Michael was called to the Bar of England and Wales at Middle Temple in March of 2011 and has a full qualification certificate from the Bar Standards Board.

Criminal Law: Michael, as a civilian criminal defence lawyer, has litigated cases from the initial stages through trial and appeal. The cases have involved a variety of crimes including Assault, Battery, Theft, Aggravated Burglary, Domestic Violence and Attempted Murder. As a military lawyer, the criminal cases that he handled ranged from Absence Without Official Leave to Breach of Classified Intelligence and Murder.

Civil Law: As a civil litigation trial lawyer, Michael has handled numerous cases including those that involved Breach of Contract, Construction Defects, Fraud, Serious Personal Injury, Toxic Tort Negligence, Product Liability Negligence and Medical Malpractice.

Military Law: Michael served as Summary Court Officer in over 25 Summary Courts-Martial and was appointed as Trial Counsel/Defence Counsel in over 75 Summary, Special and General Courts-Martial. He served as President of the Board for Special Court-Martial, and as counsel in Medical Boards and Administrative Discharge Boards. Also, he served in the United States Marine Corps as the Site Judge Advocate for Marine Air Group 42 (MAG-42) and as Law of War Specialist for the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

Arbitration and Mediation: As an arbitrator and mediator, Michael has successfully handled a large number of cases over the years in matters that have involved business litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, and more.

Michael served for a number of years as a Law of War Specialist in the United States Marine Corps. In addition, he has been an active member of the Bar of the State of California in the USA.

In the United States Marine Corps, he served in combat. He served in the artillery and infantry, and later eventually to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a Judge Advocate. He maintained the ‘Law of War’ specialty as a Judge Advocate.

Michael has been a trial lawyer involved in both criminal and civil litigation. He at one point successfully handled litigation against the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) and other defendants in a case involving the abandonment of ARAMCO employees on loan to The British Petroleum Company (BP) who became prisoners and were tortured during the Iranian Revolution in 1978-79 following the fall of the Shah of Iran. (Dolan, et. al. vs. ARAMCO, et. al.)

He served for a number of years as a part-time judge in the Superior Court of California for the County of Sacramento, and for that court for many years as an arbitrator and mediator. Michael also served as a Judge Pro Tempore for a period of 7 years in the California Municipal Court in Orange County, California; and has served as the Dean of Northwestern California University.

Supreme Court of England and Wales

United States Supreme Court

United States Tax Court

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals

United States District Courts (Eastern, Central and Southern California Districts)

State of California Supreme Court

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple

Civilian Education

Degree of the Utter Bar - Middle Temple (UK)

Studied Law in England at the University of Leicester with U.S. to U.K. Law Revision at the University of Oxford/Oxford Brookes University - OXILP

B.S.L. and J.D. Western State University (USA)

LL.M. in International Taxation - Regent University School of Law (USA)

LL.M. Summa Cum Laude in International Taxation and Financial Services - Thomas Jefferson School of Law (USA)

Certificate – Medicine for Trial Lawyers - Gould School of Law, University of Southern California (USA)

Certificate – Mediating the Litigated Case - Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law (USA)

Certificate – Advanced Trial Advocacy - Fredric G. Levin College of Law, University of Florida (USA)

Certificate – Forensic Science: DNA Analysis - University of Cambridge (UK)

Military Education

United States Marine Corps Infantry and Artillery Schools

United States Marine Corps University Command and Staff College - CSRC

United States Marine Corps School of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Logistics Course

United States Army Judge Advocate General’s School

United States Naval Justice School - RLC Honor Graduate

United States Marine Corps Law of War Course

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