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Michael P. LeLouis is a former Presiding Judge of the California Department of Social Services, State Hearings Division. As a Presiding Judge, he managed a large regional office responsible for thousands of administrative hearings from Kern County to the Oregon border, including the entire San Francisco Bay Area. In partnership with the private sector, Michael led a large team that procured and developed software that transformed the State Hearings Division from an archaic paper file system to a secure, web-based, digital format, streamlining the hearing process and vastly increasing the Division’s efficiency. Prior to his Administrative Law Judge experience, Michael practiced law with the Washington D.C. law firm of Heron, Burchette, Ruckert & Rothwell, where he represented agricultural interests in the Southern San Joaquin Valley, including matters before the United States Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Land Management. His private practice experience includes trying numerous jury trials to verdict, structuring financing for one of the first private correctional facilities in California, and defending pilots, mechanics, and fixed base operators in aviation law matters pending before the National Transportation Safety Board. An accomplished pilot, Michael enjoys representing aviation and business clients throughout California.
Practice Focus
- Aviation Law
- Administrative Law
- Business & Corporate Law
- Formation, Mergers & Acquisitions
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of California, 1987
- United States District Court, Eastern District of California, 1987
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, University of California at Davis, 1984
- Juris Doctor, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1987
Awards
- State of California, Service Excellence Award, 2016, 2017, 2018
Professional Associations and Community Involvement
- Chairman of the St. Francis Parish Catholic School Advisory Commission, 2015-2017
- President of the Arcade Flying Club, a non-profit corporation, 2007- 2018
- Kern County Bar Association, 2022
Professional Experience
- Klein, DeNatale, Goldner, Cooper, Rosenlieb & Kimball, LLP, 2022-Present
- State of California, Department of Social Services, Hearings Division, 2009-2021
- State of California, Department of Social Services, Legal Division, 2003-2009
- Wilcoxen & Callahan, 2000-2002
- California Superior Court, County of Yolo, 1999
- Law Offices of Michael P. LeLouis, 1990-1999
- Heron, Burchette, Ruckert & Rothwell, 1988-1990
