John Bursch chairs the firm’s Appellate Practice and Public Affairs Litigation Groups. He represents multinational organizations, governments, and individuals in litigation involving the most difficult legal issues and most grave financial consequences. Representative business clients include Amway Global, Auto-Owners Insurance, BorgWarner, Chicago Title Company, CMS Energy, Dow Chemical, DTE Energy, Fifth Third Bank, Farmers Insurance, Huntington National Bank, Lafarge N.A., Robert Bosch Corporation, Spartan Stores, Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, and Whirlpool. John has also represented numerous industry associations, citizen groups, and local governments, as well as two former gubernatorial candidates, ten state legislators, three states, and Canada.

John has been recognized in both The Best Lawyers in America and by Michigan Super Lawyers. In 2010, John was honored with an appointment to the American Bar Association's practitioner's reading committee that reviewed U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's writings prior to her Senate confirmation. He is also the only attorney ever to receive back-to-back "Distinguished Brief Awards" for his advocacy before the Michigan Supreme Court (in its 2008 and 2009 Terms). In the past eight years, John has successfully litigated appeals with more than $2.25 billion in controversy. He has:

• Participated in 15 U.S. Supreme Court cases, including successful cert. petitions in the 2006 and 2007 Terms;
  
  
• Presented oral argument in the 4th, 5th, 6th, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, including successful representation of a Fortune Global 150 corporation in a billion-dollar intellectual property dispute and reinstatement of a lawsuit that resulted in a $42 million judgment for clients;
  
  
• Appeared in more than 100 Michigan Court of Appeals and Supreme Court matters, including successful defense of a billion-dollar securities class action and two separate peremptory reversals in the Michigan Supreme Court before merits briefing had even taken place; and
  
  
• Submitted amicus curiae briefs on behalf of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Defense Research Institute, the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Inc., the Product Liability Advisory Council, the Michigan Bankers Association, the Michigan Aggregates Association, the City of Grand Rapids, three separate sections of the Michigan State Bar, and three states.
  

John has also been involved in many of Michigan's most important public-affairs disputes. Among other things, he:

• Represented a Michigan House of Representatives delegation in the Asian Carp litigation that Michigan filed as an original action in the United States Supreme Court;
  
  
• Successfully defeated a Michigan litigation effort, modeled after Massachusetts v. EPA, designed to force the Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment to regulate greenhouse gas emissions;
  
  
• Represented Michigan Gambling Opposition (MichGO) in a ten-year battle against a proposed casino, giving the City of Grand Rapids time to grow and solidify its entertainment economy;
  
  
• Represented Indiana, Ohio, and South Carolina as amici in D.C. Circuit litigation regarding the EPA’s rules for new-source-review permitting for stationary sources under the Clean Air Act.

John is also a co-creator of and regular contributor to the One Court of Justice Blog, the leading blog analyzing Michigan's appellate courts. Please visit the Blog at www.ocjblog.com.

