Meet Mike Kraft
Partner with Quinn, Johnston, Henderson & Pretorius
I grew up in Morton, Illinois and am from a big family with four brothers. My father worked at Caterpillar from graduation to retirement as an engineer. My mother was a homemaker and went back to school to get her teaching degree when I was in high school. Our family is very important to me. My wife is Melissa and we have 4 children – two boys and two girls – the boys are Cooper (10) and Casey (3) and the girls are Claire (7) and Callie (6).
Some things you may not know about me:
- I went to The University of Illinois as an undergraduate, had a double major in Economics and Political Science. I went to University of Illinois law school, graduating magna cum laude in 1993.
- Interesting factoid: Both fellow QJHP partner, Matt Smith, and I were in the same law school class at the University of Illinois as Jesse Jackson, Jr.
- I played on the baseball team while I was at The University of Illinois.
- I became an attorney because I was interested in being a problem solver for businesses' complex issues and disputes.
- My mentors have been my parents because they have taught me what is important in life and what is not.
- My hobbies are playing baseball and basketball and following college football, college basketball and major league baseball.
- My interests are spending time with my family - attending kids' activities like little league, dance recitals, board games, school programs, and family getaways. We are planning to take the kids to Disney World this spring for first time.
- I served on the Alzheimer Association, Central Illinois Chapter, Board of Directors for 8 years - was Secretary for 4 years. I have also done pro bono legal work for the Alzheimer Association since 2000.
If I had to choose a career path again:
I would still choose to be an attorney. While some days as an attorney can be very challenging, it is very fulfilling to assist a client through a difficult legal situation or dispute, resulting in a satisfactory resolution.
