Michele L. Jakubs 
Commendations
OSBA Certified Specialist
in Labor and Employment Law
Best Lawyers (2024 – 2025)
Super Lawyers (2012 – 2025)
Top 50 Women Ohio Super Lawyers (2025)
Super Lawyers "Rising Star" (2010)
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Michele L. Jakubs
About Michele
Michele Jakubs joined Zashin & Rich in 2001 and is the practice leader of the firm’s Wage and Hour Practice. Michele counsels national and local employers of all sizes concerning employment law matters with an emphasis on wage and hour compliance. Since joining Zashin & Rich, Michele has actively participated in defending nearly all of the firm’s wage and hour cases. She also counsels and represents clients involved in wage and hour audits and investigations.
Michele is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in Labor and Employment law. Michele's practice includes labor relations, equal employment opportunity, employment discrimination, and all other employment related claims. She has defended clients before state and federal courts. She has also represented clients before state and federal administrative agencies including the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Labor Relations Board. Michele works extensively with the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws. Michele's practice also includes developing employment litigation prevention strategies through client guidance, policy development, and training.
Prior to joining Zashin & Rich, Michele practiced in the areas of insurance coverage and insurance defense litigation. She defended insurance companies based upon an analysis of policy language and the nature of the claim. She also defended actions involving a variety of statutory and common law tort claims.
Michele earned her B.S. from The Ohio State University. Prior to attending law school, Michele worked in healthcare overseeing medical records, risk management, and quality improvement at a community hospital. She earned her law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, magna cum laude.
Contact Michele (mlj@zrlaw.com) at 216.696.4441 | Print Profile
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Education
- Cleveland-Marshall College of Law,
Cleveland State University
J.D., Magna Cum Laude, 1999 - The Ohio State University
B.S., Medical Record Administration, 1992
Admissions
- State: Ohio
- Federal: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Federal: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Federal: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- Federal: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Reported Cases
- Wilson v. Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 2014 FED App. 0695N (6th Cir. 2014).
- Wilson v. Cleveland Clinic Foundation, No. 1:11 CV 1681, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11787 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 28, 2013)
- Briggs v. Cleveland Clinic Health Sys., 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 99654, 2013-Ohio -4045
- Hope Acad. Broadway Campus v. Integrated Consulting & Mgmt., 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 96100 and 96101, 2011-Ohio -6622
- Campbell v. Sterling Jewelers Inc., No. 04 C 5891, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7675 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 15, 2005)
- Bullick v. Sterling Inc., No 03-6395, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21128 (N.D. Pa. Oct. 21, 2004)