Michels & Lew

What Michels & Lew does

Michels & Lew (operating as Phil Michels Law; legal entity Philip Michels, APLC) is a California-based plaintiff-side contingency law firm founded in 1985 and headquartered at 401 Wilshire Blvd., 12th Floor, Santa Monica. The firm represents individuals and families throughout California in medical malpractice, birth injury, and catastrophic personal injury matters, with sub-practices covering cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), brain injury, cancer misdiagnosis, ER/hospital errors, spinal cord injury, wrongful death, paralysis, and pediatric malpractice. Its primary differentiator is a board-certified physician on staff who contributes clinical perspective to case strategy and screening — a structural capability uncommon for plaintiff malpractice boutiques.

The firm reports $1.5 billion in cumulative client recoveries over 40 years and a 95% case victory rate, with notable individual verdicts including a $120 million birth-injury award and a $74.5 million cerebral-palsy jury verdict. It operates on a contingency fee model ("if we don't win, you don't pay"), which aligns incentives with plaintiffs who often cannot afford hourly legal representation. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct-to-consumer: prospective clients reach the firm through a 24/7 phone line, an online contact form, and organic inbound traffic to its medical-malpractice content site and blog. A Spanish-language intake site (abogadoparalosninos.com) targets Hispanic families affected by birth injuries.

Revenue mechanics are entirely contingent on case outcomes, creating a high-variance, lumpy revenue profile typical of contingency litigation practices. The firm maintains no disclosed external funding, is privately held by founder Philip Michels, and shows no evidence of institutional ownership, M&A, or geographic expansion beyond California. Customer relationships are inherently one-time per case, with no recurring revenue and no concentration in named institutional accounts — client mix consists of individual plaintiffs. The firm employs between 11 and 50 people and does not maintain a proprietary technology platform, relying on standard web-based marketing and intake infrastructure.

Name

Michels & Lew

Legal name

Philip Michels, APLC

Website

https://michels-lew.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Phil Michels Law (Michels & Lew) is a Santa Monica-based California law firm representing individual plaintiffs in medical malpractice, birth injury, and catastrophic personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, distinguished by a board-certified physician on staff and four decades of trial experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Malpractice Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical Malpractice Liability (FSAJADAK), Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Medical malpractice law
• Birth injury litigation
• Personal injury law
• Catastrophic injury cases
• Wrongful death claims

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Contingency Fee Legal Services: The firm operates on a contingency fee basis where they only collect attorneys' fees or costs if they are successful in the case. This is a no-win-no-fee model typical of personal injury and medical malpractice law firms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Michels & Lew is a California plaintiff-side law firm that represents individuals and families in medical malpractice, birth injury, and personal injury cases, including specialized sub-practice areas such as cerebral palsy, brain injuries, cancer misdiagnosis, ER/hospital errors, spinal cord injuries, wrongful death, and paralysis. The firm operates on a contingency fee basis, collecting attorneys' fees and costs only if the case is successful, and represents clients throughout California from its Santa Monica headquarters.

Product overview

Phil Michels Law is a California-based law firm offering legal services across three core practice areas: Medical Malpractice, Birth Injury, and Personal Injury. The firm operates as a single-service law practice with specialized sub-practice areas including Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injuries, Cancer Misdiagnosis, ER/Hospital Errors, Spinal Cord Injuries, Wrongful Death, and Paralysis. The firm differentiates itself through a 95% success rate and a unique advantage of having a board-certified physician on staff to provide medical insight for complex cases. Services are offered on a contingency fee basis where clients pay only if the firm wins.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medical Malpractice Legal Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of cases are victories
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Faruq Law Firm / Bonner & Bonner: California-based plaintiff firms with broad med mal and catastrophic injury practices. Comparable as established California med mal contingency firms, though somewhat broader in scope than Michels & Lew's birth-injury-heavy specialization.

Direct peers

• Greene Broillet & Wheeler: Elite Los Angeles-based plaintiff firm focused on catastrophic injury, med mal, and product liability. Highly comparable given shared LA geography, plaintiff-side contingency model, and pursuit of seven-figure-plus verdicts.
• Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger: San Francisco-based personal injury and med mal firm with a long-standing reputation for catastrophic injury cases in California. Directly comparable as a California-wide contingency plaintiff firm with a similar specialization profile.
• Levin & Perconti: Plaintiff firm with a national medical malpractice and birth injury practice. Comparable as a contingency-based catastrophic med mal/birth injury firm pursuing high-value settlements and verdicts.
• Magaña Cathcart McBain & Bawcombe: California plaintiff trial firm focused on medical malpractice, elder abuse, and catastrophic injury. Comparable given shared California jurisdiction, contingency fee model, and catastrophic injury specialization.
• Hodes Milman Ikuta LLP: California plaintiff firm specializing in birth injury, cerebral palsy, and brain damage cases. Directly comparable given overlapping birth injury specialization and contingency-based catastrophic injury representation.
• Moseley Collins Law: California-based plaintiff firm focused on birth injury, medical malpractice, and catastrophic injury. Directly comparable given the contingency model, birth injury specialization, and broad California case acquisition.
• Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP: California-based plaintiff trial firm specializing in catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and birth injury cases. Directly comparable as a California med mal/birth injury competitor with a similar contingency model and high-value verdict track record.

Emerging players

• The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce Fagel: Medical malpractice and birth injury firm in California led by an attorney who is also a physician. Comparable given the physician-attorney dual expertise positioning and med mal/birth injury specialization.
• Chelsie King Garza: Birth injury plaintiff firm in California. Comparable as a specialized birth injury practice operating on a contingency model within the same California market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MichelsLew
• Facebookfacebook.com/michelslew

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Michels & Lew