Michael S. LeBoff
Michael S. LeBoff brings 20 years of business trial practice to Klein & Wilson, handling and winning trials, arbitrations, and high-stakes disputes.
Mr. LeBoff attended Loyola Law School on a full academic scholarship, graduating second in his class of nearly 400 students. At Loyola, Mr. LeBoff received countless academic awards and served as an editor for the Loyola Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Michael LeBoff clerked for the former Chief Judge of the Central District of California, Manuel L. Real, where he saw firsthand the importance of always being prepared before entering the courtroom. Following his clerkship, Mr. LeBoff developed his trial skills working at some of the finest law firms in Orange County.
Michael LeBoff represents clients of all sizes in a wide variety of business cases, including shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes, trade secret claims, fraud, breach of contract, business torts, real estate, and legal malpractice actions.
A representative sample of his prior work includes:
Mr. LeBoff successfully defended a local insurance brokerage firm in an arbitration brought by a large nationwide brokerage asserting claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of a covenant not to compete arising out of the sale of a business. Not only did Mr. LeBoff obtain a complete defense verdict, but also recovered a significant portion of his clients’ attorneys’ fees and costs.
Mr. LeBoff successfully defended a local dietary supplement company in a breach of contract arbitration brought by the company’s former Canadian distributor. Mr. LeBoff not only defeated the plaintiff’s case, but got his client a 100 percent (100%) recovery on its counterclaims.
Mr. LeBoff won a jury trial in Orange County Superior Court for a national printing company in a breach of contract action. Mr. LeBoff tried the case single-handedly and obtained a judgment for 100 percent (100%) of the amount sought by his client.
Mr. LeBoff represented a local company in a legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit against his client’s former attorneys in a case involving a substantial conflict of interest. In representing his client, Mr. LeBoff defeated two demurrers, a motion to strike, two motions for summary judgment, and an anti-SLAPP motion to strike.
Despite going against a large international law firm, Mr. LeBoff obtained summary judgment for the sellers of a home in Emerald Bay against a buyer asserting claims for fraud and breach of contract. Mr. LeBoff also recovered his clients’ costs and attorneys’ fees, and successfully handled the appeal of the summary judgment ruling.
Mr. LeBoff represented a tenant in a breach of a commercial lease action. After prevailing on a demurrer in both the trial court and the appellate court, the case ultimately reached the California Supreme Court where Mr. LeBoff handled the oral argument for the defense.
Mr. LeBoff also spent a portion of his career in the client’s chair, as he served as in-house litigation counsel for ACC Capital Holdings, the parent company of large, nationwide financial services companies. During that time, Mr. LeBoff represented his client in consumer litigation, class actions, employment litigation, trade secret cases, and insurance coverage disputes. As in-house counsel, Mr. LeBoff managed nationwide litigation and worked daily with outside counsel to develop and implement cost-effective litigation strategies. Mr. LeBoff also reviewed and approved outside counsel bills and reported to senior management on significant litigation activities. In this role, Mr. LeBoff learned the importance of billing efficiencies and litigation results.
Mr. LeBoff currently serves as a co-chair of the Professional Liability Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. Mr. LeBoff previously served three years as co-chair of the section’s largest committee, the Commercial and Business Litigation Committee. He currently chairs its Ethics Subcommittee. In 2019, Mr. LeBoff was elected to the Orange County Bar Association’s (“OCBA”) Board of Directors and served as the Chair of the OCBA’s Business Litigation Section. Mr. LeBoff is also the former chair of the OCBA’s Banking and Lending Section.
Outside of the office, Mr. LeBoff is a husband and father of two teenage daughters. Mr. LeBoff coached his daughters’ T-ball and soccer teams and led his girls’ Adventure Princess Expedition. Mr. LeBoff is a die-hard Las Vegas Raiders fan, a fantasy sports athlete, and a recreational pickleball and poker player.
AVVO Rating 10.0
SuperLawyers 2018-Present
Newport Beach, California 92660
