Shortly after Michele retired as partner in a major Canadian law firm after 40 years of practice, Michele and Katherine were lucky enough to meet at a women’s conference at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, their law school alma mater. They quickly developed a bond together, and Michele decided to join Leibowitz Law as Of Counsel and to turn her drafting and negotiating skills to the area of life sciences. Michele has always enjoyed learning new areas during her legal career, from arbitration to mergers and acquisitions, from bank lending to securitizations, from cross-border leasing to structured finance and CDOs. So it was with enthusiasm that she took up the opportunity in 2016 to plunge into the life sciences with Katherine, and it has been a very rewarding experience for both of them. At Leibowitz Law, Michele focuses on clinical trials. Working with Katherine, Michele has developed particular expertise in the complex drafting of indemnification and subject injury provisions.
Michele’s cross-border practice working on transactions in multiple jurisdictions during her fifteen years in the Paris office of Shearman & Sterling and during her seven years as the partner in charge of financial services at the New York office of the Canadian law firm, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt has given her very useful skills in analyzing and implementing agreements for international clinical studies.
Michele was the head of the Financial Services Practice Group in the New York office of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, a major Canadian law firm where her experience covered a wide spectrum of both domestic and cross-border financing transactions.
Prior to joining Osler, Michele practiced for more than two decades at Shearman & Sterling in both their New York and Paris offices, and at a boutique securitization and structured finance firm.
While practicing, Michele also held a position for several years as Lecturer in Law at the University of Virginia Law School and in France, taught courses on law and business at two prestigious French business schools.
Michele is member of the New York Bar and an inactive member of the Bars in Pennsylvania, D.C. and Paris, France (Avocat au Barreau de Paris).
Michele clerked for the Hon. James A. Belson in the District of Columbia.
American by birth, Michele married the French son of her French father’s good friend from the 1930s (marriage was many years later). Michele is totally bilingual.
Michele lived in Paris for fifteen years and now spends part of the year working out of her French home.
Michele moved back to New York when her husband was appointed Under Secretary General in Charge of Peacekeeping at the United Nations and loves accompanying her husband to international conferences on foreign affairs.
Michele is fluent in Italian and is part of a small group reading Dante’s Divine Comedy in the original while discussing it in modern Italian.
Michele likes spinning, hiking and taking long walks in Central Park.
Université de Paris I – D.E.S.S., droit du commerce extérieure et de fiscalité internationale, mention assez bien
University of Pennsylvania – J.D., cum laude
Harvard University – B.A., cum laude
Lycée Français de New York – baccalauréat, mention assez bien
New York
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