Overview

Michelle has nearly two decades of experience advising some of the nation’s best-known retailers, technology companies and manufacturers on a broad range of corporate, real estate and process-improvement issues and initiatives.

As former in-house counsel at one NYSE-traded and two NASDAQ-traded companies, Michelle understands the complex commercial and regulatory challenges facing businesses whose cutting-edge offerings require flexibility, creativity and speed — online, at the brick-and-mortar store, in the warehouse and on the factory floor.

For her clients and as in-house counsel, Michelle has long maintained a strong focus on process improvement, particularly where legal-department deliverables and responsibilities overlap with supply chain, manufacturing, finance, human resources, sales, administrative, compliance, strategic planning and other corporate functions. Among other initiatives, Michelle has designed new software programs to help businesses track critical issues; developed automated, high-volume procedures to handle leases, contracts, and a broad range of licensing, service-level, production, master services, engineering services, production loan and other agreements; and created, implemented and updated policies and procedures to ensure compliance with consumer protection, product liability, environmental, and other laws and regulations.

Michelle’s productivity and efficiency initiatives have resulted in demonstrable, multimillion-dollar increases in revenue growth and rapid market expansion while simultaneously minimizing costs, tax obligations and legal exposure.

In her corporate practice, Michelle advises clients at every phase of the business lifecycle, including business formation and start up; angel, venture capital and private equity financing; and initial public offerings (IPOs), mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic initiatives. Her clients range from small and mid-sized companies with significant upside potential to household-name, multinational corporations that top the Fortune 500. Among other areas, she helps document, negotiate and close major transactions and provides ongoing guidance with respect to advertising, sponsorships, insertion orders, intellectual property, public relations, crisis management and more.

In her real estate practice, Michelle has handled thousands of transactions, leases and contracts representing millions of square feet in retail, data center, distribution, logistics, airport, office, manufacturing and other space. Michelle provides broad-ranging real estate counsel, helping clients draft and negotiate leases, development and construction agreements, purchase and sale agreements, easements, subordination and non-disturbance agreements, and related real estate and facilities documents. She works with in-house counsel to ensure timely completion of due diligence, obtain stakeholder approvals, close complex transactions, resolve zoning and land-use issues, and manage communications between real estate, construction, asset management, finance, sales and marketing, supply chain and other key teams.

In addition to her deep background in real estate, Michelle has worked with clients on the full spectrum of regulatory issues, including compliance with consumer protection, environmental, and other laws and regulations, as well as policy development and government relations. She also helps clients identify and secure tax credits and other economic-development incentives.

Credentials

Education

  • Pepperdine University School of Law
    JD, 2004
  • California Lutheran University
    BS, Accounting, 2001

Admissions

  • California

Community Service

  • Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
  • Math and Science College Preparatory (founding board member), Los Angeles
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