About Marilyn J. Michales

Clients looking for an advocate need look no further than Marilyn J. Michales.

As founder and principal of the firm, Marilyn is absolutely committed to serving each client with equal parts creativity and tenacity. Full of kinetic energy, Marilyn leverages her natural focus and drive to achieve the best possible results for her clients.

Marilyn has practiced law in Minnesota for 32+ years, with 30 years as a partner in private practice.

Marilyn J. Michales & Associates, P.A. was established in 2008 to focus on innovative approaches to divorce to minimize the costly, time-consuming and oft-times painful conventional litigator route many family law traditionalists rely upon.

"I like working with clients who are open to new ideas," says Marilyn, whose clients benefit from her problem-solving approach to divorce and other family law issues. "I approach each case with a fresh perspective and open mind, listening carefully to my clients to craft solutions that uniquely benefit each client and his/her needs."

Tenacious Litigator

While Marilyn strives to handle each case in the most economically efficient manner, without costly litigation expenses, she is an experienced trial attorney. Marilyn is well known in the Minnesota legal community as an aggressive and knowledgeable litigator, earning her a reputation as a fierce advocate for her clients and a tough opponent in the courtroom. For a list of Marilyn's extensive appellate court cases, please see her CV.

Education

• Juris Doctorate - William Mitchell College of Law
• Bachelor of Arts - University of Minnesota
• Negotiation Workshops - Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers - June 18-22, 2001; June 21-25, 2004
• National Institute of Trial Advocacy - 1997-1998

Professional Experience

• CURRENT - MARILYN J. MICHALES & ASSOCIATES, P.A.
• Lawyer/Founding Partner 1994-2008 HONSA & MICHALES, P.A.
• Lawyer/Founding Partner 1979-1994 DOYLE & MICHALES LAW FIRM
• Assistant County Attorney 1976-1978 Dakota County Attorney's Office

Other Professional Experience

• Law Clerk, 1973-1976, Honorable Jonathan Lebedoff, Hennepin County (retired Federal Judge Magistrate - U.S. District Court)
• Clerk, 1973, Hennepin County Municipal Court
• Instructor, 1989-1990, Advocacy Institute of Minnesota
• Instructor, 1976-1982, William Mitchell College of Law
• Instructor, 1976-1979, Inver Hills Community College Paralegal Program

Professional Memberships and Committee Participation

• Member - Douglas K. Amdahl Inn of Court, 2003-2009; Treasurer 2008-2009
• Recipient of the Minnesota State Bar Association President's Award — awarded to members of the Minnesota State Bar Association Task Force on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct: 2004
• Member - Minnesota State Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct Committee: 2001-2005
• Member - Minnesota State Bar Association Task Force on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct: 2002-2004
• Member - Planning Committee, Family Law Institute: 2004 and 2005
• Chair - Hennepin County Bar Association Eminent Domain Committee: 1998-2000
• Member - Hennepin County Bar Association Eminent Domain Committee: 1978-Present
• Co-Chair - Hennepin County Bar Association Family Law Section: 1997-1998
• Member - Hennepin County Bar Association Professional Ethics Committee: 1979-1983 and 1995-2008
• Co-Chair - Hennepin County Family Law Bar and Family Court Services Liaison Committee: 1999
• Past Chair - Minnesota State Bar Association First Committee on Domestic Abuse
• Past Chair - Minnesota State Bar Association First Committee on Child Abuse
• Past Member - National Child Abuse Resource Center, Washington, D.C.
• Past Member - Minnesota State Bar Association Task Force on Juvenile Prostitution
• Past Member - Minnesota State Bar Association Task Force on Family Violence
• Past Member - Hennepin County Family Law Executive Committee
• Past Co-Chair - Minnesota Women Lawyers Appointments Committee
• Member - Minnesota State Bar Association, Family Law Section
• Member - Hennepin County Bar Association, Family Law Section
• Member - Dakota County Bar Association
• Member - Ramsey County Bar Association
• Past Member - Minnesota State Bar Association Committee on Specialization, Family Law

Continuing Education Presentations

Eminent Domain CLE: Commissioner Panel Presentation 2006 & 2007

Financial Settlement Strategies for your Divorce Clients
June 2006 - Seminar

Minimize the Tax Consequences of Divorce in Minnesota - and Avoid Costly Surprises Later
September 2005 - Seminar

Co-Facilitate Negotiation Workshops
March 2004 - Family Law Institute

ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct: How Will These Proposed and Possibly Sweeping Changes Affect Your Life as a Family Law Practitioner?
March 2003 - Family Law Institute

Eminent Domain: Damages for Construction Related Interference
Eminent Domain Seminar, October 2002

