Nice Profile of Chuck Michel

[hoffmang]

From the Daily Journal (http://www.dailyjournal.com/):


By Rebecca Beyer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
This article appears on Page 1

Here are two things you might not know about C.D. "Chuck" Michel, a Long Beach-based attorney who often represents the National Rifle Association in high-profile litigation.
One of his Labrador retrievers is named Heston, after Charlton Heston of film and gun rights fame. His eldest son is named Colton - Colt, for short, after the iconic gun brand.
That last one, actually, is only partially true. Eleven years ago, when Michel and his wife Sydne were about to have their first son, Chuck wanted to name him Colton so his nickname would be, like the famous firearm, Colt.
Sydne, who is a deputy city prosecutor in Redondo Beach, wouldn't hear of it.
Then, before the birth, the couple traveled to Colts Neck, N.J. Awed by the site of actual colts "frolicking in a field," Chuck said his wife approved the name and, by default, the resulting nickname.
"When my second son came along, I wanted to name him Glock, but she was wise to me by then," Michel said.
In the end, the couple's youngest son was named Dawson (his father's initials stand for Carl Dawson; the senior Michel prefers Chuck).
Michel opened his own practice in 1993, focusing on firearms law, including: product liability defense for gun manufacturers, defense of individuals in licensing or criminal proceedings, and challenges to city and state laws regulating guns. Others in that niche practice area say he is dedicated to preserving the right to own and carry a gun for the defense of self, family and home. Even attorneys who have opposed Michel in litigation or because of their ideological point-of-view praise his professionalism.
Michel, 50, is managing partner of Trutanich-Michel in Long Beach. His latest lawsuit on behalf of the National Rifle Association came one day after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision finding an individual right to bear arms. District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008 DJDAR 9813. Filed in San Francisco federal court on June 27, the suit charged that a San Francisco Housing Authority lease provision banning weapons of all kinds violates residents' Second Amendment Rights. Guy Montag Doe v. San Francisco Housing Authority, 08-3112.
In Heller, Michel co-authored a brief on behalf of 29 California district attorneys who argued civilian gun ownership benefits law enforcement by reducing crime.
"He's diligent, hard working, a creative thinker," said Christopher A. Conte, legislative counsel for the NRA in Virginia. "He has a genuine passion for what he does and he cares about the issue from a civil rights perspective."
Michel grew up target shooting with his family in New Jersey. He said he took for granted the right to own a gun. Nearly 40 years later, he turned his appreciation for that right into a career.
In 1980, Michel graduated from Rutgers University with degrees in psychology and communications. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked for a cable company and, later, helped market Don King's pay-per-view boxing network.
"I floated around at the beach for five years, then I realized I was pushing 30 and I wasn't really where I envisioned myself being in terms of success, so I went to law school," he said.
After graduating from Loyola Law School in May 1989, Michel clerked for U.S. District Judge William J. Rea in Los Angeles and then took a job at O'Melveny & Myers.
He worked on environmental and general civil litigation but also participated in the firm's trial advocacy prosecution program, on loan to the district attorney's office. He handled about 30 jury trials during that time.
"That's what made me realize I wanted to get in the courtroom more than the O'Melveny process was going to afford me to do," he remembered.
Prosecuting cases in that program also made him realize he wanted to defend people who broke firearms laws or regulations, he said.
"I saw a lot of cases where people were getting screwed - they were breaking laws because they didn't realize certain things were illegal," he said, recalling concealed weapon cases where guns were in the wrong type of case in a vehicle.
Michel left O'Melveny in 1993 to start his own practice. With a background in marketing, he knew he needed a specialty.
"I had to make a business out of practicing law," he said. "So I started trying to find a group of people that I could actually target market to."
Michel went to gun clubs and shooting ranges and passed out his card. Eventually, he started doing work for the California Rifle and Pistol Association and then the NRA.
"[Michel] knows California law very, very well," Conte said. "He's got good common sense and people skills."
Fairfax, Va.,-based Stephen P. Halbrook, another regular outside attorney for the NRA, agreed.
"He's learned firearms law issues - not just statutory law but regulations and informal agency opinions," he said. "Its something that if you study it over a long period of time, you learn a lot of things... he's done that."
Conte said the NRA has a "hodge-podge" way of selecting attorneys, and first noticed Michel when Michel was doing volunteer work for the NRA's state association, the California Rifle and Pistol group.
Conte said only a very small group of attorneys are experts in firearms law because, unless you live in a state like California where guns are highly regulated, it's hard to find work in the area.
"It's important that attorneys are upfront about the limits of their practice and expertise," he said. "I don't appreciate footing the bill for someone to learn the area of law I've hired them for."
More often than not, Conte said, the NRA relies on referrals from trusted counsel or its own membership. The organization maintains an attorney referral service and when members call in to say they were pleased with a certain lawyer, the NRA takes note. In some cases, it may later reach out to that individual with an offer of work.
One of Michel's cases that caught the NRA's attention was actually one he lost.
Michel represented the NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Association in a challenge to a West Hollywood ban on so-called "Saturday Night Specials," or cheaply-made handguns. Michel argued unsuccessfully that state law preempted the city ordinance. California Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of West Hollywood, 66 Cal. App. 4th 1302 (1998)
Still, Conte said, "it was a critical case to have" in terms of research about the separation of powers between states and municipalities.
After that case, Conte said, Michel "really became known to NRA headquarters as someone whose work was competent and reliable."

