Michael L. Ferrin enjoys the practice of law; more importantly, he likes helping people.

“It's a rewarding experience to sit down with a client to help them plan their business or their estate – for the future, and for their families,” he says.

“Especially with the recent financial downturn, clients tell me ‘I'm so glad we took the time to do this,'” he says. “It helps protect them; it helps protect their business.”

The other half involves the evaluation of client's estate planning needs, tax planning, asset protection planning and the preparation of various types of trusts, wills, powers of attorney and family limited partnerships.

These two areas – while seemingly separate – are intertwined.

“If you're setting up a business, you want to protect your personal estate as well as your company,” he explains. “If you're planning for your estate, you also want to protect and promote your business and other assets. It is important that the components of business planning and asset protection planning be coordinated with the estate planning.”

Mike is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a professional association of attorneys who are dedicated to improving the quality of legal services provided to seniors and people with special needs.

He has been practicing law since 1986 and has worked in both large and small law firms in the Phoenix and Salt Lake City areas before establishing the firm of Gibson Ferrin, PLC more than 10 years ago.

He says his interests turned to practicing law while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in English (with honors) from Weber State in northern Utah. He married his college sweetheart, Shari, and, after being offered a scholarship to Pepperdine University School of Law, headed to the pacific coastal city of Malibu, California. While at law school he served as an associate editor of the Pepperdine Law Review and was the recipient of various academic scholarships and honors.

Mike and Shari are the parents of four children – three boys and a girl. They recently became grandparents to Jack, who Mike describes as “handsome and witty, just like his grandpa.”

Mike loves spending time with his family.

At home they've created a theater room where they can watch movies or listen to music. One of his sons worked at a record store and would bring home new CDs for his family to experience. Now, the entire family is on the lookout for new and interesting music to try.

“We like jazz and folk music,” says Mike, “but we also love to explore many different kinds of music and find new things we like. Our musical tastes have become very broad.”

With or without the kids, Mike looks for opportunities to make his way to the theater room to relax listening to music.

He also likes hiking. A Saturday morning might find him and his sons making their way up to the Wind Caves at Usery Mountain Park in northeast Mesa or into the Superstition Mountains at the eastern end of the Valley. One of his family's favorite hikes was through Zion Narrows in southern Utah. They backpacked through this amazing gorge for one of the most breathtaking adventures in America.

Whatever Mike is doing, he likes to keep busy. He enjoys working through issues of complicated, or complex, business or estate planning.

“I like what I do,” he says. “I'm glad I'm doing it.”

He says he believes in “gentle reminders” for those who haven't taken the time to set up their businesses properly or made long-term plans for their estates. “We never know what's around the corner,” he says. “We should all be prepared.”