Representative Experience

• Appellate Procedure
  • Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Michigan Gambling Opp’n, No. 08-A184 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2008) (Chief Justice Roberts affirmed D.C. Circuit’s grant of a stay pending decision on client’s petition for certiorari)
  • Michigan Ass’n of Home Builders v. Director of Dept. of Labor & Econ. Growth, 750 N.W.2d 593 (Mich. 2008) (the Michigan Supreme Court followed reasoning and result advocated in amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of the Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA) in case involving an administrative agency’s ability to supplement the administrative record) (Amicus Brief)
  • Houdini Properties, LLC v City of Romulus, 743 N.W.2d 198 (Mich. 2008) (the Michigan Supreme Court followed reasoning and result advocated in amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of the State Bar's Appellate Practice Section that a claim of appeal from an adverse zoning decision is not a "pleading" subject to joinder rules) (Amicus Brief)
  • Sadowy v. Detroit Edison Company, 739 N.W.2d 87 (Mich. 2007) (persuaded the Michigan Supreme Court, on an expedited basis, to order the Michigan Court of Appeals to hear an interlocutory appeal from an adverse summary disposition ruling in a multimillion-dollar stray voltage dispute)
  • Morales v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 672 N.W.2d 849 (Mich. 2003) (successful amicus curiae representation in the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision to overrule long-standing line of authority denying statutory prejudgment interest during interlocutory appeal periods, resulting in $7 million benefit to client) (Amicus Brief)
• Automotive
  • NSK Corp. v. Robert Bosch Corp., 2009 WL 454940 (persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to compel arbitration in an automotive supply dispute)
  • Robert Bosch Corp. v. ASC Inc., 2006 WL 2595301 (6th Cir. 2006) (persuaded the Sixth Circuit to bind party to standard terms and conditions that it had never seen or received)
  • Participated in non-binding "trial" in automotive recall dispute on behalf of Fortune 100 Tier I automotive supplier, resulting in favorable settlement of a $750 million dispute with the OEM
  • American Bumper & Mfg. Co. v. TransTechnology Corp., 652 N.W.2d 252 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002) (Michigan Court of Appeals used section 2-607 notice provision of the Uniform Commercial Code to dismiss $9 million claim against parts supplier arising out of an automotive recall)
• Bankruptcy
  
