Our Story

Michael Sullivan
Michael W. Sullivan, founder of Michael Sullivan & Associates

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.

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.