Michelle Wellnitz joined the firm’s Phoenix office in 2019 where she works as an Associate in the firm’s general counsel practice. Michelle engages in a variable practice, including community association and condominium general counsel and litigation, business law and litigation, and securities law. She has experience defending creditors, in commercial law litigation, arising from the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Prior to joining the firm, Michelle worked for a corporate transactional law firm in Santa Monica, California. She also worked for Deloitte in Los Angeles in the firm’s audit department where she specialized in private equity real estate clients. Michelle is a Certified Public Accountant in both California and Arizona.
Michelle earned her law degree from Pepperdine University where she served as the editor-in-chief of the law school’s Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary. She also externed for the honorable Stephen V. Wilson at the US District Court for the Central District of California. At Pepperdine, Michelle participated in the law school’s Investor Advocacy Clinic, which provides pro bono assistance to low-income clients in arbitrating their federal securities claims before FINRA. Prior to law school, Michelle graduated cum laude from USC where she double majored: earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from USC’s Marshall School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from USC’s Leventhal School of Accounting.
Michelle is originally from Arizona and is an avid football fan. You will find her rooting for the USC Trojans, Michigan Wolverines, and Arizona Cardinals. In the offseason, Michelle enjoys skiing, scuba diving, and traveling with her family.