To say Michelle is an academic is putting it mildly. She has a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, got her LL.B. from Queen’s University, and a Certificate in Public International Law from the Bader International Study Centre. Michelle also has a Master of Laws degree from the University of Toronto, where she wrote her masters thesis on parental alienation. Michelle won the Denis Marshall Award at Queen’s University and was elected to the University of Toronto’s Graduate Law Student’s Association

In other words, Michelle is anything but an underachiever. She articled at the firm of Kronis Rotsztain Margles Cappel, working in personal injury law, before joining Gelman & Associates as a Family Law Associate in 2008.

But don’t let any of that intimidate you. Michelle is known as a caring lawyer who really goes to bat for her clients. She also works as a volunteer at the NewCircles clinic that Lisa Gelman founded, providing free legal advice to people with low incomes.

Don’t think that Michelle’s head is always in a book either – far from it! She’s an amateur skating coach and loves to ski. She spends many winter weekends in Collingwood zooming down the slopes. She’s also a bit of a globetrotter who has visited most of Europe, as well as parts of the U.S., Thailand, and Australia. She even lived in England and Switzerland for a short time. What does she want to do next? Take a train across Canada. Still, India and Africa are at the top of her bucket list.

If Michelle were to write a song about her favorite things, she’d probably mention cheese (her favorite food) and theatre (she’s frequently an audience member.) And if there’s an Oscar Wilde play on the boards, Michelle will almost definitely be there.