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
I have been practicing law for 34 years. I have been through numerous mediations during that time, with almost all of them involving employment cases. The biggest issues for my clients are they (1) want to be heard and (2) they need to be believed. When a mediator comes into the room and does not create an atmosphere where both of those things happen, it means the mediation is going to be really tough. I feel you did an excellent job of showing empathy and belief in my client’s story, and that was good. In the end, I think the failure of the mediation at your office was due to the fact it was early on and the defense was convinced we had no case. That had nothing to do with you. I appreciate the follow up you gave us, and again, it was mostly too early because the defense needed to be told the plaintiff had sufficient evidence to go to trial. Once they lost the SJ motion, the settlement happened quickly. I appreciate all your efforts and I would definitely use you again. Thanks for your hard work in this case.
- Attorney on an Employment/Discrimination 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
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
I appreciate all her hard work and perseverance on this case. She deserves a medal.
- Attorney on an Employment ADA Matter
I wanted to express my gratitude to Michelle. Her persistence and patience was extraordinary,
particularly in the face of difficult personalities. I will be glad to keep her in mind for future cases.
- Attorney, Orange County, CA
Michelle listened very well and pointed out strengths and weaknesses in our case which helped to either validate our offer or cause us to increase it.
- Attorney on an Employment Wrongful Termination matter
Michelle did a great job mediating a very tough case with a known personality.
- Attorney on an Employment Sexual Harassment Matter
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