Michele L. Maryott is an accomplished litigator and partner in charge of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Orange County office. She is a member of the firm's Labor and Employment, Class Actions, and Litigation Practice Groups.
Michele's practice focuses on complex business, employment and class action litigation. She has represented clients in a wide variety of cases, including consumer class actions, environmental and toxic tort litigation, unfair business practices and other business torts. Michele has represented employers against wage and hour class action claims, as well as discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and whistleblower claims in federal and state courts, as well as in administrative proceedings and arbitrations. As lead and co-lead trial counsel, Michele has obtained numerous defense verdicts as well as multimillion dollar awards on behalf of clients in multiple industries.
Michele is ranked in California Labor & Employment by Chambers USA, which noted that clients praise her as the “go-to lawyer for all of our most important employment litigation,” and the “first person I call.” She has been recognized by Lawdragon in its “500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers” guide. Michele was named a “Labor and Employment Star” by Benchmark Litigation and has repeatedly secured a spot on the Daily Journal’s “Top Labor and Employment Lawyers in California” and “Leading Commercial Litigators” lists, as well as its “Top Women Lawyers” list for 2018. The National Law Journal included her among the 32 lawyers in its 2019 list of “Winning Litigators,” featuring “star trial litigators” who “took on high-stakes matters and won.” Michele was also named “Litigator of the Week” by AmLaw Litigation Daily for her role in Lawson v. Grubhub, the first trial involving alleged misclassification of independent contractors in the gig economy. In 2024, Law360 bestowed upon Michele the recognition of “Trials MVP.”
Representative Matters Include:
- Represented Uber Technologies in lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts Attorney General for injunctive and declaratory relief related to alleged misclassification of drivers. Served as lead counsel in three-week bench trial which culminated in favorable settlement.
- Represented Uber Technologies in lawsuit filed by three independent transportation providers alleging misclassification. Served as co-lead counsel in two jury trials, both of which concluded with hung juries.
- Represented New Prime in class action lawsuit alleging misclassification. Served as lead counsel in bench trial which culminated in a defense ruling.
- Represented Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. in class action lawsuit regarding claims for race discrimination in connection with employee terminations. Served as co-lead counsel in eight-day jury trial which concluded with a hung jury.
- Represented technology company in confidential arbitration filed by former employee claiming retaliation, constructive discharge and breach of contract. Served as lead counsel and secured complete defense ruling.
- Represented global law firm in confidential arbitration by former partner alleging breach of contract. Served as lead counsel and secured complete defense ruling.
- Represented the City of Santa Monica in a lawsuit claiming violations of the California Voting Rights Act. Member of the trial team responsible for cross-examination of named Plaintiff Maria Loya and several expert witnesses.
- Represented Grubhub in a wage and hour class action alleging misclassification of independent contractors, failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, and failure to reimburse business expenses. Served as lead counsel in bench trial of the named plaintiff’s individual claims and secured defense ruling.
- Represented Chevron Corporation in a wage and hour class action alleging misclassification of independent contractors under federal and state law. Served as lead trial counsel in arbitration of individual plaintiff’s claims.
- Represented Hewlett-Packard in lawsuit against Oracle for breach of contract. Member of trial team for first phase bench trial to determine interpretation of contract.
- Represented Welltower in litigation against former senior officer in action alleging violation of non- competition agreement. Case settled on eve of trial.
- Represented Burkert Contromatic Corporation as lead counsel in two arbitrations involving claims for wrongful termination, sexual harassment and retaliation.
- Represented Cedar Fair in its claim for wrongful termination from its business position at the Mall of America. Obtained multi-million dollar award on its behalf.
- Represented Tenet Healthcare Corporation in wage and hour class actions alleging failure to provide meal periods and rest breaks. Defeated plaintiffs' attempt to certify class of more than 70,000 employees. Also won a unanimous affirmance in full from the California Court of Appeal in October 2012.
- Represented Sunrise Senior Living in two wage and hour class actions alleging failure to provide meal period and rest breaks. Twice defeated multiple plaintiffs’ attempts to certify meal and rest period classes consisting of more than 10,000 employees.
- Represented Wal-Mart as lead trial counsel in multiple class action lawsuits alleging gender discrimination on behalf of thousands of female employees as well as individual claims for race discrimination and retaliation.
- Represented Ports America Management in a lawsuit alleging race discrimination and retaliation against a former longshore employee working at the Port of Long Beach/Los Angeles. Defeated claims on summary judgment; judgment affirmed on appeal.
- Represented defendant engineering and testing company in toxic tort lawsuits brought by over 100 plaintiffs and putative class of property owners in which plaintiffs accused defendant of contaminating the groundwater with TCE and creating exposure to plaintiffs through vapor intrusion. Represented client in related litigation to enforce an indemnity provision entitling the client to defense costs and indemnity in the toxic tort lawsuit, which resulted in summary judgment in the client's favor and an award of more than $2 million in attorneys' fees and costs.
Michele joined the firm after earning her law degree summa cum laude from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she served as Editor in Chief of the Pepperdine Law Review. She graduated summa cum laude from Westfield State College in 1994, with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and mass communication. Michele is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of Pepperdine University School of Law, and previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County and the Board of Governors for the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.
In addition, as a volunteer deputy district attorney for the County of Orange, Michele represented the People in multiple trials, all of which resulted in guilty verdicts.
Michele is admitted to practice law in the State of California.
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Pepperdine University - 1997 Juris Doctor
- Westfield State University - 1994 Bachelor of Science
Admissions:
- California Bar