Michael Sipos has been living in the Federated States of Micronesia, practicing law and raising a family for the past 23 years.
Michael started his law career in 1990 as a California trial attorney and product liability specialist at a prominent Los Angeles area law firm. He originally came to Pohnpei in 1998 on a one-year leave of absence from the U.S. at the invitation of FSM Supreme Court Chief Justice Andon L. Amaraich to serve as the Court’s General Counsel. Capitalizing on the opportunity to develop expertise in a wide range of FSM law, he eventually opted for a permanent move to Micronesia. He stayed on at the Court for three years before re-entering private practice in 2001 and establishing his own firm.
Before coming to the FSM, Michael was awarded the “AV” Preeminent peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell. According to Martindale-Hubbell, “An AV rating is a significant accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank them at the highest level of professional excellence. This rating is based upon evaluations by other lawyers and is the highest-ranking attainable by an attorney for ability and ethics in the practice of law. It is a distinction reserved for a select few in the legal community.” Michael is believed to be the only full-time private practice attorney in the FSM to have received this accolade.
In 2015, Michael received the top ranking from Chambers & Partners in the General Business Law category for the Pacific Islands.