business Torts & Fraud

Commercial & Contract Litigation

Corporation, Partnership & LLC Disputes

Inheritance Litigation

Legal Malpractice

Trust & Estates Litigation

Contact Info

Phone: (303) 592-5900

Fax: (303) 592-5910

Email: michael.mihm@omqlegal.com

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EDUCATION

University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Los Angeles, California

Walla Walla College, College Place, Washington, B.A., Religion, cum laude

BAR ADMISSIONS

California

Colorado

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

BIO

Michael is a Past President of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, the largest specialty bar organization in Colorado. Michael has been inducted as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a graduate of and remains active with the Trial Lawyer’s College®, an organization dedicated to teaching cutting-edge trial advocacy to civil plaintiff and criminal defense trial lawyers.

Michael’s Philosophy of Client-Centered Trials

Michael is a student of the art of trial persuasion. He believes that every client has a simple and compelling story, regardless of how complex the case may seem, and he and his team use advanced investigation and trial techniques to discover and best tell the client’s story at trial. Michael understands that a client’s goals and objectives are paramount. Thus, we include the client in every major decision of the litigation process, remembering that the case is about the client, not about us.

Michael’s Expertise in Legal Malpractice Litigation

Michael has prosecuted or defended hundreds of legal malpractice lawsuits, has tried many such cases, and has also served as an expert witness in many such suits. For many years (2005-2021) Michael has served as managing editor of Lawyers’ Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Ed. (Michael T. Mihm ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2018). This two-volume, 57-chapter treatise focuses on lawyers’ professional liability and legal ethics issues. Click here to see more about or purchase Lawyers’ Professional Liability in Colorado, 2018 Edition.

Michael’s legal malpractice clients come from all walks of life, but most are business people or companies. His legal malpractice cases usually involve underlying business transactions, including intellectual property, patent law, tax law, securities, real estate, land use, mergers and acquisitions, estate planning, bankruptcy, and many other legal matters. Michael brings legal malpractice cases all over the United States; he is currently litigating or has recently litigated legal malpractice cases in state or federal courts in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Utah and Texas.

While most of Michael’s clients are businesses or business people, Michael also handles non-business related legal malpractice cases. For example, Michael and his colleague, Betsy Hyatt, represented pro bono a young man who was sentenced to life in prison at age 15 for a murder that he did not commit, and who, after 14 years in prison, was released from custody. Michael and Betsy sued the negligent criminal defense counsel on the young man’s behalf and recovered a confidential settlement.

Michael’s Expertise in Commercial and Corporate Litigation

Michael also has a significant business, corporate and probate litigation practice. Michael’s business litigation often involves claims arising from breach of contract, corporate control, oil and gas transactions, real estate disputes, oppression of minority business owners, partnership disputes, theft of trade secrets, intellectual property disputes, computer fraud, and claims arising from breaches of fiduciary duty and other misconduct by company insiders. Michael also represents clients in select probate or inheritance litigation matters, usually involving large estates and usually at the request of probate lawyers when it appears that a matter is headed to trial. Michael routinely represents clients in arbitration of business disputes.

Michael’s Trial Experience

Some of Michael’s recent trials include the following: in July 2019, Michael tried and won (for the defendants) a jury trial involving a partnership dispute among partners over a $70 million luxury real estate development and golf course community. Michael and his team defeated a $10 million fraud claim, and won a $1.2 million jury verdict on the client’s counterclaim. In January 2019, Michael and his colleague, James “Jim” Fogg, tried a surcharge action in probate court filed against a trustee accused of looting millions of dollars from several trusts. Michael and Jim won an $8.7 million judgment, including treble damages for civil theft, and almost $900,000 in attorney fees. In June, 2017, Michael and his team tried and lost a medical malpractice case. In 2016, Michael won a jury verdict and declaratory judgment for his client, a minority owner of a large cattle feedlot, in a dispute with the controlling family members. In April 2014, Michael won a $2.5 million jury verdict in a legal malpractice claim arising from an estate planning and tax matter. In June 2013, Michael and his partner, Mike Ogborn, won a $21.3 million jury verdict in state district court of Salt Lake City, Utah (reduced to $12.8 million because of comparative negligence). The verdict, then one of the largest plaintiff legal malpractice jury verdicts in U.S. history, arose out of a prominent law firm’s mishandling of a development application for an 8,650 acre ranch near Park City, Utah.

Michael’s Bar Leadership

Michael is a past President of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA), an organization of approximately 1,300 plaintiff and consumer trial lawyers in Colorado. CTLA is the largest specialty bar organization in Colorado. Michael served as an officer of CTLA from 2010 through 2016 and continues to serve on the board of directors.

