Michael Mills

Licensed in both California and Nebraska, Michael J. Mills has nearly thirty years of experience in representing corporate clients and individuals in a wide array of complex commercial matters. He has been a partner in Gettman & Mills LLP since 2005.

A native of Omaha, Mr. Mills graduated from Creighton Prep in 1984, and attended college at Creighton University, graduating summa cum laude in 1988 with a B.A. in history and sociology. Mr. Mills graduated summa cum laude at the top of his class from the Creighton University School of Law in 1991. While in law school, Mr. Mills served as Research Editor of the Creighton Law Review.

Following law school, Mr. Mills joined the national law firm of Kutak Rock LLP where he focused in commercial litigation. After becoming a partner in January of 1998, Mr. Mills moved to the firm's Orange County, California office to build a commercial litigation practice for the firm in Southern California.

As illustrated below, during his career, Mr. Mills has represented businesses in a variety of areas, ranging from general corporate representation and drafting of commercial agreements, to commercial litigation, insurance coverage and intellectual property and licensing matters:

Coordinated defense of securitization trusts in twenty-four class action lawsuits in three states asserting violations of TILA and state consumer credit laws (See, e.g., Easter v. American West Financial, 202 F. Supp. 2d 1150 (W.D. Wash. 2002));

Successfully represented architect in case of first impression regarding scope of liability under Title III of Americans With Disabilities Act (Lonberg v. Sanborn Theaters, Inc., 259 F.3d 1029 (9th Cir. 2001));

Defended developer in trial court and on appeal against constitutional challenge to multi-million dollar redevelopment project, resulting in judgment in favor of developer on all claims (Greater Omaha Realty Co. v. City of Omaha, 258 Neb. 714, 605 N.W.2d 472 (2000));

Successfully defended workers' compensation insurer in appeal of $560,000 judgment arising from dispute over application of risk classification codes and premium rates (American Driver Service, Inc. v. Truck Insurance Exchange, 10 Neb. App. 318, 631 N.W.2d 140 (2001));

Served as regional counsel for a leading national medical and diagnostic testing company with over $3 billion in annual revenues with respect to its professional liability litigation in a nine state region of the Western United States, including California, Arizona, Washington and Oregon;

Represented manufacturer in negotiating and drafting intellectual property license agreements with major entertainment companies such as Disney and Universal Studios;

Represented regional music store chain with respect to contract, financing and other matters;

Represented multi-state retailer with respect to insurance issues and in negotiating consulting and other commercial agreements;

Second-chaired prosecution and trial of trademark infringement action against international manufacturer which resulted in $1.6 million jury verdict and subsequent award of attorneys' fees; and

Core member of team which successfully litigated complex breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secret claim in federal court resulting in $23.7 million jury verdict.

Areas of Practice

Business law and contracts
Insurance Coverage

Bar Admissions

Nebraska, 1991
California, 1999

Education

Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska
J.D.
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
B.A.
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Major: History & Sociology

Representative Cases

Lonberg v. Sanborn Theaters, Inc., 259 F.3d 1029 (9th Circuit 2001)
American Driver Service v. Truck Ins. Exchange, 10 Neb. App. 318, 631 N.W.2d 140 (Nebraska Supreme Court 2001)
Greater Omaha Realty Co. v. City of Omaha, et al., 58 Neb. 714, 605 N.W.2d 472 (Nebraska Supreme Court 2000)

Past Employment Positions

Kutak Rock LLP, Partner, 1997 - 2005
Kutak Rock LLP, Associate, 1991 - 1997