Motivated by injustice and a sense of fair play, Michael Cerjak handles a variety of personal injury, civil rights, and commercial litigation matters. Most recently, he has specialized in representing individuals seriously harmed as the result of substandard care, errors, or systemic deficits in nursing homes, prisons, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, but whether he represents an individual, family, or business, his goal remains the same: seek accountability on behalf of those who have been harmed by righting the wrong.
Before devoting his practice to representing individuals, families, and closely held businesses, Michael spent years representing large institutions—insurers, large corporations, and governmental entities—in commercial litigation, insurance coverage, civil rights, and personal injury cases. Having extensively defended complex cases, he is able to anticipate how the defense will approach a case, and his clients benefit from the unique perspective and reliable insight he offers in evaluating claims, negotiating settlements, and presenting cases at trial.
Michael has obtained considerable experience over his career. He has successfully obtained favorable verdicts in dozens of cases and has argued numerous appeals before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. In 2015, he participated in the 43rd Annual International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy at Stanford University, where he earned praise from top advocates for his “innate ability to communicate with jurors,” “impressive skills,” and “solid experience.” After joining the plaintiffs’ bar, Michael was nominated for and selected to serve on the Wisconsin Association of Justice’s Amicus Committee. This committee is comprised of highly trained trial attorneys working to present and highlight arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Wisconsin Court of Appeals in notable cases. In addition to his professional experience, Michael has advised students at Marquette University Law School for many years in how to prepare for and present appellate arguments at notable moot court competitions throughout the country.
Michael is listed in Best Lawyers in America for his work in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, he has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star every year since 2012, and Milwaukee Magazine has named him as a Leading Lawyer in Insurance Law. Avvo rates him as “Superb.”
In 2021, he was named a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a highly selective honorary society of trial lawyers
Outside Interests
When he’s not practicing law, Michael enjoys watching sports (especially soccer), traveling, and drinking wine with James and his wife—simultaneously, in many instances.
Publications
- Nursing Home Admission Contracts: Enforcing Arbitration Provisions, Wisconsin Lawyer, April 2016 (with others)
- Earn Your Stripes, Part 2, How to Get Through a Civil Trial, Wisconsin Lawyer, October 2015 (with others)
- Earn Your Stripes, Part 1: How to Get Civil Trial Experience, Wisconsin Lawyer, September 2015 (with others)
- Do the Mandates of the Affordable Care Act Affect the Recovery of Future Medical Expenses Under Wisconsin Law?, Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Summer 2015
- The Enforceability of the Drive-Other-Car Exclusion in Light of the Truth in Automobile Insurance Act of 2009, Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Summer 2012
- Wisconsin’s Proposed E-Discovery Rules, Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Winter 2009
- Litigating Multiparty Construction Disputes After Trinity Lutheran v. Dorschner Excavating, Inc., Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Summer 2009
- The Family-Exclusion Clause Is Ambiguous?, Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Spring 2009
Presentations
- December 2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure—Should Wisconsin Adopt?, State Bar of Wisconsin, September 2016
- Your Day in Court: Civil Trial Essentials, State Bar of Wisconsin, June 2016
- Defense Strategies to Minimize Damages, National Business Institute, October 2015
- You Can Do It! Civil Trial Essentials for Young Lawyers, State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting & Conference 2015, June 2015
- Using the Collateral Source Rule Under the Affordable Care Act to Minimize Damages in Injury Settlements, National Business Institute, October 2014
- Collecting and Preserving Evidence for a Premises-Liability Trial, Fortune 500 Client, May 2014
- Using Technology at Trial, Firm Seminar, May 2014
- Using Evidence of Healthcare Fraud in Personal-Injury Cases, WIASIU Conference, April 2014
- Litigating the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Claim, National Business Institute, March 2014
- Personal Injury 101, National Business Institute, January 2014
- Experiences in Appellate Advocacy, University of Wisconsin Law School, September 2013
- Wisconsin Tort Update, Seminar, January 2013
- Medicare Set-Asides in Personal Injury Litigation, National Business Institute, October 2012
- Auto Injury Litigation: From Start to Finish, National Business Institute, March 2012
- Taking Medicare’s Interests into Consideration, National Business Institute, October 2011
- What Is an Independent Concurrent Cause?, Wisconsin Defense Counsel, August 2011
- The Family Exclusion After Day v. Day, Wisconsin Defense Counsel, August 2011
- Wisconsin’s Timely Payment of Claims Statute Wis. Stat. § 628.46, Wisconsin Defense Counsel, March 2011
- Improving Your Legal Writing as a Young Lawyer, Marquette University Law School, April 2010
- Reflections on a Year of Practice, Marquette University Law School, October 2009