MICHAEL NELSON
Michael Nelson is the President of Nelson Law Group LLC. Mr. Nelson represents clients in a wide range of industries, including construction, dry cleaning, property management, development, foundries, metal working and oil distribution. Mr. Nelson works with clients, consultants and regulatory agencies to contain client liability and to obtain site closure in hazardous waste cases. He has obtained successful outcomes in multi-party coverage litigation to win substantial policy benefits for a number of clients. Mr. Nelson has represented clients throughout Indiana, including the communities of Anderson, Richmond, Muncie, Greensburg, Brazil, Ft. Wayne, Evansville, Logansport, Gary, Whiting, Demotte, Ossian, Lynn, Thorntown, and Rushville, as well as Indianapolis. Mr. Nelson has also worked on behalf of local governments to investigate and remediate contaminated properties within their borders.
| Favorite Cause | Providing legal services to underserved populations. I really enjoy working for the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic where we provide basic legal services to those living within 125% of the poverty line. Also really enjoy supporting the work of the Hoosier Environmental Council which does tremendous work with few resources. |
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| What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? | Traveling. I think seeing new and interesting places and meeting new people is one of the best ways to grow as a person. |
| Inspiration | Seeing others give of their own time and energy to support others. It always reminds me there is more to do and money isn’t even necessarily a part of the equation. It is how much people care that matters and I love seeing people who care. |
| Why are you in nonprofit work? | I work in the for-profit world, but I try to remember to use some of that profit for others. |
| Hero | Here locally it is Jesse Kharbanda, Executive Director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. He is someone who could have done anything in life with a degree from the University of Chicago and Oxford University, but he choose to come here to Indiana to fight for environmental justice and protecting our environment in a state which doesn’t make that easy to do. He is a smart fighter who has taken on a tough job, which is what I really admire. |
| One thing that most people don’t know about you | Even though I grew up in California, I come from a town which is smaller than most of the towns my Indiana friends grew up in. It is possible to have a small town background in a big state like California. |
| Best piece of advice you’ve ever received | “You have to do the hard things.” No matter where you are in life, if you want to move forward, you need to take on the hardest things in front of you – don’t take the easy way out. You have to grind out the details when it is easier to shrug them off and you have to make mistakes and look like an idiot at times. In the long run you will be far better off. |
| If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? | The power to convince people to do the right thing. |