About

About Us

Serving our clients since 1984, Michaelis, Montanari & Johnson is located in Westlake Village, California- a suburb of Los Angeles. With a diverse practice focused on the defense of matters in civil litigation, our attorneys are committed to providing experience and personal service to our clients at a fair and reasonable price.

The interests of our clients benefit from the experience of attorneys with a range of 15 years to over 40 years of litigation practice. Our attorneys' legal efforts are further supported by their expertise in aviation, including aerospace engineering. This enables us to understand and evaluate the factual and technical issues that can mean the difference in the outcome of the case, no matter what level of technical complexity.

We are honored to have received the highest possible rating from our peers, earning the Martindale-Hubbell rating of "AV Preeminent 5.0" as a firm, as well as Jim Michaelis and Garry Montanari individually.

While the majority of our cases are venues in the courts of Southern California, clients have engaged our firm to serve as lead defense counsel in cases venued from Hawaii to Switzerland. Utilizing the latest technologies to control costs and deliver the level of legal services our clients deserve, our firm can deliver the talent and resources required, regardless of the case's location.

Our Vision

Michaelis, Montanari & Johnson has succeeded in representing clients for over 30 years by maintaining sight of certain founding principles. Every day when working on the cases of our clients, we strive to govern our actions by remembering:

1) We provide a specific service to our clients, tailored to the individual goals for each case, be it early resolution or prosecution through trial and appeal.

2) We will do what we have promised, and promise only those things that can be delivered.

3) Our job is to investigate, evaluate, and communicate as accurately and in as timely a fashion as can be done.

4) We cannot go wrong if we are honest with our clients and with ourselves.

5) We deliver excellence by doing what must be done, and only that which must be done.

6) We provide all the above for a reasonable, fair, and agreed-upon fee.

Our goal is to resolve cases before trial as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. In cases of questionable liability, we file- and frequently win- summary judgement motions or settle for minimal amounts in relation to the risk. If there is liability exposure, we target discovery towards participation in meaningful and early mediation. However, if pre-trial disposition is not possible, we focus our efforts on a vigorous work-up for trial and potential appeal, if necessary. In California, the vast majority of civil cases are resolved prior to trial by mediation.

Team