Michelle Katz

Michelle Katz is the principal attorney and founder of the Law & Mediation Offices of Michelle Katz in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Katz has over 40 years of legal experience, first as a litigator and now exclusively outside the court system. She dedicates her practice to family law matters involving all aspects of divorce, cohabitation agreements, prenuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements and more.In her practice, Ms. Katz has helped hundreds of California residents resolve their complex family law issues through consensual dispute resolution processes, including mediation, collaborative law, out-of-court negotiation, and other approaches. She is certified as a Family Law Specialist by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and she has trained in mediation at the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School, at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law and with Gary Friedman and Norman Fischer at the Center for Understanding in Conflict in Mill Valley, California.In addition to her law practice, Ms. Katz regularly speaks to professional organizations about mediation and collaborative law. In addition to her selection as a a Super Lawyers, since 2010 she has been included every year in “The Best Lawyers in America” by U.S. News and World Report.  In 2015 and again in 2022, she was named "Best Lawyer of the Year in Family Law Mediation for Southern California" by U.S. News and World Report.  She holds an AV Preeminent* peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.Highly involved in her legal community, Ms. Katz is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Dispute Resolution, having served as Council member and Membership Chair of the section. She is a former president and board member of the California Dispute Resolution Council and a co-founder of the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association. She has also been very active in The State Bar of California.Ms. Katz earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in education from Cornell University. She received her law degree from the San Fernando Valley College of Law.*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.