Mike Moberly assists employers in the technology, banking, mining, and transportation industries, among others, in civil rights and employment-related administrative proceedings, arbitrations, and litigation at both the trial and appellate levels.
Education
Recognitions
Ranked in the highest tier (Band 1) of labor and employment attorneys by Chambers and Partners 2024
Named among Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law-Management (2011-2025), Litigation – Labor and Employment (2011-2025) by Best Lawyers
Named among Best Lawyers as Lawyer of the Year in Litigation – Labor & Employment in 2015 and in Employment Law – Management (2018, 2020, 2025)
Named among the Top 50 Lawyers in Arizona by Super Lawyers (2007-2011, 2022)
Named among “Top 100 Lawyers” by AzBusiness Magazine (2020)
Named among Southwest Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters (2007-2024)
Memberships
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Arizona Industrial Relations Association
Arizona Town Hall
State Bar Licenses
Court Admissions
Experience*:
- Successfully defended the employer at trial and on appeal in one of the first cases ever litigated under the anti-retaliation provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
- Represented the employer in the first reported decision holding that compensatory damages are not recoverable under the Arizona Civil Rights Act.
- Represented the employer in the first reported decision in which a court in Arizona compelled an employee to arbitrate a statutory employment discrimination claim.
- Successfully represented the employer in another case in which the court held that an employee was precluded from proceeding with litigation due to her failure to comply with a grievance and arbitration provision contained in an employee handbook.
- Successfully represented the employer in the first case holding that the statutory presumption against an award of attorneys’ fees to prevailing employers in federal civil rights actions does not apply in cases involving the alleged breach of an employment contract in Arizona.
- Submitted an amicus brief in support of the employer’s successful argument that there is no common law tort claim for wrongful refusal to hire in Arizona.
- Submitted an amicus brief in support of the employer in a case holding that an employer can terminate an employee who tests positive for marijuana even though the employee ingested the drug in compliance with Colorado’s medical marijuana laws.
*Completed prior to joining Clark Hill
Media:
- “We Might Be On (To) Something, But Who Knows? A Fresh Look At The Pharmacist-Patient Privilege,” 27 Journal of Health Care Law & Policy 217 (2024)
- “Title VII Trials – and Tribulations: Examining the Divergent Roles of Judge and Jury Under the Act’s Enhanced Remedial Scheme, 39 Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal 331 (2022)
- “The Workplace Injunction: An Emerging But Imperfect Weapon in the Fight Against Domestic Violence,” 26 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law 831 (2018)
- “Old MacDonald Hid a Farm: Examining Arizona’s Prospects for Legalizing Industrial Hemp,” 20 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 361 (2015)
- “Contemplating the Recognition of a Common Law Tort for Wrongfully Refusing to Hire Bankruptcy Debtors,” 22 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 431 (2014)
- “Reaching the End of Our Rope? An Appraisal of the Movement to Legalize Industrial Hemp,” 3 Accord, Legal Journal for Practitioners 1 (2014)
- “This is Unprecedented: Examining the Impact of Vacated State Appellate Court Opinions,” 13 Journal of Appellate Practice and Process 231 (2012)
Speaking Engagements:
- “Cannabis in Colorado, Workplace Safety and CMA Actions,” 117th National Western Mining Conference & Exhibition Presented by the Colorado Mining Assoc. (February 2015)
- “Prescription Drugs in the Workplace: What is Your Role as an Employer?,” Arizona Small Business Association’s Business Education Seminar (July 2014)
- “Marijuana Legalization Issues,” Arizona Bankers Association 111th Annual Convention (June 2014)