Michelle L. Kranz is a native of Springfield, Ohio. She is a 1993 graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law and a 1990 cum laude graduate of Miami University. She joined the firm immediately upon graduation from law school.
Michelle has a diverse civil litigation practice and works with a broad range of individuals, businesses and municipalities. She has extensive litigation experience before both state and federal courts as well as appellate court experience. She focuses her practice in the areas of pharmaceutical and product liability mass torts, anti-trust, employment law including harassment and discrimination issues, personal injury, construction and contract law, and municipal law.
Michelle is serving as Liaison Counsel for the DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant MDL. That matter is pending before Judge David A. Katz of the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division. Michelle is also part of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee on Text Messaging Antitrust Litigation pending before Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
She is an active member of the Toledo Bar Association and received its 2005 Trustees Award for professionalism in the practice of law and commitment to improving the legal profession through the Toledo Bar Association. She also received the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s 2007 District 4 Community Service Award for attorneys under 40.
Michelle served as the Secretary of the Toledo Bar Association and currently serves on the TBA’s Board of Directors. She continues to be a member of the TBA’s Continuing Legal Education Committee, Bench/Bar Committee, and Admissions Committee. She is also on the Executive Committee of the University of Toledo College of Law’s Alumni Affiliate where she serves as Chair of the Development Committee.
Michelle was a member of Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Fellow Class of 2004 and was elected to the OSBF’s Board of Directors in 2010. Membership in OSBF is by nomination and extended to outstanding Ohio lawyers and judges who demonstrate dedication to their profession and their community. There are more than 900 fellows from across the state dedicated to furthering OSBF’s mission of promoting public understanding of the law and improvements in the justice system throughout Ohio. Her 2004 Fellows Class project was designing a web based program to assist new and emerging non-profit organizations.
She is admitted to the bar in the State of Ohio, the United States Supreme Court, the Federal District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, and the United States Sixth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals. She is a member of the Toledo Bar Association, the Fulton County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the American Association for Justice and the Ohio Association for Justice.
She is married and resides in Wood County with her husband Dean and their two children. She is an avid golfer and continues to play softball. Dean and Michelle have season tickets to the Detroit Tigers.
Bar Admissions:
Ohio, 1993
U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 1993
U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1994
U.S. Supreme Court, 1998
Education:
University of Toledo College of Law, Toledo, Ohio, 1993
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 1990; Bachelor of Science – Cum Laude