Introduction
Michelle was admitted to the California Bar in June, 1979. She is a full time mediator following a 30-year litigation career, handling business, insurance, personal injury, and all aspects of employment including ADA employment/access cases, FMLA/CFRA, ERISA, prevailing wage, labor code issues, PAGA, wage and hour class actions, and more. She received an "AV" rating and "Premier" status from Martindale-Hubbell Directory of Lawyers. Michelle is a member of ABOTA, a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators (IAM). She is a past President of the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA), past Chair of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), and past Chair and lawyer representative (two terms) of the Central District Delegation to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. She is a frequent author and speaker on employment, litigation and ADR issues. Michelle has also received many honors including “Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year”, Orange County Trial Lawyers, in both Employment and Business Litigation. She has also been recognized as one of The Daily Journal "Top 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California", "Top Female Litigators", “Top Labor and Employment Lawyers”, as well as one of “California’s Top 50 Neutrals”. She has been named as one of California’s “Super Lawyers,” 2004-2019, and was inducted into the Western State University College of Law Hall of Fame.
Specialties
Hobbies & Interests
Ms. Reinglass enjoys running, hiking, weightlifting, skiing, theater, reading, traveling and watching movies in her spare time.
Website
http://www.reinglassadr.com
Testimonials
Your mediation services in this case were invaluable. One of the primary factors that I believe made you so effective with this case is that you thoroughly familiarized yourself with the facts and law related to this litigation. Your attention to detail challenged both parties to explore the strengths and weaknesses of our respective cases. You prepared myself and my client to take a sober, honest look at the situation. You consistently exemplify qualities that are the most important in any mediation, with this mediation being no different. You exhibited integrity, genuine interest in a fair resolution based upon the actual situation, and an ability to earn the trust of my client during the mediation and the following months. You are a very valuable gift the both the plaintiff's and the defense bar as a mediator, and you facilitated my client finding a practical and emotional resolution to this litigation. Thank you.
- Attorney on an Employment Sexual Harassment Dispute
It was a pleasure working with Michelle. I was very pleased with the way she handled my client.
Most times the mediators are very accusatory towards the defendants, which makes them angry
and defensive, however Michelle treated my client with respect and care.
- Attorney, Long Beach, CA
This was the second difficult case that we brought to you this year, and again we want to thank you for your continued efforts to get this matter resolved. I know you worked late on a Friday at the mediation, and then managed phone calls the following Friday night to get the matter resolved. We felt like you went above and beyond in that case, working on the matter after the mediation session. With the other case, you went so far beyond the mediation that we will never be able to thank you enough. Knowing the structure of your mediation week, I cannot imagine how you found the time to continue on the case. But we are grateful for your tenacity to stick with us and get this extremely difficult case resolved.
- Attorney on an Employment Wrongful Termination/Discrimination Dispute
We all thought Michelle was terrific. Every case is different and has its own nuances, but this one required a good deal of EQ on [her] part, and [she] came through. [She] made my clients feel safe and understood, and at the end we think [her] perspective was helpful for them going forward and facilitated their putting this behind them to the extent possible.
- Attorney on a Personal Injury Sexual Assault Matter
I appreciate all her help in getting our matter resolved. I truly believe that both parties are better off. We really appreciated her diligence, flexibility and patience with us! She had a tough job and we have nothing but good things to say about her performance as our mediator.
- Attorney on a Personal Injury Assault & Battery Matter
Michelle was great at making my client at ease which helped open the door to understanding the downside of our case. She was
also tenacious in getting a settlement and when her mediator’s proposal failed she dived into the problem and saved the settlement.
- Attorney on an Employment Wrongful Termination Dispute
Ms. Reinglass was particularly helpful by calculating damages and presenting to opponent. I believe that helped close the deal.
- Attorney on an Employment/Discrimination/Wage & Hour Dispute
Michelle was very respectful in working with our clients.
- Attorney on a Warranty of Habitability Matter
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