Michelle's passion for mediation goes back to her last semester of undergraduate school. Although Michelle majored in journalism, she took a law course during her last semester of college, and the rest, they say is history.
Michelle grew up in Nebraska, graduating from Scottsbluff High School in 1984. She graduated from the University of Nebraska with her Bachelors Degree in Journalism in 1990 and her law degree in 1995.
She started Cortez Family Law in 1995 which became Cortez & Hoskovec, when she joined forces with her law partner in 2014. Michelle practiced in the fields of divorce and custody law for 27 years before deciding that her energies would be better spent in mediation.
She founded ABQ Facilitation in 2022. "Mediation is so much more productive than litigation. With litigation, you are bound by the judge's decision and the constraints of the law, but you are bound by nothing in mediation. You can come up with all forms of creative solutions. And both parties generally leave happy. That was never my experience with litigation."
2023 Albuquerque Journal Reader’s Choice Awards First Place in the category of General Attorney.
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