"Beginning in the fall of 1962 and continuing to this day, the Law School has been integral to my life as a lawyer and as a person. Whether in Dean Miller's folksy lectures in Torts, Tinker Bell's flights of fancy in Dr. English's Property class or Arthur John Keefe's ruminations about Baker v. Carr, those introductions to the law were in fact introductions to life as an adult. The growth opportunity that Prof John Garvey and then Dean Clint Bamberger provided when, in 1973, they asked that I become  a member of the Adjunct Faculty to preside over the basic Estates & Trust course twice a week for a "year or two" stretched into 8 years of "post-graduate" training for me as a lawyer. Whatever successes I may have had in trial or appellate courtrooms over the years, I owe, in no small measure, to preparation for and presentations to those T & E classes. Having been afforded the opportunity to serve on the Board of Visitors of the Law School for the past 21 years has provided me with  multiple opportunities to meet and become friends with members of the CUA Law School community, whether they be fellow alums, law school administrators, faculty members  or just friends of the Law School. All of these experiences have made me a better lawyer, enriched my life and, hopefully,  made me a better person.  I know I made the right decision 58 years ago to attend the Columbus School of Law  at CUA.Mr. Michael F. Curtin received his Juris Doctor degree from the law school in 1965. After serving as a Deputy Register of Wills at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, he entered private practice in 1969 with the firm of McNutt, Dudley and Easterwood. In 1975 he became a partner in the law firm of Kuder, Sherman, Fox, Meehan and Curtin where he began specializing in probate law, estate planning and trust and estate litigation. He continues in that field to the present day in the successor firm of Curtin Law Roberson Dunigan & Salans."

Mike is a nationally recognized expert in Trusts and Estate Law. He has given more than 100 lectures in continuing education in Washington, D.C. area and throughout the country. Mike has chaired the Trust and Estate Division of the District of Columbia Bar, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, D.C. Bar Client Security Fund, and a Hearing Committee for the District of Columbia Board of Professional Responsibility. In 1994, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia presented Mr. Curtin its Recognition Award for 20 years of distinguished service as the Reporter on the Advisory Committee for Probate and Fiduciary Rules.

Mike has remained connected to Catholic University Law School in many ways. He was an adjunct professor for seven years, Annual Fund Chair, and member of its Board of Visitors for more than two decades.

Pro Bono legal service has been a hallmark of Mike Curtin’s legal career. So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.), a private non-profit organization devoted to helping the marginalized and homeless of Washington, D.C., honored him with its Caring Award for his work on its behalf. The John Carroll Society presented Mike with its Pro Bono Legal Service Award for his extraordinary service to the Legal Network of Catholic Charities. In 2012, Catholic Charities bestowed on him the Empowerment Award “in celebration of his profound faith manifested in a life of service to the less fortunate in our community.” The Columbus School of Law established the “Michael F. Curtin Pro Bono Award” in 2008 that is given annually at the Law School graduation. In the words of the Dean Miles: “The range of his pro bono work and the significant portion of his professional life that he has devoted to the causes of justice, compassion and opportunity for all, have set a new standard for what it means to serve others.”

Throughout the fifty-five years of practicing law, Mike has also contributed his time and talent to many organizations and institutions. He served as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of: The Woods Academy; Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart; LeMoyne College; Woodstock Theological Center; the Ignatian Volunteer Corps; the Catholic Charities Foundation of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.; and the Law School’s Board of Visitors. In addition, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Gonzaga College High School, the D.C. Lung Association, and the D.C. Retirement Board.

In 1997, his alma mater, LeMoyne College, honored Mike with its Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2002, bestowed on him the Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Catholic University Alumni Association also honored Mike with its Achievement Award in recognition of his service to the community and to the law.