Michael is a past-president of the Board of Directors of CLE in Colorado, Inc., the publishing and continuing education arm of the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations. He served for six years on the Board.

Michael is the past chair of the Lawyers’ Professional Liability Committee for the Colorado Bar Association. He also served for a number of years on the Executive Council of the Colorado Bar Association’s Litigation Section.

For several years, Michael served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where he taught a course on law firm management and professional ethics titled “Private Law Firms.”

Michael was heavily involved with a multi-year initiative of a subcommittee of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee, in conjunction with the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel that developed an on-line platform for Lawyer Self-Assessment. The Self-Assessment program is designed to help lawyers better serve clients, simplify lawyers’ professional lives, and help prevent malpractice claims and ethics complaints. https://www.coloradosupremecourt.com/AboutUs/LawyerSelfAssessmentProgram.asp Michael’s book on Lawyers’ Professional Liability provides much of the source material for the Self-Assessment program. This innovative program is among the first such programs in the United States.

Michael is active with the International Society of Primerus Law Firms. Michael is a former Chair of the Primerus Personal Injury Institute and for many years served on the Institute’s Executive Committee.

Michael writes and often speaks on trial practice, professional ethics and malpractice prevention to lawyers and bar associations. Most recently, he is the author of chapters on Rule 12 Defenses and Objections and the Colorado Uniform Arbitration Act published in Thomson Reuters’ Colorado Civil Forms and Commentary, 3d (Vols. 11-13) (Colorado Practice Series).

Personal

Michael grew up in rural Michigan and Oregon, the eldest of six children. Michael worked his way through college and graduated with honors. While in college, Michael also served for a year as a missionary in the Republic of Indonesia, teaching English as a Second Language.

After college, Michael attended the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Michael began his legal career in 1983 as an associate attorney with a banking law firm in Beverly Hills, California. In 1985, he moved his young family to Colorado, resolving to become a trial attorney, and soon became a trial partner in one of Colorado’s largest professional liability defense firms. In 2003, Michael formed the boutique trial law firm of Starrs, Mihm & Caschette LLP to focus on plaintiff-side legal malpractice litigation and commercial and business tort litigation. In 2012, after both of Michael’s partners became district judges, Michael formed Ogborn Mihm, LLP, with Murray and Mike Ogborn. Michael served as the firm’s managing partner for many years and is now the co-managing partner with Mike Ogborn.

Michael is married to Nanette Amier Mihm. Michael and Nanette have two grown children and two small grandchildren with whom they are enamored.

Presentations

Speaker, “One Is the Loneliest Number: Ethics of Associating with Other Counsel,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Denver, Colorado (February 2021)

Trial Demonstration, “Cross-Examination of a Defendant,” ABOTA Masters in Trial Program, Denver, Colorado (November 2019).

“Avoiding Malpractice,” International Society of Primerus Law Firms Young Lawyers Conference, Denver, Colorado (March 2019).

Panelist, with Matthew T. Kirsch, Gerald D. Pratt, and Jessica Yates, “Ethics Opinions Update,” Colorado Bar Association Colorado Litigators’ Summit (October 2018).

Panelist, with Johannes S. Kingma (Atlanta), Ralph B. Levy (Atlanta), and Tamara F. Goodlette (Denver), “Master Class in Attorney Malpractice Mediations: Select Topics for the Expert,” 2017 ABA Fall National Legal Malpractice Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado (September 2017).

“Pro-Active Management Based Regulation,” sponsored by the Office of Attorney Regulations Counsel, Colorado Bar Association (July 2017).

Faculty Member and Speaker, 2017 Primerus Young Lawyers Section, Client Service Boot Camp, International Society of Primerus Law Firms, Law Vegas, Nevada (February 2017).

“Simplifying Your Case to Win,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Steamboat Springs, Colorado (August 2016).

Panelist, with Nancy Cohen and Christopher Buckman, “Anatomy of a Legal Malpractice Claim: What Plaintiffs Look for and How to Defend,” Denver Bar Association (June 2016).

“Simplifying Your Case to Win,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Blockbuster Seminar, Denver, Colorado (January 2016).

“Rules of the Road for Protecting Clients and Preventing Legal Malpractice,” Colorado Bar Association Litigation Council, Denver, Colorado (November 2015).

“Ethical Pitfalls of Auto Accident Cases,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Blockbuster Seminar, Denver, Colorado (January 2015).

“Tip of the Spear,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Snowmass, Colorado (August 7, 2014)(remarks on election as CTLA President).