  • In re MQVP, Inc., No. 10-10982 (E.D. Mich. 2010) (affirming bankruptcy court's confirmation of trustee’s settlement of client's multimillion-dollar trademark dispute with debtor)
  • In re Pilch, 2009 WL 2707374 (6th Cir. 2009) (successful representation of bankruptcy trustee in Sixth Circuit appeal disputing trustee's compensation)
  • Ad Hoc Comm. of Series A Convertible Shareholders v. Lothian Oil, Inc., No. MO-08-CA-074-H (W.D. Tex. 2009) (successful assertion of the equitable mootness doctrine, resulting in affirmance of a bankruptcy court's confirmation order approving a contested, multimillion-dollar settlement agreement)
• Business/Contract Litigation
  • Old Republic national Title Holding Co. v. First Metropolitan Title Co., 2010 WL 1056609 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010) (reversing summary disposition opinion and reinstating client's million-dollar breach of contract claim)
  • Nightwatch Capital Group , LLC v. Questor Management Company, LLC, No. 2008-096312-CZ (Oakland County Cir. Ct. 2010) (retained after client's case dismissed; filed successful motion for reconsideration that resulted in reinstatement of client’s multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract claim)
  • Hubbard v. GeoStar Financial Servs. Corp., 2009 WL 3486653 (6th Cir. 2009) (Sixth Circuit reversed adverse judgment in a breach of contract action involving the transfer of unregistered securities)
  • Oneida Charter Twp. v. Grand Ledge, 771 N.W.2d 785 (Mich. Sup. Ct. 2009) (persuaded Michigan Supreme Court to peremptorily reverse, at the application stage, an adverse Court of Appeals interpretation of a Michigan statute that invalidated the City of Grand Ledge’s water contract with a neighboring township)
  • Quixtar, Inc. v. Brady, 2009 WL 1160273 (6th Cir. 2009) (persuaded Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reject argument that mandatory arbitration agreement was unconscionable and unenforceable, resulting in a $25 million arbitration award for client)
  • CMS Energy Resource Mgmt. Co. v. Quicksilver Resources, Inc., 2009 WL 1815776 (Tex. App. 2009) (special appellate consultant in successful reversal of trial court's adverse judgment in $170 million breach of contract and fraud dispute)
  • McKay Consulting, Inc. v. St. John Health, 2009 WL 127664 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009) (successfully affirming jury verdict in $10 million breach of contract dispute)
  • Metro v. Amway Asia Pacific Ltd. et al., 2006 WL 2035510 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006) (persuaded Michigan Court of Appeals to reject $1 billion claim in class litigation alleging oppression and breach of fiduciary duty in a squeeze out)
  • Lawnicki v. Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, Inc., 2006 WL 2685136 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006) (the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld validity of a complex commercial financing transaction)
  • Irish v. Natural Gas Compression Systems, Inc., 2006 WL 2000132 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006) (persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to reject plaintiff’s million-dollar claim for shareholder oppression arising out of a merger)
  • Ninowski v. McConnell, 2005 WL 2372071 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of claims that alleged fraud and the invalidity of a corporate merger)
  • Buist v. Van Haren Elec., 2004 WL 2291354 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition on former executive's breach of contract claim for share of corporate profits) 
• Constitutional Law
  • Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, 586 F.3d 1109 (9th Cir. 2009) (Ninth Circuit followed our amicus curiae brief in support of rehearing and vacated that part of its initial opinion holding that religious animus evident in a statute’s enactment history cannot be considered when analyzing an Establishment Clause claim) (Amicus Brief)
  • United States v. Huntington National Bank, 574 F.3d 329 (6th Cir. 2009) (persuaded the Sixth Circuit to reverse and remand adverse decision in a three-quarter-million-dollar criminal forfeiture proceeding)
  • Moore v. Detroit Enter., L.L.C., 755 N.W.2d 686 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed trial court verdict, holding that casino’s private security personnel were acting under color of state law when they violated the plaintiff’s constitutional rights)
  • Engquist v. Oregon Dep’t of Agriculture, 128 S. Ct. 977 (2008) (successful cert. petition in case involving a class-of-one equal protection claim)
