Michael

S.

LeBoff, P.C.

Biography

Michael S. LeBoff brings more than 25 years of trial practice to Klein & Wilson, handling and winning high-stakes trials and arbitrations.

Michael represents clients of all sizes in a wide variety of business cases, including shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes, trade secret claims, fraud, breach of contract, business torts, real estate, attorney fee disputes and legal malpractice actions.

Michael attended Loyola Law School on a full academic scholarship, graduating second in his class of nearly 400 students. At Loyola, Michael received countless academic awards and served as an editor for the Loyola Law Review.

After graduating from law school, Michael clerked for the former Chief Judge of the Central District of California, Manuel L. Real, where he saw first-hand the importance of being prepared when entering the courtroom. Following his clerkship, Michael developed his trial skills working at some of the finest law firms in Orange County where he had the opportunity to go up against Klein & Wilson in a complex joint venture litigation. Having developed mutual respect for each other’s skills and civility, Michael joined Klein & Wilson in 2016. Less than two years later, he was named the first new partner in the firm’s 25-year history.

Michael also served as in-house litigation counsel a large, nationwide financial services companies. As in-house counsel, he managed nationwide litigation and worked daily with outside counsel to develop and implement cost-effective litigation strategies. Michael also reviewed and approved outside counsel bills and reported to senior management on significant litigation activities. In this role, Michael learned the importance of billing efficiencies and litigation results.

In 2019, Michael was elected to the Orange County Bar Association’s (“OCBA”) Board of Directors and reelected to a second term in 2022. He currently co-chairs the OCBA’s Education Committee and serves on the Professionalism & Ethics Committee. Michael also served on the OCBA’s Audit Committee and chaired the OCBA’s Business Litigation and Banking and Lending sections. Michael also serves on the Ethics Committee of the California Lawyers Association.

Michael also serves on Council for the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section. Michael previously served as a co-chair of the Commercial and Business Litigation and Professional Liability Litigation committees of the ABA’s Litigation Section and co-chaired the Section’s Young Lawyers Leadership Program.

Michael frequently speaks and writes on topics relating to legal malpractice and legal ethics.

Out of the office, Michael is a husband with two daughters and one granddaughter. Michael is a die-hard Las Vegas Raiders fan, a fantasy sports athlete, and a recreational poker player.

Classes & Seminars

• Lecturer, Avoiding Misconduct in the Heat of Trial, Lawline, August 2025
• Co-Lecturer, Resolving Disputes by Arbitration: What Every In-House Counsel Should Know, Orange County Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Section, February 2025
• Lecturer, The Crossroads of Ethical Rules and Malpractice: Tips to Stay in Good Standing With the State Bar and Your Clients, Orange County Bar Association Last Dash, January 2025
• Lecturer, Attorney Billing 101 (2025 Edition), myLawCLE, November 2024
• Co-Lecturer, Guilty by Association: Vicarious Liability Theories in Business Litigation, Orange County Bar Association, Business and Corporate Law Section, July 2024
• Lecturer, Billing Tips for Young Lawyers, MyCLE, December 2023
• Lecturer, How to Ruin Your Legal Career, November 2023 and February 2024
• Speaker, Representing and Defending Lawyers at Depositions, American Bar Association, Fall 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference, September 2023
• Speaker, Get Paid: Ethical and Effective Billing Practices for Lawyers, American Bar Association, Litigation Section, April 2023

Lecturer, Demystifying Arbitration: What Really Happens and Is It a Better Option?, Orange County Bar Association, Business and Corporate Law Section, June 2022

• Lecturer, Thomas Girardi and Michael Avenatti: Lessons Learned, American Bar Association, Section of Litigation Roundtable, March 2022
• Lecturer, Eight Ways to Steer Clear of Legal Malpractice Lawsuits, Orange County Bar Association, December 2021and November 2022
• Lecturer, Avoiding ethical Pitfalls & Legal Malpractice, Orange County Bar Association, November 2021
• Lecturer; From Counsel Table to the Witness Stand, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, June 2021
• Lecturer; Growing Pains: Ethical Dilemmas for Young Lawyers and How to Deal With Them, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, May 2021
• Lecturer; Ethics and Civility in a Post-COVID World, Orange County Bar Association, November 2020
• Lecturer; Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls and Legal Malpractice When Representing Banks and Financial Services Companies, Orange County Bar Association, Banking & Lending Section, September 2020
• Lecturer; Get Paid Faster: How to Avoid and Resolve Fee Disputes in Commercial Litigation Matters, Orange County Bar Association, Business Litigation Section, June 2020
• Moderator, Keeping Your Zoom Meetings Safe (webinar), Orange County Bar Association, April 2020
• Moderator, Insights from OC In-House Lawyers During the COVID Crisis, Orange County Bar Association, April 2020
• Lecturer, How to Open the Gate or Keep it Closed, ABTL, January 2020
• Presenter and Moderator, Oops: What To Do When an Attorney or Expert Screws Up, American Bar Association, January 2019
• Lecturer, The New Rules of Professional Conduct Which Affect Small Firms and Solo Practitioners, Orange County Bar Association Small/Solo Section, 2019
• Lecturer, Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls and Legal Malpractice, Orange County Bar Association, 2019
• Lecturer, The New Rules of Professional Conduct and the Sheppard Mullin Opinion: How They Impact Business Litigators, Orange County Bar Association, Business Litigation Section, 2018
• Trial from the Client Perspective: In-House Counsel Share Insights on How to Try (and Not) Try Cases, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Annual Conference, 2018
• The Business Trial from the Client Perspective: A Roundtable Discussion of How In-House Counsel Approach Trials, Orange County Bar Association Business Litigation Section, 2017
• Ethical Issues for Banking and Lending Lawyers: A Discussion of Emerging Issues and Developments, Orange County Bar Association Banking and Lending Section, 2015
• Countering the Empty Pocket Defense and Other Tips for Settling Commercial Cases in a Bad Economy, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Annual Conference, 2013
• Negotiation for Young (and Old) Lawyers: What Every Lawyer Should Know About Making A Deal, American Bar Association 2010 Annual Meeting, and re-presented via webinar on March 18, 2013 as part of the ABA Premier Speaker Series