Michael W. Gill »

Partner
(888) 899-5461 Tel
(608)-519-4788
(608) 784-7414 Fax
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Mike Gill joined the firm in 1982 and became a partner on January 1, 1986. Currently, his practice is limited to civil trial work in the State and Federal Courts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. During the 31 years that he has practiced, Mike has tried a variety of civil matters in the State and Federal Courts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and on occasion has handled trials in other jurisdictions.

Mike has a broad-based civil litigation practice, which includes the representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury cases, products liability cases, professional liability cases, insurance coverage litigation, and business litigation. In his more than 30 years of trial practice, Mike has successfully litigated cases in the State and Federal Courts of both Wisconsin and Minnesota and has handled well in excess of 100 trials in the State and Federal Courts, most of which were jury trials.

Mike prides himself in being a strong trial advocate for all of his clients and finds trial work to be the most enjoyable and satisfying part of his practice.

In addition to his trial practice, Mike has been asked to serve as an arbitrator and mediator in a wide variety of civil cases.

Representative Experience

• A man in his mid-40s bled to death at his home after being discharged from a rural hospital after an appendectomy. Claims were made against the surgeon and hospital staff. After a two-week trial, damages were awarded to the deceased man's family for his wrongful death caused by the negligence of the defendants.
• A gear shop was sued for allegedly making defective gears used in the marine industry. The plaintiff in the suit contended that it had incurred substantial expense, lost business profits and suffered harm to its business reputation as a result of the allegedly defective gears. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict that awarded a limited amount of damages and found the plaintiff to be 50% contributorily negligent. The verdict was a small fraction of the amount claimed by the plaintiff against the gear shop client.
• A law enforcement officer was involved in a high speed collision while responding to a fire call in a rural area. The officer was sued by the driver of the other vehicle, who contended that the officer was inappropriately responding to the fire call as an emergency. The officer sustained serious injuries of his own in the accident, including a neck fracture that limited his employment capabilities after the accident. After a jury trial of almost two weeks, the jury determined that the officer's negligence in causing the accident was minimal, and he was allowed to recover damages for his injuries.
• The parents of their deceased teenage son were sued as a result of an auto accident that took his life. The other driver, who was uninsured, claimed that the accident was caused by the negligence of the deceased teen. The 17-year-old boy who was killed in the accident was never available to testify about how the accident occurred, and there were no other witnesses to the accident, except for the other driver who sued. The issue in dispute was which driver crossed the center line before the collision. After a four-day trial, the jury determined that the deceased teenage boy was not the primary cause of the accident and the party that sued his family was denied a recovery. The parties were entitled to recover uninsured motorist benefits because their deceased son was not primarily at fault for the accident.

Litigation Percentage:

100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Wisconsin, 1982

Minnesota, 1989

U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 1987

U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit

U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1994

Education:

University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1982
J.D.

University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, WI, 1979
B.S.

Representative Cases:

Weber v. Tuck, 620 N.W.2d 730 (Minn. Ct. App. 2000)

Abraham v. General Casualy Company of Wisconsin, 217 Wis.2d 294, 576 N.W.2d 46 (1998)

Strait v. Crary, 173 Wis.2d 377, 496 N.W.2d 634 (Ct. App. 1992)

Novelly Oil Company v. Mathy Construction Company, 147 Wis.2d 613, 433 N.W.2d 628 (Ct. App. 1988)

Hime v. Muir, 128 Wis.2d 293, 381 N.W.2d 607 (Ct. App. 1985)

Henrikson v. Strapon, 314 Wis.2d 225, 2008 WI App. 145, 758 N.W.2d 205

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Featured Speaker, Closing Arguments (With Demonstration), Iowa Defense Counsel Annual Convention, 2004

Featured Speaker, Insurance Coverage, Duty to Defend and The American Rule After Reid v. Benz, CTCW Winter Conference, 2001

Featured Speaker, Employee Non-Competition Agreements, Wisconsin Bar Association Regional Convention, 1989

Professional Associations and Memberships:

International Association of Defense Counsel, 2005 - Present

Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, 2012 - Present

DRI, 2011 - Present

Wisconsin Defense Counsel

Board of Directors, 2004-2013, President, 2011-2012

La Crosse County Bar Association, 1982-Present

President, 2002-2003

Minnesota Bar Association, 1989 - Present

Minnesota Third Judicial District Bar Association

Wisconsin Bar Association, 1982-Present

Member OLR Study Committee for approximately 6 years