Otisville Civil Rights Lawyers

Julie A. Gafkay graduated from Michigan State University in 1992 with a dual major in criminal justice and political theory. She graduated from Whittier Law School in 1995 with honors. Her first position was in Flint, Michigan focusing on civil rights and employment discrimination. In 2003, Attorney Gafkay opened her own statewide practice in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The practice's attorneys provide a general practice to the local area providing legal services in Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Business Planning, contract review, landlord/tenant issues, real estate, employment issues and other general practice areas. Attorney Gafkay has...

Growing up in Genesee County during the 1980's and 1990's really shaped my desire to work for the middle class and blue color sections of society for it was these sections that I most frequently saw receiving unfair treatment. As far back as a Freshman in high school, I remember being forced to play on substantially inferior softball fields, with uniforms that were riddled with holes, while the male students had new uniforms, pristine fields and the most up to date equipment. This unfair and illegal disparity in treatment between the genders has carried on into my adult...

Elizabeth Abdnour is an attorney and partner at Abdnour Weiker LLP fighting for fair and equitable treatment at school and in the workplace. Liz is an experienced, compassionate, and client-centered attorney and advocate who has committed her career to working towards justice and equality for all people. Liz's legal expertise includes special education, school discipline, Title IX, civil rights, disability, employment, and sexual and domestic violence. ? For the first eight years of her career, Liz worked as a legal services attorney, representing low-income individuals in a variety of civil legal matters. Liz spent two years as the supervising attorney of a...

Tom Howlett vigorously pursues cases for people and families harmed by others' misconduct, undertaking both individual lawsuits and class actions. His primary areas of focus are professional negligence (medical malpractice and legal malpractice), catastrophic injury, civil rights (wrongful convictions), and consumer class actions.

Lawrence J. Buckfire earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan in 1986 and his juris doctor degree from Wayne State University School of Law in 1989. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Michigan and the State of Ohio. He was recently named a "Best Personal Injury Lawyer" by a Detroit business magaizne. Lawrence is a highly skilled trial attorney with a reputation for meticulous trial preparation and presentation. Mr. Buckfire has achieved the highest possible rating for ability and integrity in the legal profession. He specializes in child lead paint poisoning, wrongful...

Ronald W. Chapman is the owner of Chapman Law Group and has been practicing law for over 25 years in Michigan and Florida. He is AV® Rated. Ron is a recognized leader in the legal community and a frequent speaker in the area of medical malpractice and risk management. In 1997 Ron was ranked as one of the top ten speakers for Skillpath, Inc. Ron graduated from California State University, Sacramento (BA, Cum Laude 1979), University of Southern California School of Administration (MPA 1980) and Wayne State Law School (JD 1984). After receiving an Honorable Discharge from the United States Air...

Matt Klakulak clerked for Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court his first year out of law school and shortly thereafter joined Robert Harrison & Associates, PLC, where he remained for 10 years. More than half that firm’s practice was criminal defense, and he had the opportunity to work on some very high profile cases as well as practice in the areas of personal injury, employment and appellate law, among others.

Research and writing has always been a point of strength and passion in Matt Klakulak's practice of law. He joined the Fieger Firm in 2011 to focus his efforts...

“I am passionate about the law and fighting for my clients. I have spent the majority of my career as a litigator, meaning handling lawsuits filed in trial courts resulting in substantial settlements or trials where I have a winning record. I care about your rights.” The most important aspect of being a litigator is the ability to successfully try cases. Bob has extensive trial experience on both the defense side and plaintiff side. He worked on the defense side for seven years during which time he tried 35 cases to verdict and won each one of them. Bob then moved...

Over 30 years, Joseph Dedvukaj has been a strong advocate on behalf of those who wrongly suffered a personal injury. Today, the firm is known for winning large settlements and verdicts for personal injury accidents. Joseph Dedvukaj continues to provide client’s the manpower and resources to professionally handle any case, no matter how complex. Joseph Dedvukaj’s firm is a top personal injury firm in the United States, winning some of the largest settlements and verdicts. To date, we’ve won hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients. Our firm is passionate about fighting for the...

Michael Hanna is a partner at Morgan & Morgan and leads the firm’s Michigan office. He received his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University and attended University of Miami School of Law, where he graduated with honors. As a class action employment attorney, Mr. Hanna has litigated hundreds of federal claims and represented thousands of clients across the nation. His areas of expertise include the prosecution of wage and hour claims for unpaid minimum and overtime wages, as well as discrimination and retaliation claims under various state and federal statutes. Many of the cases in which Mr. Hanna served as lead...

Michael Bonvolanta earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2011 from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2015 from the University of Detroit – Mercy School of Law where he graduated magna cum laude. He was admitted to the Frank Murphy Honor Society and served as a member of UDM’s Moot Court Board of Advocates. Bonvolanta is admitted to practice law in the State of Michigan, the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, and the United States District Court for...

Ari Kresch, founder of 1-800-LAW-FIRM, is an energetic visionary who sees a bright future for the consumer and for those lawyers who are committed to creating extreme value by leveraging technology. He doesn't mind being called a market disrupter or taking heat for advocating the elimination of hourly fees. He strives to make legal access simple and relevant by aggressively expanding 1-800-LAW-FIRM’s customized legal offerings not available anywhere else. For consumers from middle school to retirement, Ari is designing easy to understand legal products and services that arms them in ways that the little guy could never before afford. ...

