• LAWYERS
  • John P. Jacobs *
  • Timothy A. Diemer
  • Samantha M. McLeod
  • Thamara “Tammy” Sordo-Vieira
  • Nathan Peplinski
• REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS
• AREAS OF EXPERTISE
• CONTACT US

AWARDS

2018, Honoree of Michigan Defense Trial Counsel’s inaugural “John P. Jacobs Appellate Advocacy Award”

2006 -2021 “dbusiness” Magazine: Best Lawyers In Detroit (“bet the company” litigation, appellate litigation and commercial litigation)

2014 “Leader in the Law”, Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Biographee, Best Lawyers in America (Appellate Personal Injury and Commercial Litigation Law) 1999 - 2021

September, 2006, 2007 and 2020 “Superlawyers”- Detroit News 100 Best [overall] Lawyers in Michigan

Lawyer of the Year and Honoree, 2004, Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Lawyer of the Year and Honoree, 2004 Excellence in Defense Award, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, Inc.

Lawyer of the Year and Honoree, 2001, Archdiocese of Detroit, Catholic Lawyers Society, Monsignor Malloy Award

Life Fellow, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (only 250 lawyers in the United States so chosen)

Member, Board of Editors, Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Retained Appellate Counsel for the State Bar of Michigan

Fellow, Reginald Heber Smith Civil Rights Program, 1971-1972

Exceptional Performance Citation, Defense Research Institute, State Regional Chair, 1997

Fellow, Michigan State Bar Foundation, 1990-Present

Member, Supreme Court of the United States Historical Society

Lawyer of the Year, 1987 and Honoree, Robert Dice Medical Michigan Physicians Malpractice Defense Attorney Award

Appointed to State Bar of Michigan "Blue Ribbon" Committee on Improving Defense Counsel-Insurer Relations

Appointed to State Bar Standing Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics

Appointed to Ethics Opinion Committee, State Bar of Michigan

Nominated by the State Bar of Michigan to the Michigan Supreme Court as Candidate for State Law Bar Examiner, 1994

Elected to the Executive Committee, Michigan Appellate Bench-Bar Conference Committee, three terms, 1994-2001 (Treasurer, 1994-Present)

Appointed Member, Supreme Court Committee Work Study Group on Delay Reduction, 2003-2004 appointed by the Michigan Court of Appeals As Special Appellate Facilitator in numerous cases

Appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to Special Committee on Criminal Appellate Fees, 1990

Member, Standard Jury Instruction Subcommittee On Employment Law

Biographee, Who's Who in America, 1992-Present

Biographee, Who's Who in American Law, 1993-Present

Biographee, Who's Who in the World, 1996-Present

Biographee, "The Michigan Lawyer" Profile, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, 1997

LEADERSHIP

Michigan Defense Trial Counsel (President, 1996;Vice President, 1995; Secretary, 1994; Treasurer, 1993; Board of Directors, 1989-Present; Political Action Committee Chairperson, 1995-Present; Chairperson, Amicus Curiae Committee 1986-1988)

Catholic Lawyers Society of the Archdiocese of Detroit (President, 1994-1995; Various Officerships and Board of Directors, 1988-Present)

Defense Research Institute (DRI State Representative, 1997-1998)

Defense Research Institute (Appellate Steering Committee)

Member, Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel (FICC)

International Association of Defense Counsel (Vice-Chair, Amicus Curiae Committee)

American Constitution Society, Michigan Chapter (President 2014)

Supreme Court of the United States Bar

Bar of the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and District of Columbia Circuits

Federal Bar Association

Oakland County Bar Association

Detroit Bar Association

Arab American Bar Association

Irish-American Bar Association

American Bar Association

ABA Section on Litigation (Appellate Subcommittee)

ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section (Appellate Subcommittee)

Former Adjunct Professor of Law (Advanced Appellate Advocacy) University of Detroit School of Law

Wayne State University National Moot Court Team Advisor, 1990-1991

Investigator, Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, 1975-1984

Attorney Discipline Board Hearing Member, 1984-1987; 1994-Present

Popularly Elected to three terms as Representative to the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly, 1980-1982; 1990-1991; 1993-1996

MEDIA

Working together: Second chairing allows litigators and appellate attorneys to collaborate early, work for a favorable outcome.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly, June 25, 2007

Notice of Non Party Fault Wasn't Required
Defense Can Make Proximate Cause Argument
Michigan Lawyers Weekly, May 17, 2004

Frequent Fieger foe wins the quiet way
He says flamboyant attorney's style often plays into his hands
Detroit Free Press, May 29, 2001

Fieger's wins lose luster in appeals
Recent cases show 3 awards lessened or tossed by judges
Detroit Free Press, May 29, 2001

Judge Cuts Award in I-75 Accident
Detroit Free Press

“Fasten Your Seatbelt: Despite Ullery, the Five Percent Cap on Comparative Negligence is Unconstitutional” MDTC/ADTC Briefs, Spring, 1993

“Compounding the Problem: Kirchgessner and the Reduction to Present Cash Value”,
Michigan Defense Quarterly, Spring, 1995

“Arguing the Unpreserved Issue on Appeal: An Anthology of Michigan and Sixth Circuit Cases Reversing Unfavorable Verdicts Based Upon an Appellate Argument Not Advanced Below”,
Michigan Defense Quarterly, Summer, 1995

JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP

1970-1971; Law Clerk to the Chief Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals