About Us

Our Story

Michael Sullivan & Associates was founded in 1996. The law firm started in a small office over the Santa Monica playhouse, but by 2008, we relocated our corporate office to Los Angeles and opened satellite offices in Orange County and the Central Valley. The firm grew quickly, as clients were attracted to our aggressive and proactive work and associates sought employment with the firm to receive our extensive professional training.

MS&A has continued to grow over the years and currently has ten law offices located in key regions throughout California, with hundreds of clients and a talented group of partners and associates. Robust civil, employment, and estate planning law sections have been added to our initial workers' compensation practice, allowing MS&A to become a full-service law firm for California employers and carriers.

In 2011, MS&A published its first edition of Sullivan on Comp, our multi-volume treatise on California workers' compensation law. This annually updated treatise has since become the standard research text on California workers' compensation law and has helped establish MS&A as a leader in that practice area.

MS&A looks forward to continued growth based on our distinctive practice. Basic principles are the key to our success—these include: listening to clients and partnering with them to achieve their goals; establishing a productive and innovative culture based upon systemic, empirical examination of work product within the firm, and a strong principle-driven dedication to strong relationships, within and outside the firm.

What's Up with the Rhino?

Michael Sullivan discusses the origin of the rhino logo

People ask me all the time, "What's up with the rhino?"

When I was about 12 years old, I read a motivational/self-help book called Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander. The book's many inspirational messages, which focus on attributes like persistence and tenacity, were very important to me in my youth.

Years later, when I started Michael Sullivan & Associates, I remembered Rhinoceros Success when I began thinking about a logo for my new firm. I decided that using a rhino in MS&A's logo would be very fitting on two counts: first, because the animal represented the hard-charging, aggressive manner in which I handled my cases; and second, as an homage to the vision of success introduced to me by Alexander's book.

Our Work

Michael Sullivan & Associates Practices — Michael Sullivan & Associates is a full service firm for California employers

Michael Sullivan & Associates takes pride in its distinctive practice. As a full-service law firm for California employers, we have workers' compensation, employment, general civil, and legal consulting sections, all of which strive to set the highest professional standards.

MS&A prioritizes the training, mentoring, and supervision of its attorneys. New associates participate in rigorous training sessions to familiarize themselves with the firm's practice, while our more experienced attorneys engage in ongoing testing and counseling sessions with mentors within the firm. Results from our internal training and testing sessions allow us to create statistically valid empirical reviews of each lawyer's work and provide constructive feedback to our attorneys.

A key focus of MS&A's practice is value delivery. This means doing good work, not as the firm sees it subjectively, but in terms of client goals and values. This entails constant honest communications with clients regarding what they are trying to accomplish and then managing cases based on those expectations.

For most clients in the workers' compensation system, value is delivered through fast closure. Our California attorneys visualize closure at every stage of the legal process. This means quickly gathering evidence at the beginning of the case and using status conferences, informal settlement conferences, depositions, and constant movement towards trial to get the results our clients want.

Our Culture

Michael Sullivan & Associates Culture — Collaboration and mutual respect are key elements of our firm's culture

MS&A has a vibrant culture of growth built on a foundation of excellence. We emphasize the importance of self-responsibility and emotional maturity as cornerstones of a working environment in which each of us can both define and achieve our own success.

The leadership of the firm works actively to create an environment where this is within reach for all members of our team. Here, partners, associates, and staff can all do great work, have an impact, and as a result, achieve the sense of fulfillment and earn the rewards that come from self-actualization.

The success of our California law firm is assured when it operates as a platform for the success of the employees who work here. This is done by creating the conditions that allow excellent employees to achieve greatly.

Operating in a culture of excellence isn't always easy. It's demanding. It requires teamwork, mutual respect, and the personal humility required to seek exceptional outcomes that can only be achieved by moving out of one's comfort zone.

For those who thrive in such an environment, there's nothing like the opportunity for fostered personal and professional growth as can be found here at MS&A.

Contact Michael Sullivan & Associates to answer any questions and to get started on your case today.

Giving Back

Michael Sullivan & Associates is committed to investing in the health and safety of our clients, employees, their respective families, and our community.

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES

MS&A joined the Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) earlier this year for an incredible day of fitness, fun, and service for Walk and Play L.A. MS&A is proud to align our giving efforts with CHLA to support their mission and vision of providing quality pediatric health care, education to caregivers, and innovative research efforts that impact children locally and around the world. #RhinostotheRescue #WalkandPlayLA
OLIVE CREST

Olive Crest is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping abused and neglected children. They work to transform the lives of at-risk children through the healing power of family. MS&A has provided nights of safety for at-risk children in Orange County and Los Angeles. Each season MS&A donates to support Olive Crest initiatives.
KIDS' CHANCE OF CALIFORNIA

Kids' Chance is a non-profit organization located in 47 states whose mission is to provide need-based educational scholarships to the children of workers who have been fatally or seriously injured on the job. Michael Sullivan & Associates Partners directly with Kids' Chance California.
SAVE THE RHINO

MS&A is committed to working with organizations like Save the Rhino to protect the rhino population, reduce illegal trade, involve communities, and bring experts together. Save the Rhino's vision is for all five rhino species to thrive in the wild for future generations. Save the Rhino works to conserve viable populations of critically endangered rhinos in Africa and Asia. The recognize that the future of wildlife is inextricably linked to the communities that share its habitat. Click below to visit their website to find out more about Save the Rhino.
UNICEF USA

MS&A is committed to fighting the novel Coronavirus, more commonly known as Covid-19. As such, we've partnered with UNICEF USA to help bring aid to those who need it most. UNICEF works to save and protect children all over the world. Our law firm is proud to partner with an organization that gives so much back to the world, especially in a time like this. Learn more about UNICEF USA and see how you can donate and make a difference for children in need. #RhinostotheRescue #WalkandPlayLA

Michael Sullivan & Associates takes pride in its distinctive practice and strives to set the highest professional standards

Our Story

Our Work

Our Culture

Giving Back

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES

OLIVE CREST

KIDS' CHANCE OF CALIFORNIA

SAVE THE RHINO

UNICEF USA