End Part I.

[hoffmang]

Part II

Sayre Weaver, of counsel at Richards, Watson & Gershon in Orange County, wrote the "Saturday Night Special" ordinance and defended it for West Hollywood.
Despite their ideological differences, Weaver said she found Michel to be "professional and congenial."
"I would classify him as a true believer in the cause of firearms, but I don't think that he litigates as if his professional judgment is overwhelmed by that particular standpoint," she said.
Weaver recalled only one occasion when she felt like Michel used "aggressive litigation" unnecessarily. At the time, West Hollywood had an assault weapon ban on its books though Weaver said it had never been used to prosecute anyone. The state had a similar ban, and Michel filed suit against the city claiming its ban was preempted. The city repealed the ban, but Weaver said she thought the issue could have been resolved without a lawsuit.
Michel said he doesn't remember if he'd sent a pre-litigation demand prior to the suit but added it was his practice to do so now. He defended the aim of the suit, however.
"Even if the ordinance isn't being enforced, we have to get the books cleaned up, so people know what they're supposed to do," he said.
Still, Weaver said she and Michel were able to get along fine. During the West Hollywood case, they appeared together in court on Halloween. Making conversation, Weaver asked Michel what he planned to dress up as, and Michel unbuttoned his dress shirt to reveal a Superman t-shirt.
"Chuck in his younger years looked very much like Clark Kent," she laughed.
"I was younger and thinner and with darker hair," Michel agreed.
Years later, Michel had more success with a preemption argument. In 2005, San Francisco voters passed a ban on guns for city residents.
Michel filed suit over the ban, successfully overturning it. Fiscal v. City and County of San Francisco, 2008 DJDAR 290.
He said the broad nature of the ban helped him.
"All the theories that had not been understood or accepted in the context of incremental gun bans became much more obvious to the court in the context of a complete ban on firearms possessions," he said. "The court really got it."
After the win, Michel sent a "Chuck Michel" voodoo doll to Weaver. Michel said he had the dolls created in his likeness several years ago and that he sometimes sends them - complete with pins - to people who disagree with his positions, "so they can take their aggression out on me rather than passing more stupid laws."
Michel said he sent Weaver a doll and a letter, saying, "I know how I felt bad after I lost [in West Hollywood], this should make you feel better.'"
Weaver was not involved in the San Francisco case. She declined to comment on the voodoo doll.
Michel, who also serves as an adjunct professor at Chapman University School of Law, sees no shortage of gun cases in the future. Broad prohibitions of guns will be challenged, he said. In his view, prohibition doesn't work.
"There's a fundamental flaw in that approach," he said. "Criminals... disobey laws by definition."
Prohibition, he said, makes people who obey laws "easy prey."
Michel said he and his clients support "reasonable" restrictions.
"Reasonable is something that's narrowly tailored to address a specific problem and doesn't limit a law abiding citizen's right to choose to own a gun for self defense or to defend family or for hunting or sport," he said.
With Heller now firmly on the books, Michel predicted, "there will be 30 years of litigation crammed into the next five."
He seems up for the challenge.
"I had a lot of tools in my tool box before Heller came along," he said. "Now I've got a big hammer."

[ldivinag]

lol at naming second son...

[bwiese]

"I had a lot of tools in my tool box before Heller came along," he said. "Now I've got a big hammer."

Swing it, baby! ;)

[aileron]

Wow... he was involved in the Saturday Night Special lawsuit.

Great article. :)

[GenLee]

Nice read, thanks Gene.

Looks like its Hammer Time. :patriot:

[IGOTDIRT4U]

Sweet. Great article.

[Liberty1]

Standing Ready!: A Calguns "Army of Davids" with "Thor" Hammers!!! Lead the way Chuck!

[6172crew]

With all the lawyers in CA you'd think there would be more him.:chris:

[ontmark]

Thanks for the article!!

[Meplat]

If I ever get my tit in a ringer Trutanich-Michel will be my first call. From what I have learned from this forum their rates seem to be quite reasonable considering their expertise.