Dickinson Wright PLLC

About this office:

Dickinson Wright was founded in 1878 by two young lawyers, Henry M. Campbell and Henry Russel, in what was then the much smaller downtown of Detroit, and has grown to be one of the most respected law firms of its region. Based in Michigan, the firm now numbers over 250 and has offices in downtown Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Tennessee and Toronto, Ontario. The firm offers comprehensive legal services to a broad range of clients, from very large corporations to small businesses, new ventures, individuals, and governmental units.

Dickinson Wright has a tradition of serving the civic and charitable needs of its communities and a long-standing commitment to the advancement of women and minorities in the legal profession. The firm's members included the first woman president of the State Bar of Michigan as well as the first African-American President of the American Bar Association, Dennis W. Archer, currently the firm's Chairman.

Many of the firm's clients have been clients for more than three quarters of a century and, in a few instances, even longer. For illustration of the breadth of the firm's practice, we invite you to review the list of practice areas served by the firm. More important is the firm's commitment, today and for the last 128 years, of complete dedication to the service of each client.

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Antitrust, Appellate Litigation, Banking and Financial Services, Bankruptcy, Biotechnology, Business Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations, Business Technology, Commercial and Business Litigation, Construction Law, Corporate, Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance, Education and School Law, Employee Benefits, Employment Litigation, Energy and Public Utilities, Environmental, Estate Planning and Trusts, Family and Matrimonial Law, Gaming Law, Immigration, Information Technology and Security Law, Insurance Industry, Intellectual Property, International, Labor and Employment Relations, Medical Malpractice, Mergers and Acquisitions, Minority Business Enterprise, Municipal Law and Finance, Private Capital, Product Liability/Personal Injury Litigation, Railroads and Transportation, Real Estate, Regulatory and Administrative Law, Risk Management, Securities, Taxation, Telecommunications, Trade Regulation.

Supreme Court Limits CERCLA Arranger Liability and Upholds Apportionment Over Joint & Several Liability
Sharon R. Newlon, Tammy L. Helminski, June 2, 2009
In its opinion issued on May 4, 2009 for the consolidated CERCLA cases of Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co, et. al v. United States and Shell Oil Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court limited arranger liability and found the methods of liability apportionment used by the District...

Comparative "Fault" Cannot be apportioned to a Nonparty in a Tort Action without Proof That the Nonparty Owed a Duty to the Plaintiff
Phillip J. DeRosier, April 30, 2009
Until recently, lower courts in Michigan had split on the issue whether a defendant in a tort action could seek to apportion fault to a nonparty under Michigan's comparative fault statutes, MCL 600.2957 and 600.6304, without first establishing that the nonparty owed a legal duty to the plaintiff.

Enforceability of Indemnification Clauses in Construction Contracts in the Wake of the Legislature's Abolition of "Joint and Several" Liability
Leslie A.F. Calhoun, April 30, 2009
Many construction contracts, particularly contracts between contractors and subcontractors, contain indemnification clauses.

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