Case Manager: Ella Fishman
With over 25 years of experience as a litigator, in-house employment lawyer, and senior executive at Fortune 500 companies, MyKhanh Shelton, Esq. brings a unique blend of legal acumen, practical business insight, conflict resolution expertise, and emotional intelligence to her full-time employment mediation practice.
MyKhanh began her legal career as a litigator at Quinn Emanuel, where she saw firsthand how traditional courtroom battles often failed to address the deeper human and organizational issues at the heart of disputes. This insight led her to pivot in-house, where she spent over a decade at Fox litigating and mediating hundreds of disputes and handling high-profile and high-stakes matters in the film, television, and sports industries. These experiences not only solidified her belief in the power of mediation to resolve conflicts, but also revealed the potential for mediation to transform people and organizations.
As Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at both Twentieth Century Fox and WarnerMedia, MyKhanh led impactful diversity initiatives and facilitated dialogue between management and internal and external groups. She trained executives, employees, and production teams in practices such as active listening, recognizing bias, and communicating across differences – tools she now brings to the mediation table with equal impact.
MyKhanh’s mediation approach is grounded in empathy, active listening, and deep legal knowledge. As the youngest of four in a Vietnamese refugee family in a working-class American neighborhood, she draws upon her multicultural upbringing to build bridges between diverse perspectives and foster mutual understanding in emotionally-charged disputes. She prepares meticulously, actively engages parties with reality testing and evaluative insight when appropriate, and remains committed to resolution even beyond the formal session. She is especially skilled in resolving matters that intertwine legal complexity with sensitive interpersonal or organizational dynamics.
MyKhanh has deep subject matter expertise and comprehensive knowledge of federal and state case law and statutes. She keeps her fingers on the pulse of evolving workplace dynamics – how relationships, language, and expectations have shifted – and how juries interpret and value these changes. With energy and optimism, MyKhanh brings all of her skills to every mediation, helping parties achieve the resolution they deserve.
“She has a lot of emotional intelligence in the way she asks questions and works her way through sticky issues in litigation. She knows how to have difficult conversations.”
“We work with all different kinds of clients – from very sophisticated in-house counsels to more mom-and-pop-type shops, and I have great confidence that MyKhanh would work very well with a wide variety of clients.”
“Because of her diverse background – again doing the diversity work, the defense litigation – it allows her to speak some of that corporate language in an effective way with the plaintiff and to set realistic expectations about the risk of moving forward with litigation versus settlement.”
“There was just a lot of high emotion on both sides, but what MyKhanh brings to the table is she has a really diverse perspective and understanding of the human elements behind the dispute, which is really valuable for resolving these more sensitive, high-emotion types of employment cases.”
“Employment law is different that doing something like a personal injury case because there are certain laws you see shifting. There are certain nuances not everybody knows. When you talk to her, she understands what you’re saying. She understands what the argument is about; she understands what the issues are. If someone’s hiring her for an employment law case, she’s going to be prepared, she’s going to understand what the issues are, and what it takes to get the case settled.”
“Working with MyKhanh what stood out immediately was her calm, composed demeanor—she possesses a natural gift for disarming tension and creating a space where productive dialogue can take root. Her ability to listen deeply, validate concerns without judgment, and reframe issues with clarity helped move the parties from entrenched positions to a place of mutual understanding. She doesn’t force resolution but instead guides it with patience, empathy, and quiet authority. Even in moments when negotiations seemed to reach an impasse, MyKhanh was able to keep everyone engaged and focused, bridging seemingly insurmountable gaps with grace and tact. She has an intuitive sense for reading the room and adapting her approach based on each party’s needs, emotions, and communication style. It’s a valuable skill in this field, and one that clearly comes from deep experience and genuine empathy. I would highly recommend MyKhanh for any dispute.”
“I had absolutely no expectation that this case would settle, but I wanted to give it a try for my client’s sake. I truly appreciate MyKhanh’s skill, patience, persistence and dedication. My client is grateful her nearly five-year journey is over as well.”
“MyKhanh has a special ability to connect with clients on a business level, which allows them to understand their exposure of liability and all aspects that play into whether a case should settle pre-trial.”
“MyKhanh was instrumental in helping my clients resolve a very emotional sexual harassment case that involved years of alleged abuse and deep seeded emotional distress. She showed compassion and clearly articulated the legal issues in a way that my client could appreciate. My client left the mediation satisfied with the result and very comforted that she had an opportunity to tell her side of the story and could find true closure. I would not hesitate to work with MyKhanh again on any form of employment case.”
“I worked with MyKhanh on a FEHA/wrongful termination case that faced an uphill battle from the start. Quite frankly, I was resigned to the probability the case would not settle that day. However, MyKhanh delivered great news at the end and my client was delighted. I believe MyKhanh’s unique resume gives her great credibility and cachet with both plaintiffs and defendants in FEHA employment cases and look forward to working together again in the future.”
“Ms. Shelton’s evenhanded, personable, and persistent approach was key to bridging the gap between the parties. Importantly, my client felt that his voice was being heard during her session. I highly recommend Ms. Shelton’s services.”
“MyKhanh was a great communicator and was versatile enough to tailor her approach with each party to ensure effective communication.”
“MyKhanh was a pleasure to work with. Our mediation was productive and my client felt comfortable discussing her situation and desired outcome. I appreciate that MyKhanh let my client tell her side of the story. I think it was important that my client felt heard and MyKhanh ensured this happened.”