  • Wallace v. Kato, 127 S. Ct. 1091 (2007) (co-counsel in U.S. Supreme Court case regarding the time when a claim for unlawful arrest accrues)
  • Czymbor's Timber v. City of Saginaw, 733 N.W.2d 1 (Mich. 2007) (Michigan Supreme Court vacated adverse Court of Appeals decision, paving the way for regulatory amendments that will result in the preemption of local laws client seeks to displace)
  • CETAC v. Kempthorne, 492 F.3d 460 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (represented citizens group challenging federal government's land-in-trust decision)
  • TOMAC v. Michigan, 732 N.W.2d 487 (Mich. 2007) (represented citizens group challenging Michigan Governor's amendment of a compact as violative of the constitutional separation of powers)
  • Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 126 S. Ct. 1854 (2006) (successful amicus curiae representation in U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to vacate Sixth Circuit decision that held investment tax credits unconstitutional) (Amicus Brief)
• Environmental
  • Citizens for Environmental Inquiry v. Department of Environmental Quality, 2010 WL 446047 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010) (defeated challenge, modeled after Massachusetts v. EPA, that would have forced the Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment to regulate greenhouse gas emissions)
  • Wolverine Power Supply Coop., Inc. v. Dep’t of Envtl. Quality, 777 N.W.2d 1 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009) (persuaded Michigan Court of Appeals to invalidate the MDEQ's Rule 1830, which allowed any individual or entity to file a contested case proceeding when the department grants a permit to install)
  • Beaulier v. Ford Motor Co., 2008 WL 4367541 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal based on the statute of limitations of a claim for environmental contamination)
  • ITT Indus. v. BorgWarner, Inc., 506 F.3d 452 (6th Cir. 2007) (in this multimillion-dollar cleanup dispute, the Sixth Circuit held, in a landmark ruling, that an administrative order by consent (AOC) is not a basis for a contribution action under CERCLA Section 113)
  • Beauchamp v. Ford Motor Co., 2005 WL 1229749 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of multimillion-dollar class action seeking damages for environmental contamination)
  • Preserve the Dunes, Inc. v. MDEQ, 684 N.W.2d 847 (Mich. 2004) (the Michigan Supreme Court followed reasoning and result advocated in amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of the Michigan Aggregates Association (MAA) in case involving the scope of the Michigan Environmental Protection Act) (Amicus Brief)
• Financial Institutions
  • Koons Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc. v. Nigh, 125 S. Ct. 460 (2004) (successful amicus curiae representation in U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Fourth Circuit and interpret the Truth In Lending Act as capping damages for non-mortgage, non-lease violations of the Act)  (Amicus Brief)
  • Weston v. AmeriBank, 122 S. Ct. 1172 (2002) (successfully opposed petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in class action alleging Truth In Lending Act (TILA) violations, drafting and filing the opposition brief on only four days' notice from client)
  • Hayner v. Old Kent Bank, 2002 WL 227016 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002) (collaborated with another WNJ attorney to uphold dismissal of a Michigan Consumers Protection Act claim filed against a financial institution)
• Intellectual Property
  • In re Sealed Appellant, 2007 WL 4245417 (5th Cir. 2007) (represented one Global Fortune 150 company against another in persuading the Fifth Circuit to reject a 28 U.S.C. § 1782 discovery request for use in a billion-dollar licensing dispute pending in German court)
  • Strong Sales, Inc. v. Vriesman, 2007 WL 2379516 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007) (Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed jury verdict in breach of warranty case involving defective software system)
  • Saginaw Valley Neurosurgery, P.C. v. Adams (Mich. Ct. App. 2004) (denying application for leave and preserving preliminary injunction enforcing covenant not to compete with neurosurgeons’ professional corporation)
  • Wrench LLC v. Taco Bell Corp., 256 F.3d 446 (6th Cir. 2001) (worked with a WNJ team to successfully reinstate lawsuit in the Sixth Circuit for theft of the Taco Bell Chihuahua ad campaign, which ultimately resulted in $42 million judgment in favor of clients)
• Labor and Employment
  