“Rules of the Road for Protecting Clients and Preventing Legal Malpractice,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Snowmass, Colorado (August 2014).

“Is it a Breach of Contract or a Business Tort? Why it Makes a Difference in Business Litigation,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Snowmass, Colorado (August 2013).

“Malpractice Prevention: Lawyers’ Duties to Prospective Clients and Non-Clients,” CLE in Colorado, Inc., Denver, Colorado (live and video web presentation) (June 2012).

Moderator and Program Planner, “Malpractice Prevention for Boutique Law Firms,” International Society of Primerus Law Firms (telephone and audio webinar) (November 2011).

“How to Avoid Legal Malpractice in Interstate Trucking Cases,” Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America Super Summit, St. Louis, Missouri (September 2011)

“Ten Things You Don’t Want Me to Find in Your File,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Blockbuster Auto Seminar, Denver, Colorado (January 2011).

“Legal Malpractice from a Plaintiff’s Perspective,” Colorado Bar Association and CLE in Colorado, Inc., Legal Malpractice Prevention Seminars, Denver & Colorado Springs, Colorado (January 2011).

Moderator and Program Co-Chair, “Beating Goliath: How CTLA’s Davids Took on One of the World’s Largest Corporations and Won,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Vail, Colorado (August 2010).

Moderator and Program Planner, “Hardball Tactics and Stupid Lawyer Tricks: Maintaining Civility in Litigation,” ABA Section of Litigation and ABA Center for Continuing Education (telephone and webcast seminar) (February 2010).

“Conflicts of Interest” and “Top 10 Ways to Get Sued or Grieved in Small Law Offices,” Utah State Bar Fall Forum, Salt Lake City, Utah (November 2008).

“Common Law and Statutory Legal Malpractice Claims,” Colorado Bar Association Preventing Legal Malpractice Seminars (January 2007).

Co-Chair and Moderator, Colorado Bar Association, Preventing Legal Malpractice Seminars (January – February 2006).

“Finding Insurance for Your Professional Negligence Claim,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Finding Insurance for Your Personal Injury Claim Seminar, Denver, Colorado (April 2005).

“Practice Management Software” and “Electronic Discovery” in “Overcoming Your Fears: Using Technology in Ligation Seminar,” National Business Institute, Inc., Denver, Colorado (March 2005).

Speaker and Moderator, “Advanced Trial Advocacy Seminar,” with M. Ewing, National Business Institute, Inc., Denver, Colorado (July 2004).

Speaker and Moderator, “Damages in Colorado Civil Trial Practice,” with D. Brown, National Business Institute, Inc., Denver, Colorado (March 2003).

Speaker and Moderator, “Damages in Colorado Civil Trial Practice,” with D. Brown, National Business Institute, Inc., Lakewood, Colorado (January 2002).

“Hiring and Firing Clients,” Colorado Bar Association, Tuesdays at the Bar (February 2001).

“Successfully Presenting the Complex Case to a Colorado Jury,” with M. Burg, National Business Institute, Inc., Denver, Colorado (January 2001).

“Restatement (Third) of Law Governing Lawyers: Malpractice Highlights and New Directions,” Colorado Bar Association Convention, Vail Colorado (September 1999).

“Recent Developments in Professional Liability Cases,” Colorado Bar Association and CBA/CLE in Colorado, Inc., Legal Malpractice Seminars (Jan-Feb, 1999).

“Preventing Legal Malpractice,” Boulder County Bar Association (December 1997).

“Fee Agreements and Client Communication,” Colorado Bar Association and CBA/CLE in Colorado, Inc., Legal Malpractice Seminars (January 1997).

“Legal Malpractice: Trends and Prevention,” Weld County Bar Association (November 1996).

Speaker with D. Breakstone, “Lawyer Liability Under the Restatement (Third) of Law Governing Lawyers,” Colorado Bar Association Convention, Vail, Colorado (September 1996).

Program Chair and Moderator, Colorado Bar Association and CBA/CLE in Colorado, Inc., Legal Malpractice Prevention Seminars (January-February 1996).

“How to Terminate the Attorney-Client Relationship Without Getting Sued,” Colorado Bar Association and CBA/CLE in Colorado, Inc., Legal Malpractice Prevention Seminars, Fort Collins, Colorado (February 1995).

Program Chair and Speaker, “Malpractice Prevention: Detecting and Handling Conflicts of Interest Issues in a General Practice,” Colorado Bar Association Convention, Keystone, Colorado (September 1994).

Speaker with H. Tucker, “Malpractice Prevention Tips for Elder Law Attorneys,” CBA/CLE in Colorado, Inc., 1994 Elder Law Seminar (June 1994).