Michelle Katz, Esq.

A long time family law practitioner, Michelle Katz devotes her practice exclusively to family law matters. As a renowned specialist in this field, Ms. Katz has combined her extensive training and legal acumen with her interpersonal skills to help guide parties in difficult and emotional disputes to closure. She achieves these results through a collaborative approach, minimizing the disruption and uncertainty of litigation and bringing resolution through dialog, achieving results satisfactory to all parties involved.

Background & Education

Admitted to the California State Bar, 1978.

Chosen as 2006 Southern California Super Lawyer.

Certified Specialist in Family Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization (1986 to present).

Currently carrying AV rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

B.A., Cornell University, l964
M.Ed., Cornell University, 1965
J.D. Mid-Valley College of Law, 1977

Associations / Committees

California State Bar:

Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Consulting Group to the State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
Chair, State Bar Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution (2000-2001) and Advisor (2002 to present).
Member, State Bar Family Law Section Executive Committee, (1990 to 1994) and liaison from ADR Committee, (1999 to present).
Chair, State Bar Family Law Section Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee for Southern California, (1995 to 1997).

California Dispute Resolution Council:

President (2003)
Member, Board of Directors (2000 to present)

Beverly Hills Bar Association:

Member, Board of Governors, (1999 to 2003).
Chair, ADR Section, (1998 to 1999).
Member, Family Law Section Executive Committee, (1987 to present).

Beverly Hills Bar Foundation:

Member, Board of Directors (2001 to 2005).

Southern California Mediation Association:

Member, Board of Directors (2005 to present)

Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles:

Member, Board of Governors, (1983 - 1990).
Chair, Family Law Section, (1983-1986).

Activities

Mediation Panel, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District.

Volunteer Family Law Mediator, Los Angeles Superior Court, Central, West and Northwest Districts.

Training

Collaborative Separation and Divorce Multi-Disciplinary Training, Los Angeles, California. April 4-5, 2003 (12 hours).

A Collaborative Family Law Training With Chip Rose, Manhattan Beach, California. January 23-24, 2003 (12 hours).

Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers, Negotiation Workshop with Professor Roger Fisher, June 1996 (35 hours).

Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers, Mediation Program, Fall 1995 with Professor Robert Mnookin, Gary Friedman and Jack Himmelstein, (35 hours).

Advanced Mediation Training Program, "Communication in Mediation," Center for Mediation in Law, Mill Valley, California, November 1996 (32 Hours).

Introductory Mediation Training Program, Center for Mediation in Law, Mill Valley, California, Fall 1993 (34 hours).

Program Involvement

American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Seventh Annual Conference, Program Co-Chair, Family Track, April 14-16, 2005, Los Angeles, California.

American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Eighth Annual Conference, Program Co-Chair, Family Track, April 4-6, 2006, Atlanta, Georgia.

Panelist, State Bar Annual Meeting, "When You Mediate, Are You Practicing Law?", October 7-10, 2004

Panelist, Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association, "Interest-Based Negotiations in Collaborative Cases," July 14, 2004, Santa Monica, California.

Coach, Mediation Training, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, February 14-18, 2002.

Coach, Advanced Mediation Training, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, October 3-5, 2002.

Moderator, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Fourth Annual Conference, "Standards of Ethics for Mediators in Court- Annexed Programs --- A Report From California," April 4-6, 2002, Seattle, Washington.

Panelist, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Third Annual Conference, "The Upsides and Downsides of the Caucus in Mediation", April 26, 2001, Washington, D.C.

Coordinator and Panelist, State Bar Annual Meeting, "A Rose is a Rose is a Rose - The Many Styles of Family Law Mediation", October, 1999.

Panelist, Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Section Seminar; "Mediators and Litigators Unite - Working Together in the Dissolution Process," April 22, 1999.

Presented at the California State Bar Section Education Institute, Coronado, California, "A Guided Tour Through the Successful Family Law Mediation," December 4, 1998.

Presented at the Southern California Mediation Association 10^th Annual Interactive Conference, "The Challenging Family Law Case - Solutions Through Mediation," November 21, 1998.

Coach, Stanford Law School, Professor Dana Curtis Peterson's Mediation Seminar, January 1997, January 1998, and March, 1999.

This page was last modified in June 2007

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