Mishelle Arakelian is a corporate associate whose practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture financings, and corporate governance. Before joining Grant Shenon Almaraz, APLC, she practiced at Jones Day, where she represented U.S. and global public and private companies in complex domestic and cross-border transactions across industries including media and entertainment, technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer products, and private equity.
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A Los Angeles native, Mishelle began her career in political organizing and government, serving as a field organizer for a U.S. presidential campaign and interning in the office of a U.S. Senator and the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. During law school, she gained in-house experience with ViacomCBS and Facebook, working on matters involving intellectual property, licensing, contract negotiations, and compliance.
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Mishelle earned her J.D. from the USC Gould School of Law in 2023, where she received the John C. Molina Scholarship and completed the Entertainment & Media Law Certificate. She held leadership roles in the Music Law Society, Student Bar Association, and Armenian Law Students Association. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, San Diego with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Law & Society, earning Phi Beta Kappa honors and multiple academic scholarships.
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Outside of her practice, Mishelle is an accomplished classical pianist, an avid collector of vinyl records, and a film and television enthusiast. She is a member of the American Cinematheque and enjoys pickleball, hot yoga, and exploring pop culture. She is fluent in Russian.