  • Brooks v. Gill Indus., Inc., 2008 WL 1914795 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of employment claims for retaliation, tortious interference with contract, and slander)
• Personal Injury/Insurance
  • Benefiel v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 759 N.W.2d 814 (Mich. 2008) (as amicus curiae, persuaded the Supreme Court to hold that a plaintiff who suffers successive injuries bears the burden of proving that a current injury was caused by the subject accident, not by some independent occurrence) (Amicus Brief)
  • Kenny v. Pioneer State Mut. Ins. Co., 2008 WL 3851837 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court judgment involving no-fault personal protection insurance benefits)
  • Bristol West Ins. Co. v. Smith, 2007 WL 397161 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007) (the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed multiple attorney fee awards under Michigan's No-Fault Act and as sanctions for insurer's failure to pay personal injury protection benefits; successfully petitioned the Court of Appeals for appellate fees and punitive damages)
  • Talbot v. RT Detroit Franchise L.L.C., 2006 WL 1084402 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006) (hired by trial counsel and persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse adverse summary disposition ruling in premises liability dispute)
• Real Estate
  • Tomecek v. Bavas, 759 N.W.2d 178 (Mich. 2008) (Michigan Supreme Court ruling in favor of clients in real estate dispute involving the Land Division Act and implied utility easements of necessity)
  • In re Egbert R. Smith Trust, 745 N.W.2d 754 (Mich. 2008) (Michigan Supreme Court adopted argument embodied in amicus curiae brief of the Michigan State Bar’s Real Property Law Section regarding irrevocable nature of a right of first refusal)
  • Smiley v. Grosse Pointe War Memorial Ass'n, 2008 WL 509874 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008) (successfully reversing adverse trial court decision in a multimillion-dollar dispute involving enforcement of a restrictive covenant)
  • United States v. Grossman, 501 F.3d 846 (7th Cir. 2007) (special appellate consultant in a successful appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals from an adverse judgment involving a $2 million criminal forfeiture proceeding and Michigan's race-notice recording statute)
  • Randolph v. Reisig II, 727 N.W.2d 388 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006) (replaced trial court counsel and persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn adverse summary disposition ruling that invalidated right of first refusal contained in a set of restrictive covenants, both for violating the rule against perpetuities and creating a contract of indefinite duration)
  • Consumers Energy v. Leo Beard, 699 N.W.2d 303 (Mich. 2005) (hired at application stage and persuaded the Michigan Supreme Court to overturn adverse decision in a multimillion-dollar dispute involving adverse possession and prescriptive easements)
  • Randolph v. Reisig I, 2003 WL 22049115 (Mich. Ct. App. 2003) (replaced trial counsel and persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn adverse summary disposition ruling in real estate dispute involving the severability of invalid restrictive covenants contained in an association agreement)
• Tort/Product Liability
  • Edry v. Adelman, __ N.W.2d __, 2010 WL 2867901 (Mich. 2010) (Michigan Supreme Court adopted position in amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association involving the standard for admitting expert testimony in a medical malpractice action)
  • Reed v. Shurlow, 2009 WL 4827827 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009) (successfully defended trial court's decision in a condominium construction dispute)
  • Schaendorf v. Consumers Energy II, 2009 WL 563904 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009) (Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed exclusion of expert witnesses on Daubert grounds and also affirmed dismissal of multimillion-dollar claim for damage allegedly caused by stray voltage)
  • Schaendorf v. Consumers Energy I, 739 N.W.2d 402 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007) (defended multimillion-dollar claim for damage allegedly caused by stray voltage; persuaded Michigan Court of Appeals to hold that the discovery rule cannot extend limitation periods for stray voltage claims; nuisance claims do not exist in the stray voltage context, because such cases present essentially product liability claims; and the continuing-wrongful-acts doctrine does not apply in stray voltage litigation)
  • Henry v. The Dow Chemical Co., 701 N.W.2d 684 (Mich. 2005) (the Michigan Supreme Court followed reasoning and result advocated in amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) in case involving whether Michigan should recognize a cause of action for medical monitoring) (Amicus Brief)
• Trust & Estates
  • In re Howard J. Stoddard Trust, 2007 WL 4245406 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007) (Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed probate court's division of a trust into three separate trusts, over a trustee's objection and despite the absence of any language authorizing such a split in the trust instrument)
  • In re John Kotsonis Irrevocable Family Trust, 2007 WL 4126669 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007) (the Michigan Court of Appeals followed the reasoning and result advocated in an amicus curiae brief filed on behalf of the grantor of an irrevocable trust in a dispute involving reformation of the trust to remove a beneficiary) (Amicus Brief)
  • Sorkowitz v. Lakritz, Wissbrun & Assocs., PC, 706 N.W.2d 9 (Mich. 2005) (successful amicus curiae representation in the Michigan Supreme Court on behalf of State Bar's Probate and Estate Planning Section in decision extending the Mieras "four corners rule" to a legal malpractice claim challenging an estate planner's tax advice) (Amicus Brief)
  • In re Estate of Reisman, 702 N.W.2d 658 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005) (hired by lower court counsel and persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse adverse decision interpreting Michigan's Powers of Appointment Act of 1967 as it applied to an appointment clause in a trust document)
  • Traxler v. Rothbart, 703 N.W.2d 796 (Mich. 2005) (successful amicus curiae representation in the Michigan Supreme Court on behalf of State Bar's Probate and Estate Planning Section in decision reversing the Michigan Court of Appeals and interpreting Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.7404 as it applies to purchasers of trust property) (Amicus Brief)
• Zoning
  
