Michael Thomas Mills is an American lawyer practicing in McPherson, Kansas, where he is a partner in Michael T. Mills Chartered. His practice has covered general civil trial and appellate work, tort and personal injury, business and estate matters, and he is a retired captain of the United States Naval Reserve. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Kansas.
Background
Michael Thomas Mills was born on April 19, 1936, in McPherson, Kansas, a city in the central part of the state and the county seat of McPherson County. The county's economy has long been tied to agriculture, and the county seat served as the center of local government and legal business.
The city's legal profession had deep local roots. Wise & Reber, L.C., for example, was founded in McPherson in 1886 and is among the oldest law firms in Kansas, illustrating the long tradition of legal practice in the community where Mills later worked.
His education took him from McPherson to Lawrence, where he pursued undergraduate and legal studies at the University of Kansas.
Education
Mills completed his undergraduate work at the University of Kansas, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. He then attended the university's School of Law, where he received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1962. The university, located in Lawrence, is the state's flagship public research university, and its law program is one of the older legal education programs in Kansas.
Legal education at the university began in 1878 as a law department with a single faculty member, and the law school was formally established in 1893. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools.
During his law studies, Mills served on the Board of Editors of the Kansas Law Review from 1961 to 1962. The journal, a student-edited publication of legal scholarship, began in 1952 and publishes articles by law professors, judges, and practicing attorneys alongside notes written by its student editors.
Career
Mills was admitted to the Kansas bar in 1962, the year he completed his law degree. He built his legal career in McPherson, where he practices as a partner in Michael T. Mills Chartered. The 'Chartered' designation in Kansas indicates a professional corporation, a form of business organization used by licensed professionals to practice together.
His practice has covered general civil trial and appellate work, workers' compensation, tort and personal injury, business and corporate law, oil and gas, family law, bankruptcy, probate, and real estate matters. These fields reflect a general practice serving clients in central Kansas.
Mills also served as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve, the reserve component of the United States Navy whose members train part time and can be called to active duty alongside the regular fleet. He retired with the rank of captain.
Membership
Mills has belonged to the legal associations serving central Kansas, the state, and the nation. He served as president of the McPherson County Bar Association from 1982 to 1983. The Central Kansas Bar Association and the Kansas Bar Association connect attorneys in the region and the state, while the American Bar Association, founded in 1878, is the principal national association of American lawyers.
He also belonged to the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a national organization of attorneys who represent people injured by negligence and other wrongs, now known as the American Association for Justice. His membership in Phi Delta Phi, an international legal fraternity founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan Law School, dates to his legal education.
President
McPherson County Bar Association
,
United States
1982 - 1983
Central Kansas Bar Association
,
United States
Kansas Bar Association
,
United States
American Bar Association
,
United States
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
,
United States
Phi Delta Phi
,
United States
References
Martindale-Hubbell
Professional directory profile for Michael Thomas Mills, giving his membership in Michael T. Mills Chartered, his University of Kansas education, and his Kansas admission details.
Lawyers.com
Attorney profile describing Michael Thomas Mills's McPherson practice areas, University of Kansas degrees, and bar memberships.
National honor society for law school graduates, founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law and limited to students who rank near the top of their class. Mills's membership is connected with his legal studies at the University of Kansas, where the law school's chapter has existed since 1924.
National honor society for law school graduates, founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law and limited to students who rank near the top of their class. Mills's membership is connected with his legal studies at the University of Kansas, where the law school's chapter has existed since 1924.
