Michon Spinelli, Esq.

About The Lecturer

Michon is a trial lawyer focused on commercial litigation, employment law, and insurance bad faith, representing claims professionals and insurance brokers. She has extensive experience litigating professional liability, complex personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, landlord-tenant, premises liability, and real estate matters. Michon has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict in federal district courts and state courts throughout Nevada and California.

While at Santa Clara Law School, she completed externships in Vietnam and Singapore. Following law school, Michon served as a law clerk at the Second Judicial District Court, State of Nevada. After her clerkship, she handled complex trials from cradle to grave at a premier plaintiff's personal injury firm in San Francisco.

Michon serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, where she chairs the Women in Law Section. She previously served as the Chair of the Business Litigation, Property, and Education sections. She is also the California State Representative for the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

Michon teaches and presents legal training extensively. She directed a six-week training program for new lawyers and a law rm management program for the Association of Defense Counsel, a trial techniques class for the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, an Intensive Trial Advocacy Class at the University of San Francisco Law School, and a class for Dependency and Delinquency Lawyers through the Bar Association of San Francisco. Michon also regularly presents to attorneys and judges through the McFetridge Inn of Court.

Representative Matters

• Secured a settlement that was signicantly less than the pre-trial demand during the trial of a wrongful termination and sexual harassment lawsuit of two restaurant employees. It was reached immediately after an impactful cross-examination of the plaintiffs by lead counsel, which established that the plaintiffs had given prior testimony in another matter which was inconsistent with claims being made in the current lawsuit.
• Twice won demurrers to a complaint led by a minor plaintiff who alleged sexual assault by the company's founder. We then drew on those rulings to secure a very favorable settlement on behalf of the company.
• Won a summary judgment on behalf of a homeowners' insurer and its employees in a series of bad faith cases arising out of four water losses at an insured's home in a six-month time period. We convinced the judge to dismiss a minor plaintiff who sought treble damages for lack of standing.
• Secured a condential settlement on behalf of a tech company which alleged that three of its former employees and the entity that hired them violated employment agreements, including theft of trade secrets and soliciting employees and clients of the tech company to move to the competing entity.
• Negotiated a signicantly reduced settlement in an insurance bad faith matter after eliciting evidence that the plaintiff had withheld critical information related to his claim. The plaintiff alleged his insurance company wrongfully denied his claim and submitted a signicant early settlement offer.

Education

J.D., magna cum laude, Santa Clara University School of Law

B.A., magna cum laude, University of Southern California