Michael S. Burg

During his 43-year career, Burg has been a vigilant consumer watchdog, representing thousands of individuals and helping their families overcome catastrophic injuries and immense hardship. He has taken on big pharma in multiple dangerous drug mass tort cases including Fen-Phen, Yaz/Yasmin, Ortho Evra, and Pradaxa. Burg stood up to corporate greed fighting against UBS for knowingly selling risky mortgages to investors, creating the blueprint for many similar actions by states, municipalities, government regulators, and other aggrieved investors. More recently, Burg filed a sweeping action against 28 California wineries to stop them from selling toxic wine contaminated with arsenic. In 2019, Michael Burg secured a $58.5 million dollar verdict in compensatory and punitive damage for families who had donated bodies of their deceased loved ones to the Biological Resource Center.  He represented the victims of a fraudulent scheme to illegally sell human body parts of their loved one’s bodies that were supposed to be donated for scientific and medical education and research. The verdict is one of the largest civil case results in Arizona history.

Burg is a member of the Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska bars and is an inductee into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, an honor that recognizes his lifelong dedication to representing clients at the highest level. Michael Burg is a recipient of the Clarence Darrow Award, and was inducted into the 2019 US Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices-Plaintiff. He was also recognized by Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year”  in 2018, for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs, Denver.  In 2021, Law Week Colorado named Michael Burg as Barrister’s Choice (Editorial Selection) and People’s Choice for Best Overall Litigator.  In 2024, for the 10th year, 5280 Magazine recognized Michael Burg as a Top Lawyer in two categories: Civil Litigation and Personal Injury Plaintiff.  Also in 2022, Michael Burg received the Kenneth Norman Kripke Lifetime Achievement  Award, presented by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association.  Mike Burg has been consistently recognized by Colorado Super Lawyers every year since 2006.

Burg is the author of the best-selling book, Trial by Fire: One Man’s Battle to End Corporate Greed and Save Lives, (BenBella Books 2016), a harrowing and moving account of his lifelong battle against corporate greed and corruption played out in a high-stakes courtroom drama.

Burg was admitted to the practice of law in 1976 after receiving a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Denver. He’s an Advocate and Life Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a Sustaining Fellow of the Roscoe Pound Institute and serves on the board of Denver’s Mizel Museum.

An active and committed member of his community, Burg is a noted supporter of Craig Hospital, Food Bank of the Rockies,  Toys for Tots, Make A Wish Colorado, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and the Denver Bar Association Community Action Network.