Michelle L. Roberts
Top rated Employee Benefits attorney in Oakland, California
Roberts Disability Law, P.C.
Practice Areas: Employee Benefits
Licensed in California since: 2005
Education: University of California Berkeley School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2024 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2012 - 2014 Call today:
510-899-4257
Roberts Disability Law, P.C.
66 Franklin StSuite 300
Oakland, CA 94607 Visit website
Details
From the Roberts Disability Law, P.C., in Oakland, California, Michelle L. Roberts serves residents of the greater Bay Area as well as clients all across California in important and complex legal matters pertaining to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, with an emphasis on taking on claims for disability insurance benefits. She is also well-equipped to handle myriad issues regarding employee benefits, life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability.
Ms. Roberts completed her undergraduate studies in 2002, graduating summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics/law & society and political science from the University of California, Riverside. She went on to attend the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she was the student director of the Workers’ Rights Clinic and a founding member and treasurer of the Pilipino American Law Society, as well as being actively involved in the Unemployment and Wage Claims Project.
Prior to receiving her Juris Doctor in 2005, Ms. Roberts was the recipient of the Equal Justice America Fellowship and was awarded the Prosser Prize in family law. She obtained her license to practice law in California the same year she graduated from law school – and later in Illinois – and she became admitted to practice law in the following courts:
- The United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central Districts of California
- The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- The United States Courts of Appeals for the 4th, 6th and 9th Circuits
- The Supreme Court of the United States
For her many contributions in progressing the standard of client care within her industry to greater heights, Ms. Roberts has been rated a perfect “10.0” on Avvo and hosts myriad positive client testimonials on the site as well. Furthermore, she was recognized as a Distinguished CELA Lawyer by the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA). She maintains close affiliations with prominent legal organizations such as the National Employment Lawyers Association and CELA, and she regularly publishes many articles pertaining to her legal field, as well as giving speeches and lectures across various reputable platforms.
Practice areas
Employee Benefits- 100% Employee Benefits
First Admitted: 2005, California
Professional Webpage: https://robertsdisability.com/michelle-roberts/
Bar/Professional Activity:
- BASF Judiciary Committee (2021-2023 term)
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2016
- U.S. Supreme Court, 2013
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 2006
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 2006
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 2006
- U.S. District Court Central District of California, 2006
- Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council, 2019
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2005
- U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 2014
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 2018
- Illinois, 2017
- California, 2005
- Board of Senior Editors of the ABA Employee Benefits Law Book, 2018
- Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Vice-Chair to the Employee Benefits General Committee, 2019
- Member of Bar Association of San Francisco Judiciary Committee, 2021
- Federal Bar Association, Northern District of California Chapter, Vice President, 2017
- Federal Bar Association, Northern District of California Chapter, President, 2018
- Labor & Employment Law Section's Employee Benefits Committee, Ethics Co-Chair, 2009
- Labor & Employment Law Section's Employee Benefits Committee, Welfare Plans/Benefit Claims Co-Chair, 2014
- Federal Bar Association, Vice President of Oakland and Social Media Site Administrator (N.D. Cal Chapter), 2014
- Labor & Employment Law Section's Employee Benefits Committee, Social Media committee, 2014
- Labor & Employment Law Section's Employee Benefits Committee, Diversity subcommittee, 2014
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
- Zewdu v. Citigroup Long Term Disability Plan, 264 F.R.D. 622 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (ordering discovery regarding MetLife’s conflict of interest)
- Chacko v. AT&T Umbrella Benefit Plan No. 3, 2020 WL 1984171 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 27, 2020) (granting Plaintiff’s request for discovery on independent physician consultant’s financial conflict of interest)
