Areas of Practice Emphasis

• Commercial & Business Litigation
• Appellate Litigation
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Labor & Employment Relations
• Employee Benefits
• Corporate

Prominent Assignments

• Chairman, Dickinson Wright PLLC, 2002-present
• Chairman, Board of Directors, Detroit Regional Chamber,
  2006-2007
• President, American Bar Association, 2003-2004
• Mayor of Detroit, 1994-2001
  - President, National League of Cities
• Associate Justice, Michigan Supreme Court, 1986-1990

Education

• J.D., Detroit College of Law, 1970
• B.S. in Education, Western Michigan University, 1965

Admitted to Practice

• Michigan, 1970
• District of Columbia, 1972
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 1970
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2007
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1970
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1974
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2004

Professional and Community Involvement

• American Bar Association:
  - President, 2003-2004
  - Member, Board of Governors, 1999-2002
• National Bar Association:
  - President, 1983-1984
  - Life Member
• Former President, Wolverine Bar Association, 1979-1980
• Detroit Bar Association:
  - Member, Board of Directors, 1973-1975
  - Chairman, Young Lawyers Section, 1973-1975
• State Bar of Michigan: President, 1984-1985
• Associate Professor, Detroit College of Law, 1972-1978
• Adjunct Professor, Wayne State University Law School, 1984-1985
• Life Member, Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference
• Life Member of Fellows, American Bar Foundation and Life Member of Fellows, Michigan State Bar Foundation
• Fellow, International Society of Barristers

Selected Honors

• Named among "100 Most Influential Black Americans," Ebony magazine, May 1984
• Named one of the "25 Most Dynamic Mayors in America" by Newsweek magazine, November 1996
• Named "Most Respected Judge in Michigan," Michigan Lawyers Weekly, April 1990
• Named among "100 Most Powerful Attorneys in the United States," National Law Journal, April 1985
• Named "Public Official of the Year," Governing magazine, November 2000

• Link to Michigan Super Lawyers