Dickinson Wright

Dickinson Wright

Headquarters	Detroit, Michigan
No. of offices	15
No. of attorneys	approximately 400
Major practice areas	Corporate
Key people	William T. Burgess, CEO; James A. Samborn and Edward H. Pappas, Chairmen
Date founded	1878
Founder	Henry Munroe Campbell and Henry Russel
Company type	Professional Limited Liability Company
Website
www.dickinsonwright.com

Dickinson Wright PLLC (formerly Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman), is a law firm based in Detroit, Michigan. With approximately 400 lawyers across more than 40 practices, Dickinson Wright serves clients from fifteen offices, six of which are in Michigan. In the 2015 NLJ 350, which is based on the number of lawyers at the firm in 2014, the National Law Journal ranked Dickinson Wright 122nd largest in the United States and largest Detroit based firm.

History

Dickinson Wright was founded in 1878 by two young lawyers, Henry Munroe Campbell and Henry Russel.

Members of the firm were involved in drafting the state of Michigan's two constitutions in 1908 and 1963.

The firm began expanding outside of Michigan in 1978 with the opening of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Since then, the firm has added five additional offices in Michigan (Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw, and Troy). In the late 2000s, the firm added offices in Toronto, Phoenix, and Nashville. The firm expanded its Toronto office in 2011, the Phoenix office in 2013, and the Las Vegas office in 2015. The firm opened new offices in Columbus, Ohio (2012), Nashville's Music Row (2014), and Lexington, Ky. in 2015.

Around the late 1980s and early 1990s, because of the increase in Japanese companies in Metro Detroit, Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman hired a Japanese paralegal and two Japanese lawyers. With its new employees it began publishing a Japanese-language newsletter for Japanese clients and began conducting Japanese-language seminars.

The firm adopted its current name, Dickinson Wright PLLC, when it established itself as a professional limited liability company in January 1998.

Practice areas

Dickinson Wright maintains a diverse range of practice areas, including administrative & regulatory, appellate, automotive, automotive litigation, banking & financial services, bankruptcy, business technology, construction, corporate, corporate finance, emerging business, employee benefits, energy & sustainability, environmental, estate planning & administration, family law, gaming, government relations, healthcare, immigration, Indian law, insurance, intellectual property, labor & employment, litigation, media, sports & entertainment, mergers & acquisitions, municipal law & finance, patent litigation, private equity, products liability, real estate, schools & education, securities, and taxation.

Offices

One Detroit Center, the location of Dickinson Wright's headquarters.

Current

• Detroit, Michigan (1878)
  • The firm's headquarters are in One Detroit Center in Downtown Detroit. The company moved into the building when it opened in 1992. In 2007 the company had almost 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of space in the building. That year it renewed its lease.
• Troy, Michigan (1966)
  • Relocated from Birmingham in 1972 to Bloomfield Hills and from Bloomfield Hills in 2011.
• Lansing, Michigan (1970)
• Washington, D.C. (1978)
• Grand Rapids, Michigan (1989)
• Ann Arbor, Michigan (2000)
• Toronto, Ontario (2008)
  • Expanded through a combination with Aylesworth LLP in 2011.
• Nashville, Tennessee (2009)
  • Opened through a combination with Stewart Estes & Donnell PLC.
• Phoenix, Arizona (2009)
  • Expanded through a combination with Mariscal, Weeks, McIntyre & Friedlander, P.A. in 2013.
• Las Vegas, Nevada (2010)
• Columbus, Ohio (2012)
• Saginaw, Michigan (2012)
• Nashville, Tennessee (2014)
  • Nashville Music Row Office, Dickinson Wright's second Nashville office
• Lexington, Kentucky (2015)
• Reno, Nevada (2015)

Former

• Chicago, Illinois

Notable lawyers and alumni

• Dennis Archer, former mayor of Detroit, former firm chairman.
• Vivian Bercovici, current Canadian ambassador to Israel.
• Marc Bergsman, current judge on the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
• Mary Beth Kelly, current Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court.
• Susan Bieke Neilson, former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, former partner.
• John Corbett O'Meara, current federal judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
• Spencer Overton, professor at George Washington University Law School, scholar of election law.
• Henry Saad, current judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, former partner.
• David Viviano, current Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court.
• Gretchen Whitmer, current Michigan State Senator (D-East Lansing).
• Robert P. Young, Jr., current Chief Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court, former partner.
• Brian K. Zahra, current Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court.

References

• Ingrassia, Paul and Joseph B. White. Comeback: The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry. Simon & Schuster, May 14, 2013. ISBN 1476737479, 9781476737478.

External links

• Homepage
• Chambers USA profile
• Firm profile from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell
• Organizational Profile at the National Law Review

• Firm history
• Ingrassia and White, p. 336.
• Full list of practice areas
• "Home." (Archive) Dickson Wright. March 4, 2000. Retrieved on November 23, 2013. "Dickinson Wright PLLC Counsellors at Law 500 Woodward Avenue, Suite 4000 Detroit, Michigan 48226-3425"
• "Dickinson Wright gaming practice enters Europe with law firm agreement in Bulgaria." Crain's Detroit Business. November 12, 2013. Modified November 13, 2013. Retrieved on November 23, 2013. "Detroit-based law firm Dickinson Wright PLLC announced Tuesday a cooperation agreement with Velchev & Co., a law firm based in Sofia, Bulgaria."
• "Dickinson Wright renews One Detroit Center lease." Crain's Detroit Business. December 3, 2007. Retrieved on November 23, 2013.
• "Tenant Testimonials." (Archive) One Detroit Center. Retrieved on November 23, 2013.
• "DICKINSON WRIGHT OPENS ANN ARBOR OFFICE." (Archive) Dickinson Wright. February 7, 2000. Retrieved on November 23, 2013.
• "[1]
• TTAB roster of judges, from TTABlog