Mike began his workers’ compensation career in 1971 with the Ohio Attorney General’s Workers’ Compensation Section. As an Assistant Attorney General he represented the Ohio Industrial Commission and Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in the trial courts and appellate courts including the Ohio Supreme Court. After four years he was appointed Chief of the Attorney General’s Workers’ Compensation Section. As Section Chief he supervised a staff of twenty-four trial attorneys and served as the Chief Outside Legal Counsel for the Industrial Commission and Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Upon leaving the Attorney General’s office he joined the firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey where he practiced in all areas of workers’ compensation law, exclusively representing employers. In 1997, he and Preston Garvin formed Garvin & Hickey, LLC, which is dedicated exclusively to representing employers in all matters related to workers’ compensation.

Mike has received the Ohio Legal Center Institute Award of Merit. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Woodward & White; Business First’s Who’s Who in Columbus Law, Columbus Monthly Magazine’s Top Lawyers in Columbus and has been listed in Ohio Super Lawyers since 2004, a distinction limited to the top 5% of Ohio’s practicing attorneys.

Mike is a member of the Columbus Bar Association and Ohio State Bar Association where he serves on the Workers’ Compensation Committee. In 1996 he was appointed by the Ohio State Bar Association, and confirmed by the Ohio Supreme Court, to serve on the Workers’ Compensation Law Specialty Board. The Specialty Board was charged with the responsibility of developing and administering an examination to be taken by attorneys desiring to become certified as a Workers’ Compensation Specialist.

Mike is also actively involved in defending intentional tort actions, and is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of workers’ compensation and intentional tort. He is a regular speaker for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Self-Insurers Association, the Central Ohio Self-Insurers Association and various other groups representing the interests of employers.