- Hamid v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 517 F. Supp. 3d 903 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 5, 2021) (overturning MetLife’s denial of short- and long-term disability benefits)
- Chacko v. AT&T Umbrella Benefit Plan No. 3, No. 2:19-CV-01837-DAD-DB, 2023 WL 5806455 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 7, 2023) (finding financial conflict of interest justified low-to-moderate level of skepticism in reviewing Sedgwick’s decision and procedural irregularities justified moderate level of skepticism; finding Sedgwick abused its discretion in terminating disability benefits where it failed to meaningfully consider job requirements, relied on inaccurate and misleading reasons and inadequate paper reviews, and failed to meaningfully consider plaintiff’s SSDI award)
- Dawson-Murdock v. Nat’l Counseling Grp., Inc., 931 F.3d 269 (4th Cir. 2019) (vacating the district court’s dismissal of the ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims)
- Sangha v. Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York, 314 F. Supp. 3d 1027, (N.D. Cal. 2018) (overturning Cigna’s denial of long term disability benefits to Plaintiff)
- Demer v. IBM Corp. LTD Plan, 835 F.3d 893 (9th Cir. 2016) (reversing summary judgment in favor of MetLife and finding that MetLife abused its discretion in the way that it reviewed Demer’s claim for long term disability benefits)
- Bush v. Liberty Life Assurance Co. of Boston, 130 F. Supp. 3d 1320 (N.D. Cal. 2015) (ERISA plan administrator waived defenses or objections in its motion to dismiss three counts in the first amended complaint that could have been raised in the prior motion to dismiss the original complaint)
- Barboza v. California Association of Profile Firefighters, 144 F. Supp. 3d 1151 (E.D. Cal. 2015) (granting summary judgment to Plaintiff on issue of disability plan offset)
- Hirschkron v. Principal Life Ins. Co., No. 15-CV-00664-JD, 141 F.Supp.3d 1028 (N.D. Cal. 2015) (held that plan administrator’s decision denying LTD benefits was subject to de novo, rather than arbitrary and capricious, standard of review)
- Barnes v. AT&T Pension Benefit Plan-No bargained Program, 3 F.Supp.2d 950 (N.D. Cal. July 26, 2013) (granting Plaintiff’s request for an award of fees and costs under ERISA Section 502(g)(1)).
- Barnes v. AT&T Pension Benefit Plan-Non bargained Program, 273 F.R.D. 562 (N.D. Cal. 2011) (granting Plaintiff’s motion to modify the class certification and order and leave to amend the complaint)
- Barnes v. AT&T Pension Benefit Plan – Non bargained Program, 270 F.R.D. 488 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (certifying class of pensioners)
- Schramm v. CNA Financial Corp. Insured Group Benefits Program,718 F.Supp.2d 1151 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (awarding Plaintiff long term disability and waiver of life insurance premium benefits against Hartford)
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Moot court judge for American Moot Court Association (AMCA) Golden Gate Regional, 2023
- Co-chair of Board of Directors, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, 2012
- Board of Directors, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, 2010
- Amicus brief writer for United Policyholders, 2014
- Supervising attorney at the Workers Rights Clinic program run by the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center., 2005
- Amicus brief writer for United Policyholders, 2013
Honors/Awards:
- Distinguished CELA Lawyer, California Employment Lawyers Association, 2007
- Perfect “10.0” on Avvo
- ALRP Volunteer of the Year Award, 2015
Educational Background:
- University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, B.A. – 2002, Major: Economics/Law & Society, Major: Political Science, Summa cum laude (top 2%)
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Author, ERISA LITIGATION, Fifth Edition; Ch. 17: Personal Jurisdiction (BNA 2015 Supplement); Ch. 14: Subject Matter Jurisdiction (BNA 2015 Supplement).
- Author, ERISA LITIGATION, Sixth Edition; Ch. 17: Personal Jurisdiction & Ch. 26: Disability Benefit Claims (BNA).
- Co-author of article titled, “Anatomy of an ERISA-benefit claim,” published by the Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association for Southern California ADVOCATE; Sept. 2017 Issue
- Author, ERISA LITIGATION, Sixth Edition; Ch. 17: Personal Jurisdiction & Ch. 26: Disability Benefit Claims (BNA) (BNA 2016 Supplement).
- Author, “ERISA Remedies,” published in the American Association for Justice Newsletter; July 2017.
- Senior Editor, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW (Bloomberg BNA), Ch. 14: Issues Unique to Health Care, Disability, and Other Welfare Benefit Plans & Ch. 20: Ethics, Privilege, and Related Concerns Unique to the Practice of Benefits Law (2018 and 2019 Supplements).
