Mike has lived in Anchorage since 1965, graduating from Service Hanshew Secondary School in 1979. He graduated from Western Washington University in 1983, and Seattle University School of Law in 1986, cum laude. Upon graduation, he started his legal career litigating personal injury, and business cases, along with working on appeals with Erwin & Smith in Anchorage. After his time with Erwin & Smith, he spent 13 years trying auto and homeowner personal injury cases for Allstate, before expanding his practice to all areas of personal injury defense and bad faith litigation at Call & Hanson for the next 18 years. At Clayton & Diemer he continues to focus his practice on defending personal injury claims (auto, homeowner, malpractice, and abuse) and insurance bad faith claims. He has been named an Alaskan Super Lawyer in the area of personal injury defense since 2014.

Mike and his wife Lisa have been married for 39 plus years, and enjoy traveling and spending time with their 3 adult children and daughter-in-law, all who live in Alaska. Mike also enjoys his time hunting and fishing.