Michael Helland is an associate attorney with Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. and a member of the Family Law Team. Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of New Mexico. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2017.

Michael has experience working closely with judges in districts around the metro area. Most notably, Michael clerked for the Honorable Andrew P. McCallin in Denver District Court. While serving as Judge McCallin’s law clerk he primarily served in a domestic docket where he drafted hundreds of orders ranging from decrees of dissolution of marriages, child support, and allocation of parental responsibilities. Michael was also a judicial fellow in Arapahoe County where he served on a civil docket with the Honorable Charles M. Pratt and the Honorable Elizabeth Volz.

Although Michael is newly admitted to the Bar, he has had a vast amount of hands-on experience having worked for two years in the trenches of Colorado courtrooms. He was chosen to work at CCB among several other applicants because of his outgoing personality, which is not only strong, and encouraging, but also because he exhibited a level of compassion for people suffering from the difficulties of family law disputes in a manner that was unmatched by any other applicant. Michael observed over 100 or more court proceedings during his time as a law clerk. This provides him with insight and experience into the litigation aspect of family law matters very few lawyers see in their many years of practice.

Michael was thrilled to accept a coveted spot on CCB’s domestic relations team and in doing so is guaranteed extensive hands-on training and mentorship that is not offered in many other firms whose focus is on the billable hour and who pay their associates on a commission like basis. At CCB our associates do not profit from the time they work on matters, as our focus is on providing excellent service to our client and ensuring that our client’s needs are met, their matter is well handled, and that the best of what we have to offer as a team and a firm is provided to them throughout the representation. Michael will be trained and mentored by several of CCB’s top notch attorneys. While benefiting from having his matters supervised by one or more senior attorneys, Michael bills a very low hourly rate, making his services affordable and effective to CCB clients. Because we work in teams at CCB, each client is able to receive the benefit of multiple attorneys and have the lower hourly rate attorneys or paralegals handling those tasks that are best suited for them.

While Michael’s personal and professional interests are varied, at this time his primary focus has been on establishing himself and expanding his knowledge base in the area of family law, with an emphasis on same-sex couple representation, both divorce and custody related matters. Michael understands the many special issues that surround same-sex relationships and break-ups, and he looks forward to tackling the challenges along with his clients and assisting them navigate the difficult waters of divorce/custody litigation (whether through mediation, arbitration, settlement, collaborative divorce, and/or via courtroom litigation).

Michael was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He moved to Denver in the summer of 2014 and has no plans to leave as he enjoys the city’s food and brewery scenes; however, he does miss the authentic chile from New Mexico.