Aggressively Advocating For Clients Since 1981
Biography
Michael D. Singer has been practicing employment law for over 25 years and has been a partner at Cohelan Khoury & Singer since 2013. He is currently a mediator with The Mediation Collaborative (michaelsingermediation.com).
Michael was co-lead counsel on several landmark wage and hour decisions, including Brinker Restaurant Co. v Superior Court (meal and rest period rights), Dilts v Penske Logistics (truck drivers' wage rights), and Vaquero v Stoneledge Furniture LLC (commission employees' wage rights). He is one of a small group of employment lawyers who have taken a wage and hour class action through trial (Dilts v Penske Logistics), resulting in a class liability finding.
In addition to certifying over two hundred class cases for settlement by stipulation, Michael has served as lead or co-lead counsel in obtaining class certification in contested proceedings against California Pizza Kitchen, Raytheon Corporation, Les Schwab Tires, Washington Mutual Bank, Wells Fargo Mortgage, Ethan Allen, Ashley Furniture, Albertson's Supermarkets, AT&T, FedEx Ground, Brinker, Penske Logistics, Catholic Healthcare West, and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Save Mart Supermarkets, Kraft/Heinz, among others.
Michael was named to the Daily Journal 2012, 2013, and 2018 list of Top California Labor and Employment Attorneys and selected to Southern California/San Diego Super Lawyers each year from 2012 through 2024.
Mr. Singer is a contributing author to California Wage and Hour Litigation (CEB 2010-2025) and the winner of the 2011 ACLEA Award for Professional Excellence in the Best Publication Category [opening chapter overview on California wage and hour law and PAGA chapter]. Michael is also a certified professional coach (Coaches Training Institute, 2002), coaching lawyers on career satisfaction.
Bar Admission
- California, 1984
- Colorado
Published Works
Honors
- Daily Journal 2012, 2013, and 2018 list of Top California Labor and Employment Attorneys
- Southern California / San Diego Super Lawyers, 2012 - 2024
- ACLEA Award for Professional Excellence in the Best Publication Category [opening chapter overview on California wage and hour law and PAGA chapter], 2011
Professional Associations
- Board Member, Legal Aid at Work
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Attorneys
Books Written
Classes & Seminars
- San Diego County Bar Association Annual Employment Conference
The PAGA Saga
November 2023 - CELA Advanced Wage and Hour Symposium
Emerging Wage and Hour Issues
Glendale, CA
April 2023 - Wage and Hour Issue Spotting for Workers Compensation Applicant Attorneys
S.F. Chapter CAAA
March 2019 - Wage and Hour Law
Legal Aid at Work, Workers’ Rights Clinic
USD, March 2019 - Rest Breaks Post-Augustus
California Employment Lawyers Association 14th Annual Advanced Wage and Hour Seminar
May 2018 - Case Law/Legislative Update
2018 Labor & Employment Conference: Updates & Hot Topics
April 2018 - Class Actions
San Diego Worker’s Rights Clinic
April 2018 - Procedural Issues and Nuts and Bolts of PAGA
Litigating PAGA Claims 2018
March 2018 - Nuts and Bolts Series: PAGA – Overview of Procedural Issues and Recent Developments
San Diego County Bar Association
March 2017 - Advanced PAGA Issues
National Employment Lawyers Association
2016 Annual Convention - Recent Developments in Wage and Hour Laws
Orange County Bar Association
Labor and Employment Section Annual Conference
June 2015 - Reviewing The California Supreme Court’s Most Active Year Yet For Wage And Hour Decisions
Consumer Attorneys of California
53rd Annual Convention
San Francisco, California November, 2014 - Wage and Hour Litigation: Impact of Recent Blockbuster Supreme Court Decisions, including an update on Duran, Ayala, Iskanian decisions
California Employment Lawyers Association
27th Annual Employment Law Conference
San Diego, California October, 2014 - Recent Developments in Class Action Law
Consumer Attorneys of San Diego
Sixth Annual Class Action Symposium
San Diego, California May, 2014 - Strategic Discovery: Truth and Consequences
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Labor and Employment Section Saturday Seminar
Los Angeles, California April, 2014 - Practical Tips from Seasoned Employment Lawyers: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Keynote Speaker: Bad Facts Make Bad Law
2013 California Employment Lawyers Annual Conference
San Jose, California October, 2013 - Federal Class Action Trial Methodology for Wage & Hour Cases
2013 Annual Mid-Year Wage & Hour Conference
Bridgeport Continuing Education
San Diego, California June, 2013 - Preparing and Taking Your Class Action to Trial, Part 2
Dealing with Post-Certification Issues and
Customizing A Successful Trial Plan
California Employment Lawyers Association
Ninth Annual Advanced Wage and Hour Seminar:
Getting To and Through a Class Action Trial
Los Angeles, California April, 2013 - Wage & Hour Law Compliance for Business Law Practitioners
Continuing Education of the Bar
UCLA, March, 2013 - Class Re-Action (Podcast Episode 1)
Current Case Issue Review
The Complex Litigator, Feb., 2013 MCLE Accredited Link.
