Inductee

Education

• Northeastern High School, Class of 1986

• Varsity Softball and Basketball - All League, All District, CBC Champion (Softball)

• FFA - State judging contest wins in Rural Soil Judging, Urban Soil Judging, Wool, and Poultry; State Farmer Degree

• Marching Band Field Commander; National Honor Society

• Miami University - Political Science and Communications Degree

• University of Toledo College of Law - Juris Doctorate Degree

Professional Accolades

• Ohio State Bar Association President, 2023-2024

• President of the Toledo Bar Association

• Trustee of the National Civil Justice Institute

• Board Member of the Ohio State Bar Foundation

• Ohio Bar Board of Governors

Michelle is a partner in the Toledo law firm of Zoll & Kranz, which is nationally renowned for its civil litigation seeking justice for individuals who have been victims of serious injuries due to the negligence of a pharmaceutical company or others.

Michelle and her husband, Dean, have been married for 23 years and have two children, Marcus and Samantha. She and her family run a not-so-small beef cattle operation outside of Bowling Green, Ohio, and travel to national competitions to show their prize-winning heifers.

The incredible balance Michelle has developed between her work, community involvement, family, and bar association commitments is remarkable. For her, the importance of nurturing her rural roots in addition to a successful career is a value passed down through her parents and grandparents.

"I have found a way to blend my urban (law) practice with the things that I love about being part of a rural community, raising my children around the 4-H and FFA programs, raising them around livestock, understanding they may never necessarily be farmers or return to that community, but that they understand what an important role agriculture serves in our society."