Sam Morgan's practice focuses on advising and representing non-union employees in employment-related legal disputes. The vast majority of his work involves litigation, including lawsuits alleging wrongful termination, all forms of illegal employment discrimination (especially age, race, gender and disability discrimination), sexual harassment, "Whistleblowers" and other unlawful retaliation, breach of employment contract (retention agreements, bonuses, commissions) non-payment of wages and overtime pay, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, disputes over the misappropriation, use and/or disclosure of proprietary information and/or trade secrets. Sam has particular expertise in executive compensation disputes, and disputes involving minority equity owners and shareholder oppression, as well as public...

Handling employment and civil rights cases under (1) the Family & Medical Leave Act; (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act involving race discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, religious discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, etc. (3) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; (4) the Michigan Whistleblower Protection Act; (5) the Fair Labor Standards Act; (6) Americans with Disabilities Act; (7) USERRA actions on behalf of the men and women of the U.S. military (active and reserves); (8) worker's compensation retaliation claims; and (9) much more.

I was a Michigan State Police Trooper for 10 years before attaining my Law Degree. I commenced my law practice working for the Law Firm that represented the Detroit Police Officer's Association. I represent corporate entities and individuals in State Courts and the United States Federal Courts.

Pratheep Sevanthinathan is the award-winning founder of the Seva Law Firm. He has been practicing an insurance litigation attorney for the past several decades - first as an an insurance defense attorney and later as a plaintiff's attorney. Mr. Sevanthinathan is a No-Fault insurance guru who has lectured on the topic at numerous seminars, published articles on insurance issues, and has sat on many insurance litigation committees.

Mr. Sevanthinathan is a fierce advocate for his clients who has taken many cases to trial victories. He has been recognized for his work with the following awards: SuperLawyers,...

Albert Asciutto is a published author and advocate devoted to fighting for truth and justice on behalf of individuals who have been oppressed, bullied, abused, or exploited.

During his undergraduate studies at Western Michigan University, Mr. Asciutto developed a zeal for examining civil rights issues and furthered his passion for writing while double majoring in Criminal Justice and English.

At Wayne State University Law School, Mr. Asciutto continued to pursue these endeavors, serving as Managing Editor for the Journal of Law in Society, while strengthening his advocacy skills in the Mock Trial program. Throughout his legal education, in addition to clerking...

Barbara is a veteran litigator and appellate attorney with extensive experience in state and federal courts and tribunals. She has developed a specialized civil litigation and appellate practice through twelve years of legal practice representing individuals, sole proprietors, corporations, limited liability companies, Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, hospitals, nursing homes, non-profit entities, state universities, public schools, manufacturers, insurance companies, law firms, construction companies, retail chains, restaurants, closely held corporations and professional employer organizations. Barbara appears in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Bay, Ingham and Wasthenaw County trial courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDTC)...

Keeley Blanchard is a top criminal defense attorney in Michigan. She focuses her practice in the areas of defending those wrongfully accused of criminal sexual conduct, child abuse, domestic violence, assault, child pornography, and drug crimes. Her trial experience is significant, she has an excellent reputation for being aggressive, and will out-prepare any of the prosecutors she faces in court.

By keeping a limited caseload, I can forge a truly personal relationship with each client, thereby strengthening the attorney-client relationship. I firmly believe that the most effective defense or for prosecuting a personal injury case can only be effectuated when there is a strong foundation of trust between attorney and client. I do everything in my power to earn that trust. A limited caseload also allows me to be aggressive, not merely encouraging my client to take the first plea offer or first settlement offer just because it would ease my workload. I have the time and resources to fully investigate...

Nick Coulson is a trial lawyer who dedicates his practice to cases with complex legal and factual issues, including class actions, mass torts, and mass arbitrations. Nick is the rare lawyer (especially amongst those who prosecute class actions) who devotes significant time and effort to actually taking cases to trial. Apart from his more traditional legal qualifications, Nick is particularly proud to be a 2022 graduate of the three week trial skills college at the Gerry Spence Method at Thunderhead Ranch. That program teaches dedicated lawyers for people—not institutions of power—groundbreaking skills for presenting clients’ cases to a jury. Nick...

Ross Gilders is a Michigan attorney recognized as a Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyers. Ross handles a wide range of cases including personal injury, social security, worker's compensation, property damage, and employment. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan and Michigan federal courts. His law practice is dedicated to providing justice for individuals who have been injured or wronged. Contact Ross Gilders if you have been injured, if you are seeking social security or worker's compensation benefits, if you have incurred property damage, or if you have been wrongfully terminated or mistreated at work.

Co-Counsel on the largest police misconduct verdict in Michigan history and the largest verdict in Michigan this year! On November 3, 2016, a jury in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan returned a $36,600,000 against Genesee County Deputies for using excessive force against a man arrested for drunken driving. Click the link below for details. This is one of many seven figure verdicts and settlements that I have obtained for my clients in civil rights and personal injury cases. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/11/06/jury-awards-36m-verdict-genesee-county-police-brutality-case/93287248/ In addition to civil...