Profile
Mike Strom is a certified civil trial specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association and has been a trial lawyer with Sieben Polk, P.A., since 1985. As president and managing partner at the Hastings firm, he practices complex liability, premises liability and general personal injury in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
Mr. Strom has received many honors and awards, and he stands out as a plaintiff's personal injury attorney. From 2001 to 2009, he was an adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of Law teaching first year law students legal research, writing and analysis, and he has presented continuing legal education programs to fellow attorneys. Additionally, he is a contributor to publications of the Minnesota Association for Justice, and he has served on the association's Amicus Committee for many years.
Mr. Strom assisted in drafting the newest civil jury instruction guide while on the District Court Judges Association's attorney subcommittee. The committee was assigned to draft the guide that assists trial courts and practitioners in advising jurors of applicable laws in the case submitted to them.
He is also a certified neutral of the American Arbitration Association and serves in asbestos claims for the Eagle-Picher Industries Personal Injury Settlement Trust, and Mr. Strom routinely evaluates cases for other attorneys through the MAJ case evaluation service.
About Michael Strom
Law School: University of Minnesota Law School
Admitted: 1985, Minnesota
Professional Webpage: www.siebenpolklaw.com/content.php?content=michael_strom
Honors and Awards:
- AV-Rated, Martindale Hubbell
- Top 100 Super Lawyer, Top 40 Plaintiff Personal Injury Attorney, Minnesota Law & Politics, Twin Cities Business Monthly, and Mpls. St. Paul Magazine
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Certified Civil Trial Srecialist by Minnesota State Bar Association, and Certified neutral by the American Arbitration Association
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Co-Chair, Membership Committee, Warren G. Burger Inns of Court, St. Paul, Minnesota
- American Association for Justice
- Minnesota Association for Justice
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Master, Warren E. Burger Inn of Court
- Minnesota, 1985
- U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 1986
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1989
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1990
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- Adjunct Professor, William Mitchell College of Law, 2001 - 2009
- Evidence, Experts, and Hearsay in the Courtroom, NBI Seminars, March 2007 and April 2008
- Scientific and Expert Testimony in Federal and Minnesota State Courts, NBI Seminars, March 2007, Updated 2008
- Minnesota's New Jury Instruction Guides: The Substance and the Process, MTLA Magazine, Spring, 2007
Verdicts and Settlements:
- Obtained several recoveries for his clients in excess of one million dollars and has represented plaintiffs in Minnesota’s three largest recoveries in asbestos personal injury claims. His eight million dollar verdict on behalf of a Koch Refinery employee in 2001 stands as the largest asbestos verdict in Minnesota history. In March of 2008, he obtained a 4.6 million dollar damage award on behalf of an NSP pipefitter. Mr. Strom also heads the firm’s appellate department, and successfully defended that verdict on appeal in Newinski v. John Crane, inc., WL 1752011, Minn. Ct. App. June 23, 2009, rev. denied, Minn. Sept. 16, 2009. The jury had returned a verdict for $4,611,492.00, and had determined that Crane was responsible for 55%. Mr. Strom successfully argued in post-trial motions and on appeal that Crane was jointly and severally liable for 80% of the verdict under Minnesota law. The rulings increased Crane's liability from $2,536,320.60 to $3,689,193.00, an increase of $1,152,872.40 for his clients
- Ind. School Dist. 622 v. Keene Corp., 511 N.W. 2d 728, Minn. 1994; Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed $820,750.00 compensatory damages verdict against asbestos manufacturer for cost of removing asbestos fireproofing from Tartan high school in Oakdale, Minnesota. Court rejected manufacturer's claim that was entitled to comparative fault finding against other settled entities not at trial
- Swanson v. Timesavers, et al., 1997 WL 104917, Minn. Ct. App. March 11, 1997; Court of Appeals affirmed $766,000.00 verdict in favor of employee who lost two fingers in an industrial sander. Court rejected assertions that employee assumed the risk, that no manufacturing defect existed in the sander, and that co-employee was not grossly negligent
- Doten v. ACandS, Inc., et al., 1997 WL 118248, Minn. Ct. App. Mar. 18, 1997; Court of Appeals affirmed $1.5 Million verdict against in asbestos personal injury case, including $ 500,000.00 punitive damage award against Owens Corning Fiberglas
Representative Clients:
- Keene Corp. v. Cass, 908 F. 2d 293, 8th Cir. 1990
- Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Royal Insurance Co., 517 N.W. 2d 888, Minn. 1994
- Dodge v. Jose's American Grill, 1995 WL 25209, Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 24, 1995
- Gray v. Badger Mining Corp., 676 N.W. 2d 268, Minn. 2004
Educational Background:
- Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, B.A., 1982
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