Available at thecomplexlitigator.com - Life After Brinker
2012 Mid-Year Wage and Hour Conference:
Beyond Brinker
Bridgeport Continuing Education
San Diego, California June 2012 - Piece Rate Calculations, Cases, and Minimum Wage Class Actions
California Employment Lawyers Association
8th Annual Advanced Wage and Hour Seminar
San Francisco, California May 2012 - Brinker: The Aftermath:
Meal & Rest Breaks, Wage & Employment Law in California
Bridgeport Continuing Education
Los Angeles, California May 2012 - Brinker Podcast at CEB.Com
View from the Plaintiff’s Bar:
Post-Concepcion Cases and Strategies
American Conference Institute, September 2011
13th Annual National Forum on Wage and Hour Claims and Class Actions - Limitations of AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion; Recent Developments in
Class Certification Cases in Appellate and Trial Courts: Predominance
Rulings, Statistical ExtrapolationIssues, Decertification motions, and
Post-Certification Trial Preparation
2011 Mid-Year Wage and Hour Conference, San Diego
Bridgeport Continuing Education, June 2011 - Panel Discussion: Thirty Cases in Thirty Minutes
California Employment Lawyers Association
7th Annual Advanced Wage and Hour Seminar
Los Angeles, California April, 2011 - Wage And Hour Compliance For Business Law Practitioners
Continuing Education for the Bar
Los Angeles, California April 2011 - Panel Discussion: Bringing and Opposing
Class Certification – the Tried, the True, and the New
Consumer Attorneys of San Diego
3d Annual Class Action Seminar, October 2010 - Wage and Hour Class Action Primer
North County San Diego Bar Association, Labor
and Employment Section, September 2010 - Certification, Decertification, and Post-Certification Trial Preparation
2010 Mid Year Wage and Hour Conference, San Diego
Bridgeport Continuing Education, June 2010 - Settlement, ADR, Arbitration: Making the Call
on Which to Do and How to Get the Best Results
Once the Call Is Made (with Jeffrey D. Wohl, Esq. of
Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker)
American Conference Institute, October 2009
Eighth Annual National Advanced Forum on Wage and
Hour Claims and Class Actions - Settlement Pitfalls and Objectors (with Hon. Timothy B. Taylor,
Hon. Leo S. Pappas, Hon. Jan M. Adler, Robin A. Wofford, Esq.
of Wilson Kosmo Turner, Timothy G. Blood, Esq. of Coughlin
Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins)
Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, October 2009
Second Annual Class Action Symposium - Before the Retainer is Signed: Reality Check on the Costs of
Litigating Class Actions - After the Handshake: 10 Critical Terms in MOU’s and Settlement
Agreements to Protect the Rights of Class Members - Current Issues In Settling Wage & Hour Class Actions
2009 Mid Year Wage and Hour Conference, San Diego
Bridgeport Continuing Education, June 2009 - Assessing the Merits of a Class Action Case
Meal and Rest Period Law After Brinker
Bridgeport Seminars, Los Angeles, December 2008 - The Impact of Brinker
San Diego County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
October 2008 - Beyond the Number: Negotiating Wage and Hour Class Action Mediations
and Settlement Terms
Bridgeport Seminars, San Diego, CA June 2008 - Employment Practice Workshop for Mediators
JAMS Institute, San Francisco, March 2008 - Pre-Certification Communications with Class Members
Consumer Attorneys of California Annual Convention, November 2007 - Wage and Hour Class Actions: View From the Plaintiff’s Bar
American Conference Institute, October 2007 - Spotting the Class Action Plaintiff
San Diego County Bar Association, September 2007 - Wage and Hour Litigation Conference:
Preparing for and Excelling in Mediations
Bridgeport Seminars, June 2007 - Getting To and Through a Class Action Trial:
Class Action Trial Plans (with Hon. Ronald Sabraw, Mark Theirman,
Esq. Eve Cervantez, Esq., and David Borgen, Esq.)
California Employment Lawyers Association, May 2007 - Wage and Hour Appellate Issues
Bridgeport Seminars, January 2007 - A Behind the Scenes Look at Rest and Meal Period Issues:
Proposed DLSE Regulations, LC226.7 Cases on Appeal
San Diego County Bar Association, April 2005 - Developments in Rest and Meal Period Class Actions
Orange County Bar Association, March 2005 - Career Satisfaction, Renewal and Resilience for Lawyers and Judges
Ash Grove Group
Breakout group facilitator
October 2003 - Class Action Procedure
CK-Seminars, November 2002, December 2002, January 2003 - Enjoying the Practice of Law
Legal ReVision Seminars, April 2001 - Career Satisfaction and Fulfillment for Lawyers
Legal ReVision Seminars, November 1999