Hennessey, William J.

Helping people in need comes naturally to Michael Helgesen.

As a teenager, he joined the United States Navy where he was trained and served as a medic from 1961 to 1965 helping traumatically and psychologically injured soldiers, sailors and marines. He also served as a medic with the Minnesota National Guard from 1986 to 1990.

Michael attended the Universities of Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin, where he studied American literature, chemistry, anthropology and education. After receiving multiple degrees, he became a home school coordinator for Dunn, Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties in Wisconsin, eventually becoming the director for this tri-county project, helping Native Americans in the areas of education, employment and housing. In 1977, Michael and his wife, Ernestine, opened a group home for troubled Native American adolescents near Black River Falls, Wisconsin, where he also taught history, literature and mathematics at the local high school.

Michael joined the Paige Donnelly law firm after he graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 1987. He has practiced in the area of personal injury ever since. Rather than representing corporate clients, he did what came naturally to him: represent injured people. Over the years, he has become an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully tried many personal injury cases in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Michael has continued his interest in education by becoming an active member of the Minnesota Association for Justice, acting on the Board of Governors, and lecturing on pertinent legal issues. He is also an active member of the Wisconsin Bar Association. Michael is admitted to practice in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in Minnesota and Wisconsin Federal District Courts.