Michele, a California based attorney, is a valued partner at Tucker Arensberg LLP. Michele’s practice focuses on the representation of joint union-management employee benefit trust clients in ERISA litigation matters, including collection of delinquent employer contributions, withdrawal liability, bankruptcy and the defense of benefit determinations before the United States District Court. She also has represented apprenticeship trusts in claims made before Fair Employment and Housing Agency (FEHA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Michele graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree and from the University of San Francisco School of Law with a Juris Doctor (J.D.). After receiving her law degree, she practiced for two years in San Francisco and Berkeley, primarily in general civil litigation. She then practiced in San Mateo, focusing on construction and real estate litigation before beginning her ERISA practice over 18 years ago.
Presentations & Publications
- Collections Roundtable Participant in the International Union of Painters and Tapers (IUPAT) Professionals Forum held by The Painters and Allied Trades Labor Management Cooperation Initiative (LCMI), "Practice Guide for Effective Collection Strategies for Multiemployer Trust Funds". (December 2021)
- Speaker at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans' Collection Procedures Institute. (November 2021)
- "Legal Trends in Collections"
- Featured speaker at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ (IFEBP) educational conferences:
- Collection Procedures Institute (2019)
- “Legal Trends in Collections”
- 64th Annual Employee Benefits Conference (2018)
- “Significant Collection Cases”
- Collection Procedures Institute (2017)
- “Collections and Bankruptcy”
- 62nd Annual Employee Benefits Conference (2016)
- “Lessons Learned in Collections”
- Collection Procedures Institute (2016)
- “Settlements and Post-Judgment Strategies”
- 61st Annual Employee Benefits Conference (2015)
- “Trust Funds' Role in Collections”
- Collection Procedures Institute (2019)