Michael came to the law after a decade-long career in the hospitality industry. From 2007 to 2017, Michael was the face of the Modern Hotel Bar in Boise, where his cocktails were written up in the New York Times, GQ, Food and Wine, and Sunset Magazine, among others. Michael left the Modern in 2017 to attend the University of Idaho School of Law. Michael loved his work in the service industry and wasn’t sure exactly what he would do after law school, but hoped that with a law degree he could pivot to a career addressing some of the profound inequalities in our society. He discovered the path he would take toward that end working as a clerk at SBHT between terms at law school. In that role, Michael got his first taste of the satisfaction that comes from helping employees who’ve been victims of discrimination, retaliation, or who have otherwise been wronged, to stand up against companies with vastly greater resources.
Following two summers at SBHT, Michael externed at Legal Aid Services of Idaho in 2019, primarily representing tenants facing eviction, but gaining experience representing the interests of low-income people in a number of different contexts. Michael graduated from law school magna cum laude in 2020. Following law school, he spent two years at the Idaho Supreme Court as a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Robyn M. Brody. Michael’s work at the Court touched every area of state law and provided invaluable insight into the appellate system in Idaho, and the appellate process in general. Michael returned to SBHT after his stint at the Idaho Supreme Court, where he feels lucky every day to fight for the rights of employees.
Michael was raised in Emmett, Idaho, completed his undergraduate studies at the College of Idaho in 2006 (B.A in Music Theory and Composition, a.k.a. pre-Bartending), and has lived in Boise ever since. Michael is a person of many interests, which often arise out of nowhere and which he usually jumps into headfirst. Over the years, these have included classical music of the late twentieth century, classic cocktails of the mid-nineteenth century through Prohibition, collecting and restoring antique cast iron cookware, trail running, the botany of the Boise Foothills and surrounding areas, wild-foraged foods, and Sichuanese cooking, among other interests.