Ethics: Practical Realities
December 2001

Asset Valuations: Guidelines for Presentation of a Valuation Case.
December 2001

Inverse Condemnations: Regulatory Takings - Palazzolo v. Rhode Island
October 10, 2001 Annual Eminent Domain CLE

Law for Social Workers, Counselors and Other Helping Professionals in Minnesota
April 1999

Pension and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
Minnesota Advanced Legal Education, April 1990

Discovery for Your Client's Sake
11th Annual Family Law Institute, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, March 1990
Advanced Legal Education, September 1988

Bridge the Gap - Minnesota Practice Handbook
Practical trial manual and workshop for attorneys, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990

Efficient Marriage Dissolution
Presenter, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, 1986

Anatomy of a Divorce Trial
Minnesota Trial Lawyers Continuing Legal Education Program - Trial skills, presentation of direct and cross examination of expert witnesses, and business and asset valuation issues, 1985

The Expert: Being One and Using One to the Client's Advantage
Family Therapy and Family Law - Improving the Relationship, April 1983

How to Interview a Child Victim of Abuse
Bench and Bar, Minnesota State Bar Association, 1980

The Role of an Attorney in Intra-Family Abuse
Realities of Dissolution - Working with Victimized Clients, Advanced Legal Education, Minnesota, 1978

Civil Remedies for Abuse Victims
Continuing Legal Education, November 1978

Incest: Confronting the Silent Crime, contributing author.
Published by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, State Program for Victims of Sexual Assault, 1978

Judicial Appointments

• Chair - Condemnation Commissions - 1978-present, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington and Dakota Counties
• Ad hoc Arbitrator - 1979-1994, Hennepin County District Court
• Ad hoc Referee - 1979-1990, Hennepin County District Court
• Guardian Ad Litem - 1979-1998, Hennepin County District Court

Instructor - Speaker - Trainer

• Speaker, New York Family Court Judges Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1980
• Speaker, International Police Women's Convention, October 1978
• Speaker, State of Minnesota, Department of Public Welfare, Child Abuse Training Team, 1978
• Speaker, Dakota County Child Abuse Seminar, Dakota County, Minnesota, 1977 and 1978
• Speaker, State of Minnesota, Department of Corrections, Regional Programs for Victims of Sexual Assault, 1977-1978
• Speaker, Dakota County Sexual Assault Law Enforcement Training, Dakota County, Minnesota, 1977 and 1978

Appellate Court Representation

• Bolitho v. Bolitho, 422 N.W.2d 29 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988)
• Boxall v. Boxall, No. C1-02-1599, 2003 WL 21384865 (Minn. Ct. App. June 17, 2003)
• Boxall v. Boxall, 2007 Minn. App Lexis 718 (Minn. Ct. App. July 3, 2007)
• Deliduka v. Deliduka, 347 N.W.2d 52 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984)
• Eidsvold v. Eidsvold, No. A03114, 2003 WL 22177728 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 23, 2003)
• Ganyo v. Engen, 446 N.W.2d 683 (Minn. Ct. App. 1989)
• Ganyo v. Engen, No. CX-01-263, 2001 WL 1124400 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 25, 2001)
• Ganyo v. Engen, No. A05-329, 2005 WL 3291223 (Minn Ct. App. Dec 6, 2005)
• Hankerson v. Hankerson, No. C8-01-1007, 2002 WL 484959 (Minn. Ct. App. April 2, 2002)
• State v. Enebak, 272 N.W.2d 27 (Minn. 1978)
• Timlin v. Timlin, No. C7-99-607, 1999 WL 970369 (Minn. Ct. App. Oct. 26, 1999)
• Timlin v. Timlin, No. C9-00-2138, 2001 WL 856257 (Minn. Ct. App. July 31, 2001)
• White v. White, No. C8-90-586, 1990 WL 167840 (Minn. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 1990)

Personal Interests

Marathon running, mountain biking, road biking, scuba diving, swimming, backpacking, trekking, triathlons, travel, reading, gardening.

* Recognized in the Martindale-Hubbell^® Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers^® for High Professional Legal Standards and Ethics. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories — legal ability and general ethical standards.

Achievements/Awards

• AV Rated^® by Martindale-Hubbell^® since 1999*
• Super Lawyer^® every year since 2002, including 2009
• Top 40 & Top 100 Family Law Super Lawyer^® since 2004
• Top 100 Super Lawyer^® since 2005
• Top 100 Female Super Lawyer^® since 2005, including 2009
• "Who's Who"^® Top 40 Family Law Attorney and "Who's Who"^® Top 100 Female Attorney