Prior to joining LSKS, Michael was an associate with Hogan Lovells (formerly Hogan & Hartson), where his practice involved a wide range of litigation matters. Michael previously served as law clerk to the Honorable Timothy M. Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was also a judicial intern to the Honorable Allison H. Eid of the Colorado Supreme Court.

Before beginning his legal career, Michael worked as a Systems Administrator for a biotechnology company in Boulder, Colorado.

Notable Representations

Pond-S-Scapes, LLC v. NPG of Texas, L.P., et al., No. D-307-CV-201000456 (N.M. Dist. Ct. Apr. 18, 2012). Mike, Chris Beall and Steve Zansberg successfully defended a television station in a libel lawsuit arising out of a consumer-affairs report on a dispute between a homeowner and pond-construction company. The court found that the station’s account of the homeowner’s allegations was substantially true, that the plaintiffs were limited-purpose public figures based on their advertising of their construction services, and that the plaintiffs had presented no evidence of actual malice. In addition, the court ruled that the case should be dismissed as a sanction for a pattern of discovery abuses by the plaintiffs.

People v. Perrish Cox , 39 Media L. Rptr. 2148 (Colo. Dist. Ct. Douglas Cty. June 22, 2011). Mike and Steve Zansberg represented Associated Press and The Denver Post in obtaining an order unsealing the redacted arrest warrant affidavit for a Denver Broncos football player charged with sexual assault. The court rejected the accused’s argument that the media lacked standing to intervene and held that the First Amendment right to inspect judicial records was not outweighed by competing interests. Mike and Steve were subsequently named two of Colorado’s “Lawyers of the Year for 2011” by Colorado Law Week based on their work on this matter.