Michael L. Coates Sr., Esq.
mcoates@lacounsel1.com
714-470-2927
During the past approximate 20 years, Mr. Coates has had a dual capacity in both
business and law.
In his legal capacity, Mr. Coates has been both a litigator and contractual attorney,
having represented primarily insurance, commercial and corporate entities in various
industries, including financial, grocer, restaurant, and real estate. His practice areas
have included general commercial, Proposition 65, unfair trade practices (including B&P
Sections 17200, 17500), breach of contract, construction disputes, personal injury,
premises liability, construction defect litigation, real estate, title insurance, and
receivership matters. His transactional work centered on contract preparation and
review, outside counsel oversight, and litigation avoidance, having served as part-time
General Counsel for various California corporations.
Mr. Coates most recent endeavor is owner of Medical Lien Recovery, a business
focused on increasing the recovery of medical providers on their liens in standard
personal injury matters (not workmen's compensation). MLR services clients not just
throughout California, but nationally, and he has published articles in the California
Chiropractic Association's journal as well as in the national publication, Chiropractor
Economics. Mr. Coates also developed an upgrade medical lien for the industry, which
is being used now nationwide.
In his business capacity, Mr. Coates ran an internet web-application development
company with offices in California and Oregon, and has served as a part-time Vice
President of Operations for a variety of clients. His areas of focus have included
efficiencies in operations, risk transfer, risk avoidance, informal dispute resolutions, as
well as strategic and tactical plans and initiatives.
Mr. Coates’ unique and extensive business and legal background allows him to bring
true value and problem-solving skills to his business clients in a variety of areas.
Mr. Coates is a member of the State Bar of California, and admitted to practice in
California State and federal courts. He is the owner of Michael L. Coates Sr., Esq., a
Professional Law Corporation. Mr. Coates served on the Legal Advisory Committee of
the California Grocers Association (CGA), which represents approximately 500 retail
members operating over 6,000 food stores in California and Nevada, and approximately
300 grocery supplier companies. He is outside counsel for the Southern California
Restaurant Writers Association. He is a past member of the Risk & Insurance
Management Society (RIMS). Mr. Coates was a panelist speaking on litigation
management at the 2004 ACE-SCLA Annual Claims Exposition and Conference
presented by Claims Magazine, produced in conjunction with the Council on Litigation
Management (CLM) (formerly Society of Claim Law Associates, SCLA), the American
Educational Institute (AEI), and the International Litigation Management Association
(ILMA). Mr. Coates served on the National Technology Committee of the Legal
Marketing Association (LMA), on the Board of the Orange County LMA, has been
published on law firm marketing ROI, and was a speaker on Customer Relationship
Management by law firms at the San Francisco LMA Bay Area Tech Conference in 2004
discussing “The Human Side of CRM”. Mr. Coates has also spoken as a guest lecturer
for SCUH on ethics in medical practices in the area of personal injury cases and medical
liens.
Mr. Coates has his own professional law corporation, and has been “of counsel” with
various law firms who bring him in to assist on more complex matters. Mr. Coates was a
litigation partner at the former law firm of Arter & Hadden, and before that, was a
member of the law firms of (then) Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard; Saxon, Dean,
Mason, Brewer & Kincannon; and started his legal career with Hagenbaugh & Murphy.
He is a graduate of the L.A. County Trial Attorneys Project (TAP), which included
criminal trial work with the Fullerton City Attorney’s Office. He is a member of the State
Bar of California.
He received his B.S. in Biology in 1983 from the University of Southern California, and
his J.D. from McGeorge School of Law in 1987 while working as a member of the staff of
former Governor George Deukmejian. While at McGeorge, Mr. Coates was a Final Four
Finalist in the Moot Court Competition and was on the Law Review. He is an avid USC
Trojan, an active 17 year member of the Jonathan Club, a hacker on the golf course,
and the proud father of six children.