Ms. Michel is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She received her commission in 1996 and served five years as a Surface Warfare Officer onboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Ross (DD-71) and the strike destroyer, USS John Hancock (DD-981). She obtained her juris doctor from University of Miami School of Law in 2004. In 2004 she became licensed to practice in Florida as well as the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts Courts of Florida and in 2005 she became licensed to practice in Illinois.
Ms. Michel started her legal career as a prosecutor in Charlotte County and was quickly promoted to Drug Court Prosecutor and Domestic Violence Liaison Officer and given the responsibility of a felony docket.
In 2007 she joined the Tampa office of Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP where she handled matters in the areas of professional liability claims, Fair Debt Collection Practices litigation, Employment Law, Workers Compensation, and other insurance defense litigation.
In 2011, Ms. Michel opened her own practice where she focused on complex commercial litigation matters, the defense of insurance claim disputes, foreclosure defense, and administrative law matters with the Department of Professional Business Regulation. As a sole practitioner, Ms. Michel became Of Counsel to Alliance Legal Group, heading their contested foreclosure defense department and, subsequently, Of Counsel to the firm of Moriarty & Chiofalo, P.A. to introduce the foreclosure defense practice area to their firm as her specialty, and handle all trust and estate litigation and complex business litigation for the firm.
In 2016, Ms. Michel joined HD Law Partners, PA where she was tasked with opening their Sarasota Bradenton office and continuing a general civil litigation practice, where she focused on complex business litigation, personal injury, family law, and insurance claim disputes.
Ms. Michel is a co-founder and sits on the Board of Directors of Open Door Mission, a non-profit organization located in Cameroon, Africa, which offers free medical services to the local communities and schools young men and women to become physician assistants with the hope that they will provide medical services to their communities.