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| image = File:MikeCiresi2007-04-28.JPG
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| caption = Mike Ciresi in 2007
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| occupation = [[Attorney at law (United States)|Lawyer]]
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| website = {{URL|http://www.ciresiconlin.com/team/michael-ciresi/}}
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'''Michael "Mike" V. Ciresi''' is a prominent [[Attorney at law (United States)|trial attorney]] and was a [[Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party|Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party]] candidate for the [[United States Senate]] from [[Minnesota]]. He dropped out on March 10, 2008. Ciresi gained his public reputation by litigating several high-profile [[mass tort]] cases. Ciresi is the former Chairman of the Executive Board of the Minneapolis firm [[Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi]] LLP, a 250-lawyer firm he joined in 1971. He left in 2015 to form his own firm.<ref name = MP>Wahlberg, Adam, [https://www.minnpost.com/business/2015/01/mike-ciresi-breaks-himself/ "Mike Ciresi breaks up with himself"], ''[[MinnPost]]'', January 7, 2015.</ref>

==Role in Minnesota lawsuit against Big Tobacco==
He was counsel to the State of Minnesota and [[Blue Cross and Blue Shield]] of Minnesota against the [[United States|American]] [[tobacco industry]], suing in 1994 as the second of eventually 46 states to join in the [[tobacco litigation]]. Ciresi's [[Minneapolis]] law firm, [[Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rkmc.com|title=Robins Kaplan LLP|website=Robins Kaplan LLP Law Firm}}</ref> of which he was the chair, settled with the tobacco companies in 1998 with an agreement for the tobacco defendants to pay the state of Minnesota $6 billion. The law firm donated $30 million to the Minneapolis Foundation in 1998, a contribution made possible by the settlement fee; at the time, the gift was thought to be the largest contribution from a law firm to a community foundation. Ciresis has been on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, the University of St. Thomas, and on the Board of Governors of the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He has served on the board of Regions Hospital Foundation and Minnesota Early Learning Foundation.

Ciresi's law firm was mentioned in the press for the legal fees collected in the 1998 tobacco settlement, variously reported as between $440 million and $558 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0514/134.html|title=Tobacco Lawyers}}</ref> The fees were to be paid over two years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1036630492127}}</ref> in contrast to the 25-year annual payment scheme used to pay the plaintiffs of the case, the State of Minnesota. The fees were funded directly by tobacco companies.

As a result of the 1998 Minnesota tobacco settlement, Ciresi came to be known as a wealthy man and philanthropist, appearing regularly in the national and local press.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} According to ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine, with Ciresi among the highest-paid lawyers in the USA, "Cigarette money alone put these ten lawyers on the top-earning list—and it's likely to keep them there for the next 25 years." The magazine listed Ciresi's personal annual income at $14.4 million in 2000. ''Forbes'' speculated that Ciresi would use his newfound wealth and prominence to run for political office,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0514/134.html|title=Tobacco Lawyers}}</ref> which soon proved correct.

==Other famous cases==
Ciresi served as counsel to the Government of [[India]] against [[Union Carbide]] over the [[Bhopal disaster|Bhopal catastrophe]]. He was counsel to women rendered infertile by the [[Copper 7]] [[IUD]] and to the families of women killed by the [[Dalkon Shield]] IUD.

==U.S. Senate run==
Ciresi ran in the [[2000 U.S. Senate election|2000]] Senate primary for the [[Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party|Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party]] (DFL), spending several million dollars of his own money on the campaign. Ciresi ran as a self-described progressive moderate, and was endorsed by the [[Sierra Club]] and the Minnesota Nurses' Association. Ciresi was handily defeated by [[Mark Dayton]], an heir to the founders of [[Target Corporation]], in the four-way DFL primary. Dayton then came from behind in the polls to defeat first-term incumbent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Senator [[Rod Grams]] in the general election.

Dayton announced in early 2005 that he would not seek a second term.<ref>Michael Khoo, [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/02/09_khoom_dayton/ "Dayton won't seek re-election as Minnesota U.S. senator"], ''[[Minnesota Public Radio]]'', February 9, 2005.</ref> Although Ciresi indicated an interest in the race and registered the domain name ciresiforsenate.com within 48 hours of Dayton's announcement, he announced on February 7 that he would not seek the nomination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/587/story/232572.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215224311/http://www.startribune.com/587/story/232572.html|archive-date=2006-02-15|title=The latest from the StarTribune}}</ref>
He would have faced [[Hennepin County, Minnesota|Hennepin County]] district attorney [[Amy Klobuchar]] and [[Ford Bell]] in the DFL primary.

On April 18, 2007, Ciresi announced that he would seek the DFL endorsement] for the Senate seat held by [[Norm Coleman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/04/18/ciresi/|title=Ciresi announces run for U.S. Senate}}</ref> Other Democrats in the race included author and satirist [[Al Franken]], [[professor]] and [[author]] [[Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer]], and [[Human Rights|Human Rights Activist]] [[Jim Cohen]]. On March 10, 2008, Ciresi announced his withdrawal from the primary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/16463506.html|title=Ciresi in parting: Choose wisely}}</ref>

On June 7, 2008, the Minnesota DFL endorsed Franken. Ciresi was widely reported on June 11 as saying he was "leaving all options on the table" when questioned about a possible primary run against Franken.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/19630619.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612144429/http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/19630619.html|archive-date=2008-06-12}}</ref> But Ciresi eventually dropped out of the race without challenging Franken in the primary.

==References==
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[[Category:Minnesota lawyers]]
[[Category:Minnesota Democrats]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Bhopal disaster]]
[[Category:University of Minnesota Law School alumni]]

Michael V. Ciresi - Revision history

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