Michelle is a founding partner of the firm of Zoll & Kranz, LLC located in Toledo, Ohio. Michelle has been a plaintiff’s lawyer for the entirety of her practice - over 29 years. She devotes the majority of her time to complex consolidated litigation, advocating for patients injured by medical devices and prescription medications.
She has held multiple leadership positions in various mass tort litigations. Her current leadership positions include:
Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel and Settlement Oversight Committee, In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2197); Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, Gilead Tenofovir Cases (California JCCP 5043); and Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and Common Benefit Committee, In Re: Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2545) Michelle’s prior mass tort experience includes Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Appointments in In re: Text Messaging Antitrust Litigation (MDL 1997) and In Re: Biomet M2A Magnum Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2391).
Michelle’s other mass tort litigation experience includes:
In re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740 In re: 3m Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2885 In re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2670 In re: Zofran (Ondansetron) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2657 In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606 In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592 In re: Keurig Green Mountain Single-Serve Coffee Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2542 In re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2502 In re: Fresenius Granuflo/Naturalyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2428 In re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2441 Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (Transvaginal Mesh), MDL Nos. 2187, 2325, 2326, 2327, 2387, 2440 In re: Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2385 In re: Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2342 In re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2299 In re: Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2196 In re: Zimmer Durom Hip Cup Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2158 In re: Yasmin and YAZ (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2100 In re: Lawnmower Engine Horsepower Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 1999 In re: Heparin Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1953 In re: Vioxx ® Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 In re: Sulzer Orthopedics Inc. Hip Prosthesis and Knee Prosthesis Liability, MDL No. 1401
Michelle also has extensive leadership experience in professional organizations. She is currently serving on the Board of Governors for the Ohio State Bar Association and is the President-Elect for 2022-2023 for the OSBA, as a Trustee for both the Ohio State Bar Foundation Board and the Toledo Bar Association Foundation, and a Trustee for the National Civil Justice Institute. She has also served as President of the Toledo Bar Association (2015-2016), as a member of the Council of Delegates of the Ohio State Bar Association, and recently completed two terms as a board member of the Ohio State Bar Foundation.
Michelle was born in Springfield, Ohio. She obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree (cum laude) from Miami University in 1990. She graduated from the University of Toledo College Of Law with a Juris Doctorate in 1993 and was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1993. Michelle is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois (2014), Northern (1994) and Southern (2006) Districts of Ohio, various other district courts, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (1994), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2007), and the United States Supreme Court (1998).
She is AV Peer Review Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Martindale-Hubbell and is also listed as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” by the American Trial Lawyers Association. She was designated “Lawyer of the Year” in the practice area of Personal Injury Litigation- Plaintiffs in Toledo by Best Lawyers® for 2019. Michelle was also selected to Super Lawyers in 2020, Top Rated Class Action & Mass Torts Attorney in Toledo, OH.
She is married and resides in Wood County with her husband Dean and their two children. They raise beef cattle which they exhibit at both a state and national level. She is an avid golfer and Dean and Michelle have had season tickets to the Detroit Tigers since 1999.
