Michael Patrick O’Brien is a Catholic writer and lawyer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of his first jobs was working as a reporter for his hometown newspaper. He wrote for his college newspaper while earning a 1983 Government/Theology degree from the University of Notre Dame. He wrote movie reviews during law school at the University of Utah. Mike is a partner at the law firm of Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough. He is a mediator, advises business clients on employment issues, and represents many news media outlets on various First Amendment and publication matters. Mike is married to Vicki, a preschool teacher. They have three adult children, Erin Kathleen, Megan Mary, and Daniel Patrick, and one grandchild on the way. Erin is a second-grade teacher and her husband Adam teaches fifth grade. Megan is a professional dancer, choreographer, and movement artist. Danny is in college and an aspiring athletic trainer. Mike wrote the 2021 book Monastery Mornings, about his unusual boyhood growing up among Trappist monks in Latter-day Saint rural Northern Utah.
