Michelle Roberts Gonzales
Partner Litigation, Arbitration, and Employment
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Overview
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Experience
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Credentials
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Insights and events
Michelle Roberts Gonzales is an experienced litigator, counselor, and internal investigator for clients facing employment issues ranging from thorny whistleblower claims to post merger integration issues.
She has defended numerous companies in wage-and-hour class actions and high-stakes individual employment lawsuits. She has also helped lead numerous internal investigations, helping clients understand and navigate difficult whistleblower and sexual harassment issues. She leads large teams across practice groups and jurisdictions in high-stakes investigations. She also regularly conducts due diligence on employment issues for corporate transactions, using her litigation and investigation experience to help clients understand and mitigate their risks.
Her most important strength, however, is her ability to get up-to-speed and to understand strategic issues quickly to help clients navigate the complicated legal and business issues that arise out of workforce management.
Michelle is a former clerk to the Honorable Dale S. Fischer, U.S. District Judge in the Central District of California. Before law school, she spent more than a decade as a reporter and editor for a prominent international news organization, covering national stories in multiple cities across the United States.
Representative experience
Represented a large aerospace company in multiple wage-and-hour lawsuits.
Won full defense verdict in a California discrimination and retaliation trial.
Won full summary judgment in a California discrimination lawsuit.
Represented one of the world's largest live event companies in multiple wage-and-hour class actions.
Led multiple sexual harassment and discrimination investigations.
Advised high-tech, medical device, and entertainment companies on employment matters, including wage-and-hour, anti-discrimination, sexual harassment, and COVID-19 policies and practices.
Represented a large retailer in multiple wage-and-hour class actions.
Led internal investigations into whistleblower claims.
Represented a television studio in multiple discrimination claims.
Conducted putative whistleblower investigations for health care and infrastructure clients.
Credentials
- J.D., Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2013
- B.A., University of Arizona, magna cum laude, 1996
- California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- Pathfinder, 2020 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)