- Co-author: “Circuit Round-Up of Key Appellate ERISA Decisions from February-September 2019” ABA Labor & Employment Law Section, Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter, Fall 2019 issue
- Author of article titled “ERISA: Highlights of Recent Notable Cases,” published in Plaintiff Magazine (September 2019)
- Interview, “Michelle Roberts on ERISA and Disability Insurance,” Nonvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman (August 2019)
- Author, “Invisible Illness Limitations in Employer-Provided Disability Policies,” Nonvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman (March 2021)
- Author of article titled, “When Does Insurance for Single-person Business Owners Become an ERISA Plan,” ABA TIPS Employee Benefits Committee (April 2021)
- Co-author, ABA’s ERISA Survey of the Federal Circuits (2021)
- Speaker at the 46th Annual TIPS Midwinter Symposium on Insurance and Employee Benefits in Austin, TX. Topic: Attorney’s Fees in ERISA Litigation (January 2020);
- Speaker at the Joint Commission on Employee Benefits (JCEB) program, “Employee Benefits Law Update: A Year in Review,” on panel entitled “From Long-COVID to Compliance with Regulations: Trends in Health and Welfare Administration and Disability Litigation” (March 2022);
- Speaker at the Joint Commission on Employee Benefits (JCEB) program, ERISA Basics National Institute on two panels regarding Benefit Claims Administrative Procedures & Litigation (October 2023);
- Speaker at the TIPS Midwinter Symposium of Employee Benefits, ERISA, Life, Health & Disability Insurance, and Insurance Regulation on ERISA Attorneys’ Fees (February 2024);
- Speaker at the ABA Joint Commission on Employee Benefits (JCEB) 2024 Virtual ERISA Fiduciary Institute on Benefit Claim Strategies (June 5, 2024);
- Faculty Speaker for CLE sponsored by the Rossdale Group LLP: Mastering Veterans’ Benefits, Social Security, & Disability Law on May 16, 2012.
- Speaker at the ERISA Benefits Litigation: How to Prosecute and Defend an Employee Benefits Lawsuit Governed by ERISA CLE hosted by the Litigation and Tax Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco (March 2017);
- Speaker at the 14th National Forum on ERISA Litigation. Topic: Ethics and The Fiduciary Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege (March 2017);
- Speaker at the 20th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims. Topic: The Evolving State of New Remedies & Equitable Relief Under ERISA § 502(a)(3) (Feb. 2017);
- Speaker at the 19th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims. Topic: The Evolving State of New Remedies & Equitable Relief Under ERISA § 502(a)(3) (Sep. 2016);
- Speaker at the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) Webinar “The Basics of Benefit Claims” (Sep. 2016);
- Speaker at the 2016 Joint Committee on Employee Benefits ERISA Litigation National Institute conference. Topics: Discovery in ERISA Litigation—FRCP 26-34, ESI, and FOIA Requests& A Practical Guide to Ethics in ERISA Litigation;
- Speaker at 2016 Midwinter Meeting of the Section of Labor & Employment Law Employee Benefits Committee, sponsored by ABA. Topic: Interaction ERISA 502(a)(3) and 502(a)(1)(B) claims;
- Speaker at the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) Webinar “Expert’s Guide to Research” (Nov. 2015)
- Speaker at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) 2015 Annual Convention in Montreal, Canada. Social Security Section/ERISA, Health and Disability Insurance Litigation Group. Topic: Wide World of Post-Amara ERISA Remedies
- Speaker at the 2015 Midwinter Meeting of the Section of Labor & Employment Law Employee Benefits Committee (EBC), sponsored by the ABA on Benefit and Fiduciary Claims; The Impact of Procedural Issues
- Speaker at the 2014 Federal Bar Association (FBA) CLE Webinar on Disability Claims Under ERISA
- Speaker at the 2014 National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) Annual Convention on ERISA Remedies
- Faculty Speaker at the 2013 Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) Annual Las Vegas Convention on ERISA Liens;
- Ethics panelist at Midwinter Meetings of the EBC (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
- Everything Really *I*isn't *So Awful – an Overview of the Current Landscape of ERISA Preemption & Remedies; Consumer Attorneys of California (“CAOC”) Convention 2012
Industry Groups:
- All professionals with disability insurance policies through their employer.
Selections
10 Years Super Lawyers
3 Years Rising Stars
- Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2024
- Rising Stars: 2012 - 2014
Top Lists
Top 100: Northern California Super Lawyers: 2018 - 2024- Top 100: 2024 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2023 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2019 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2018 Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2024 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2023 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2022 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2021 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2020 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2019 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2018 Women Northern California Super Lawyers
