Van Someren shares success with clients, colleagues

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A friendly, efficient business setting drew Michael Van Someren to Davis & Kuelthau. He’s now working hard to ensure the firm’s clients and new attorneys see the same appeal.

Van Someren received his law degree from Marquette University Law School in 2012 and joined Davis & Kuelthau’s Milwaukee office in 2014. He’s now a senior associate and member of the firm’s real estate, commercial finance and corporate practice groups.

He advises clients on commercial real estate transactions, and he’s always looking for opportunities to add value to his services.

“Oftentimes we provide extensive value to our clients merely by making an introduction that can satisfy a non-legal need,” Van Someren said. “I have seen countless instances where the value we provided through facilitating business-to-business introductions in turn positioned us as the preferred legal counsel because our efforts allowed our clients to accomplish goals well beyond their legal challenges.”

Van Someren said experienced attorneys passed this knowledge onto him, and he’s now doing the same for the firm’s up-and-coming associates.

“It has helped me have the confidence to do what is necessary to advocate for my clients and to grow my practice,” Van Someren said. “It helps give more direction in practicing law, operating a business and in growing a client base.”

To share this knowledge, he works with junior corporate associates, organizes happy hours and leads internal workshops on often-overlooked topics within the legal profession, such as marketing, invoicing and billing.

“His open-door policy allows associates to leverage Mike as a valuable resource when they are not able or willing to approach a shareholder,” said Pagette Fischer, director of marketing and business development at Davis & Kuelthau. “If there’s an opportunity for Mike to contribute value, whether internally or externally, he’s typically the first person to volunteer.”

Outside of Davis & Kuelthau, Van Someren serves on the programming committee of NAIOP, a commercial real estate organization. He’s also the finance chairman of his church, and he and his wife support several other charities. He said he couldn’t so much without his family.

“I look forward to getting more involved in community activities as my daughters grow and become more active and am excited to continue molding the future,” Van Someren said.