Estate Planning | Probate & Trust Administration

mjacobs@smithpauley.com | (712) 255-1085

Mike is an attorney with Smith Pauley. Mike has shifted his focus to estate planning and probates, but he brings decades of varied experience and expertise to his clients, having litigated cases for plaintiffs and defendants involving claims of serious personal injury and/or wrongful death, in State and Federal Courts in Iowa and South Dakota.

Those cases included claims arising out of alleged defects in a saw guard, an electrical air freshener, a drill press, an anhydrous ammonia application process, a motor vehicle brake system, and a swimming pool starting platform. Mike has litigated cases involving allegations of bank fraud and malfeasance; failures in design of grain storage and hog confinement facilities; malpractice by insurance agencies, attorneys, accountants, and health care providers; unsafe property; insurance coverage issues; and motor vehicle negligence. He has deposed and cross-examined accident reconstruction experts, medical specialists, forensic accountants, vocational rehabilitation experts, and economists.

Education

• University of South Dakota, B.S. (1976)

• University of South Dakota, J.D. (1979)

Bar Admissions

• State of Iowa

• State of South Dakota

Professional Affiliations

• Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers (Lifetime Fellow) Iowa Bar Association

• South Dakota Bar Association

• Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys (Past Member)