Related Practices

Admitted to Practice

California, 2008
U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 2011
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 2011
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 2012
U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 2012
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2012

Languages

Spanish
Thai

Michelle Bussarakum

Associate

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Los Angeles

T213.633.8621

F213.633.6899

Michelle Bussarakum defends employers in a range of single-plaintiff and class action matters, including discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, disability and wrongful termination cases. She represents clients in state and federal courts, mediations, private arbitrations, and before government agencies, including the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing, the California Employment Development Department and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Michelle also counsels clients on employment disputes, compliance issues and handbook development.

Representative Experience

Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness v. Cable News Network, Inc.

Defend high-profile class action case brought by disabled plaintiffs alleging violations of the Unruh Act and California Disabled Persons Act and seeking to compel CNN.com to provide closed captioning on website videos. (Ongoing)

Single-plaintiff mediation and settlement for Bank of America, Walt Disney Co., Countrywide and others

Successfully mediated and settled single-plaintiff cases involving claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to reasonably accommodate, retaliation and wrongful termination for large companies in banking, entertainment, media and software industries. (Ongoing)

Single-plaintiff wage and hour case for motion picture effects company

Defended single-plaintiff case brought by high-level employee alleging breach of contract and wage violations against motion picture special effects company. (2012)

Wage and hour settlement for health care services client

Successfully settled multi-plaintiff case against national health care services company involving claims of wage and hour violations. (2012)

Additional Qualifications

Associate, 2008-2011; Summer Associate, 2007 – Latham & Watkins LLP, San Francisco
Judicial Extern, Hon. Gladys Kessler, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., 2006

Professional & Community Activities

Pro-bono Attorney, Futuro College Preparatory Elementary School, Los Angeles, CA, 2012-present
Member, Thai American Bar Association

Education

J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 2008, with high honors
- Order of the Coif
- Associate, The George Washington University Law Review
- Writing Fellow
B.A., English, Human Biology, Stanford University, 2003