Overview

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Michelle Brookfield is a Senior Counsel in the Firm’s San Diego office and a member of the Labor & Employment and Litigation practice groups. She focuses on defending employers against discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to accommodate, and whistleblower claims, in addition to wage and hour claims. Michelle also advises and counsels employers on issues relating to Human Resources, such as employee discipline, employee leave of absence rights, and confidentiality agreements/restrictive covenants, including reviewing and revising employer policies and agreements. Additionally, Michelle has extensive experience conducting internal workplace investigations in response to employee equal employment opportunity complaints.

Ms. Brookfield has represented many private and public entity clients, including both big and small companies, K-12 public school districts, community college districts, and California universities. She has ample experience filing Motions for Summary Judgment in employment-related matters, which often cause cases to be dismissed in their entirety. She has built a reputation for efficiently and effectively working towards her clients’ goals, whether in their daily operations or in litigation.

  • Represented individual defendant in FEHA employment case and convinced former employee’s counsel to dismiss client based on lack of evidence to support harassment claim against individual.
  • Represented a Fortune 500 big box company in an age discrimination and FEHA retaliation case. Successfully moved for summary adjudication on the former employee’s punitive damages claim. On the eve of trial, the former employee sought to settle the matter and the parties settled for an amount favorable to the company.
  • Represented a Fortune 500 healthcare company in a disability discrimination, failure to engage/accommodate, CFRA interference/retaliation, and whistleblower retaliation case (Labor Code §1102.5). Successfully moved for summary judgment based on showing the former employee could not establish the employer had notice of her disability and she was terminated from her employment due to a company acquisition and changing business needs. Former employee unsuccessfully moved for a new trial, in part, based on the then-recently decided Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. The Court was ultimately convinced the Lawson case did not change its summary judgment decision.
  • Represented one of the largest California universities in a disability discrimination and whistleblower retaliation case (Labor Code §1102.5). Successfully moved for summary adjudication on the former employee’s whistleblower retaliation claim and settled the matter prior to trial.
  • Represented a regulated public utility company in a defamation and wrongful termination case. After moving for summary judgment, the former employee quickly sought to settle the matter and the parties settled for an amount favorable to the public utility company.
  • Represented a California unified school district in two separate race and discrimination and FEHA retaliation cases. Successfully moved for summary judgment on both cases, resulting in complete dismissals of both cases.
  • Represented a California unified school district in a whistleblower retaliation case (Labor Code §1102.5). Successfully moved for summary judgment based on showing the former employee failed to show the alleged wrongdoers had notice of her alleged protected activity.
  • Second chaired a due process hearing before a panel of three administrative law judges in defense of a California unified school district’s decision to terminate a school psychologist. After a 5-day hearing, the panel voted in favor of the termination.

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

Education

  • California Western School of Law, J.D., cum laude
    • Recipient of the Faculty Scholarship
    • Member of the Public Service Honors Society
  • San Diego State University, Political Science with a minor in Business Administration

  • Included in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch™ in America for Litigation – Labor and Employment (2024)

  • Member, Lawyers Club of San Diego
  • Member, Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego
  • Member, San Diego County Bar Association
  • Member, Board of Directors, Coronado Chamber of Commerce
  • Individual Member, California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP)
    • Planning Committee Member, 2025 CMCP Annual Business Conference
  • Member, Leadership Development Committee, Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL)

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