If Michael Prince had a nickname, it would probably be “Mr. Proactive.” Whether handling a case for external clients or representing other lawyers as Carrington Coleman’s Assistant General Counsel, he encouraged everyone to share their most serious concerns up-front. This enabled him to quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of their case.

In the professional liability, contract dispute, securities and environmental cases he handled, Michael Prince was always a step ahead, recognizing potential land mines before others even suspected there was a problem. Mike’s prescient abilities—the result of assiduous research and painstaking attention to detail—were first put into practice during his active duty service as a young naval intelligence officer, briefing and debriefing air crews before and after combat missions. That experience and the uncommon knowledge and judgment it instilled in him were put to good use in the numerous cases he handled for clients involved in aircraft accidents and other products liability claims.

His proactive approach was also evident in the CLE courses he taught on ethics and best practices. In addition, he taught that regular and frequent communication with clients should be mandatory and applied it in his own practice. If anything changed in a case, if a new challenge by opposing counsel required more work or additional resources were needed, he alerted clients immediately.

After all, as he told his CLE students and law firm mentees: it’s their case, not yours; let them know what’s going on.