Michael J. Stump

Michael Stump is the managing partner of the Bakersfield Office of Borton Petrini, LLP. He was raised in the Central Valley and attended high school in Lodi, California. He engaged in his undergraduate studies at the California State University, Fresno and University of California at Davis where he graduated in 1993.

After a year of construction-related employment following graduation from U.C. Davis, he attended law school and obtained a Juris Doctor degree in 1997 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California and was admitted to the California State Bar in December of 1997.

He is licensed to practice law in all of the State Courts of the State of California and admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of California. Michael is also licensed to practice law in the States of Idaho and Nebraska.

As a Bakersfield attorney, Michael has a general civil business litigation practice. He has represented clients in jury trials, court trials, mediation and binding arbitration hearings in state court.

He also has experience representing clients in connection with contractual arbitration proceedings and has served as trial counsel for several jury trials involving complex civil litigation matters. In the course of his civil litigation practice as a Bakersfield attorney, he has handled the defense of farmers, manufacturers, and businesses and has extensive experience in matters involving claims of subsurface trespass.

Michael is well-versed in matters of corporate law, including the formation of legal entities such as corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships. His litigation experience serves as a foundation for these transactional skills as he has had the opportunity to defend contracts and agreements tested by parties litigating their differences in court.

Michael also has experience as a Bakersfield attorney in partnership dissolution and legal disputes arising between partners and business associates. His diversified practice sees him representing farmers in the development of commercial photovoltaic power generation facilities, and, as part of a litigation team, successfully defending a large Kern County beekeeper sued in Nebraska.

He also has a substantial civil appellate practice, including research, brief writing, and appellate motion practice including complex legal issues of first impression. He handles matters on appeal before the California State Courts of Appeal and California Supreme Court.

In 2003, he was admitted to practice appellate law in and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and he handles federal appellate matters.

While in law school, he served as an extern for The Honorable Justice Miriam Shearing on the Nevada Supreme Court and as an extern for The Honorable Donald S. Mitchell with the San Francisco Superior Court.

Michael is an active member of the Kern County Bar Association and volunteers his time for the Kern County Probation Department, Moot Court Program, and is trained and appointed as a Temporary Judge by the Kern County Superior Court. He is actively involved in his community.

Michael is married to Jillian Fritch-Stump, and together they have two children, Jessica and Charles. He spends his free time with his family and enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and fishing. He and his family attend St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bakersfield.