Education: Georgetown University; University of Utah (B.A., cum laude, 1976); University of Nebraska at Lincoln (J.D., 1981).

Practice: Michael is a practicing trial lawyer in Salt Lake City. He is the Managing Partner at the law firm of Suitter Axland, PLLC and specializes in construction and real property litigation.  He is a member of the Utah State Bar and Idaho State Bar and is also authorized to appear before the United States Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. His practice focus is Litigation; Construction Law; Real Property, Appellate Practice. He has represented contractors, investors, developers, owners, lending institutions, municipalities, counties, title insurance companies, bonding companies, and casualty insurance companies.  He has tried more than 100 trials defending claims including in cases involving mechanic’s liens, easements, rights-of-way, breach of contract, property damage and personal injury claims, workmen’s compensation issues, contract disputes, bid disputes, and disputes involving compliance with bids and specifications. He has also represented insurance companies (or their insureds) in environmental litigation involving toxic cleanup, RCRA, CIRCLA, and other environmental issues.

Publications: He has published books, chapters in books, and articles concerning history and law, including “The Establishment Clause and Its Application in the Public Schools,” 59 Nebraska Law Review 1143, 1980;  “Auditing Partnership Tax Shelters: IRS Procedures and Taxpayer Liability,” 60 Nebraska Law Review, 564, 1981;  “The Territorial Judiciary: An Overview of the Nebraska Experience, 1954-1967,” Nebraska History 63 (Fall 1982), 349-380; “The Judiciary and the Common Law in Utah Territory, 1850-1861,” Dialogue 21:1 (Spring 1988), 97-108;  “Protection of Religion under the First Amendment: Church Universal and Triumphant ,” Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective, A Special Issue of Journal of Alternative Religion and Culture, (Stanford, CA: Center for Academic Publication, 1994), 119-137;  “Utah Construction Law: Recovery for Non-Payment,” Utah Bar Journal 9:5 (May 1996), 8-11; “The Judiciary and the Common Law in Utah: A Centennial Celebration,” Utah Bar Journal 9:7 (August/September 1996), 13-17; “The Precarious Balance between Freedom of Religion and the Best Interests of the Child,” in Susan J. Palmer and Charlotte E. Hardman, eds., Children in New Religions (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 199), 187-209; “New Religions in the Republic of Italy,” in James T. Richardson, ed., Regulating Religion: Case Studies from around the globe (New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publications, 2004), 203-12; “Children in New Religious Movements: The Mormon Experience,” in Eugene V. Gallagher and William M. Ashcraft, eds., Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, 5 vols. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006), I:224-242.

Community: He is Honorary Italian Consul of Utah (2007- Present) and in 2020 the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella conferred on him the Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d’Italia. Chair of the Marriott Library Advisory Board, University of Utah (2015 – Present), and member of Board of Advisors, Office of Undergraduate Advancement, University of Utah (2005-Present), He served on the Board of State History (1997-2015), Chairman (2003-2015), Board of Trustees, Economic Development Corporation of Utah (2006-2010), and Board of Trustees, Utah Opera Company (1989-1998).  He is a Fellow of the Utah State Historical Society.