Michelle Tong
Michelle H. Tong is an associate attorney in the Tucson office. Michelle practices in the areas of school law and employment matters. She joined the firm in 2023 after having served as General Counsel in a local school district for 6 years. Ms. Tong has worked as in-house counsel for multiple school districts. Prior to that, she advised businesses and nonprofit organizations on the various types of matters that arise during normal business operations. She has extensive experience representing schools and businesses in various areas, including matters related to personnel, labor relations, board governance, real estate, contracts, civil rights, insurance and risk prevention, and litigation. She provides training to employers and schools on a wide range of issues, such as workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, state and federal regulatory compliance, internal investigations, administrative and due process hearings, and other preventative trainings designed to assist organizations and schools to avoid litigation and administrative investigations.
Ms. Tong has represented public and private entities before federal and state administrative agencies and in state and federal court, such as the Arizona Civil Rights Division, the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, the EEOC, and various state licensing boards. She has been licensed to practice law in Arizona since 1995 and in Texas since 1994. She grew up in Houston, Texas where she received her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from South Texas College of Law. She moved to Arizona in 1995 after working as a judicial clerk for United States Magistrate Judge Marica Crone in the Southern District of Texas. Ms. Tong is a member of the Arizona Council of School Attorneys, the National Council of School Attorneys, the Arizona Bar Association, and the Pima County Bar Association.