About Us

R. Michael Ghilezan, Esq 
Founder

Michael Ghilezan’s passion for advocacy pushed him into the civil litigation field early in his career.

Mr. Ghilezan believes in a client-centered approach to the practice of law: he will listen to you concerns,  and analyze every detail of your case before advising you of your rights, so as to craft the best strategy possible based on your goals and your financial capabilities.

Confronted with excruciating wait times, clients often wonder whether they will ever see the finish line. In fact, over 90% of lawsuits never make it to trial. Mr. Ghilezan will negotiate vigorously on your behalf in order to settle your case as quickly as possible. Having honed his negotiating skills in a variety of business and employment matters, as well as non-legal environments, such as working at the United Nations, Mr. Ghilezan has the specialized skills and extensive experience to reach the right settlement for you, for significantly less time and money than it would cost to have the case tried. 

But when that cannot be achieved, Mr. Ghilezan’s excellent trial advocacy skills will ensure that you have a strong litigator in your corner to help you win your legal battle: at Ghilezan Law, we pride ourselves to be your litigation partner!

While most attorneys are terrified of actually going to trial, Mr. Ghilezan thrives in that high-pressure environment. He has been lead counsel or second chair in over 100 litigated matters, including a $6M jury verdict in a California franchise case (2018), a $360,000 judgment in a California business dispute (2017), as well as numerous battles in California, Nevada, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia Federal District Courts. To-date, Mr. Ghilezan has never lost at trial or at a final arbitration hearing.

As an aggressive franchise litigator, Mr. Ghilezan often teams up with David Levaton of Franchise Legal Support to pursue bad franchisors. Litigation brought by them played a significant part in bringing down Quick Mart Holdings Inc. (2015); 18/8 Men’s Salon (2017-2023); BurgerIM (2018-2019) and Bowl of Heaven (2019-2020).

Beyond litigation, Mr. Ghilezan studied mediation and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at Pepperdine University School of Law’s Straus Institute (ranked the best ADR program in the nation). He has applied his mediation skills in over 50 cases in Los Angeles Superior Court, first as part of the (now defunct) LASC ADR program, and then as a Mediator for the California Academy of Mediation Professionals. He has also mediated over 40 cases for the City of Los Angeles as a mediator for the City Attorney’s Office. 

Outside of the practice of law, Mr. Ghilezan is a fierce advocate for promoting human rights (in particular women’s rights and the rights of minorities) and supporting the fight for democracy in Burma (Myanmar), including having worked on three documentary films meant to raise further awareness of these issues.