  • Laketon Township v. Advanse, Inc., 2009 WL 763447 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009) (the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed adverse trial court judgment, entered following a bench trial, and reaffirmed that the time for determining whether a noncomforming use vests in a property owner is the date the relevant zoning ordinance was enacted or amended)
  • Kyser v. Kasson Twp., 755 N.W.2d 190 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008) (successful amicus curiae representation of the Michigan Aggregates Association (MAA) in a case that invalidated Township’s exclusionary zoning policy) (Amicus Brief)
• U.S. Supreme Court Experience
  

  Case	Subject matter	Brief type
  Lonberg v. City of Riverside, Case No. 09-1259	Americans with Disabilities Act	Pet. for a Writ of Cert.; Reply Brief in Support of Pet.
  Michigan et al. v. Illinois et al., Nos. 1, 2, & 3, Original	Asian Carp; Original Jurisdiction	Amicus Brief
  Calabrese v. United States, Case No. 09-446	Interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)	Pet. for a Writ of Cert.
  Cassens Transport Co. v. Brown, Case No. 08-1375	McCarran-Ferguson Act Preemption	Amicus Brief
  Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Michigan Gambling Opp'n, Case Nos. 08A-184 and 08-554 (U.S. 2008)	Nondelegation Doctrine; Statutory Interpretation	Mem. in Opp'n to Application to Vacate Stay; Pet. for a Writ of Cert.; Reply Brief in Support of Pet.
  Engquist v. Oregon Dep't of Agriculture, 128 S. Ct. 977, (2008) (cert. granted)	Equal Protection Clause; Punitive Damages; Takings Clause	Pet. for a Writ of Cert.; Reply Brief in Support of Pet.
  Aurora Loan Servs., L.L.C. v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 1098 (2008)	Criminal Forfeiture; Due Process	Pet. for a Writ of Cert.
  Morgan v. Gay, 128 S. Ct. 66 (2007)	Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA); Removal	Amicus Brief
  Wallace v. Kato, 127 S. Ct. 1091 (2007)	Statute of Limitations; Accrual	Brief of Pet'r; Reply Brief
  Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 126 S. Ct. 1854 (2006)	Dormant Commerce Clause	Amicus Brief
  TOMAC v. Michigan, 125 S. Ct. 1298 (2005)	Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA); Separation of Powers	Pet. for a Writ of Cert.
  Koons Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc. v. Nigh, 125 S. Ct. 460 (2004)	Truth in Lending Act (TILA)	Amicus Brief
  Extrusions v. Silver Creek Drain Dist., 124 S. Ct. 1062 (2004)	Takings Clause	Pet. for a Writ of Cert.
  Weston v. AmeriBank, 122 S. Ct. 1172 (2002)	Truth in Lending Act (TILA)	Brief in Opp'n
  Wrench LLC v. Taco Bell Corp., 122 S. Ct. 921 (2002)	Implied-in-fact Contract; Copyright Preemption	Brief in Opp'n

Honors and Awards

• Received the 2010 Distinguished Brief Award, recognizing advocacy in the Michigan Supreme Court
• Received the 2009 Distinguished Brief Award, recognizing advocacy in the Michigan Supreme Court
• Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2009-2011
• Named to Michigan Super Lawyers 2009 
• Named as a Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star - 2008
• AV-rated, the highest possible, under Martindale-Hubbell's Peer Review Rating System
• Listed in Who's Who in American Law 2007-Present
• Listed in Who's Who in America 2007-Present
• Order of the Coif
• Phi Kappa Phi
• Charles E. Nadler Award for Most Outstanding Staff Member, Volume 80 Minnesota Law Review; Executive Note & Comment Editor, Minnesota Law Review
• Law School Commencement Speaker
• Rhodes Scholar nominee
• A. Bruce Clark Senior Award for Excellence in Mathematics
• Graduate of Lee Honors College

Bar Associations

Teaching and Lecturing

• Annual summary of U.S. Supreme Court decisions for the Western District of Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (2005-present)
• Panel presentation on technology and its effect on appellate practice and appellate review at the ABA's 2008 Appellate Summit in Phoenix, Arizona (Nov. 13-16, 2008)
• Panel presentation on preserving the trial court record for appeal, and group moderator for discussions of the purpose, policy, and procedure of appellate oral argument, and appellate research and brief writing at the 2007 Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference (May 3-4, 2007)
• Panel presenter regarding appellate and trial court best practice as part of the State Bar of Michigan's Annual Meeting in Ypsilanti, Michigan (Sept. 14, 2006) 
• Product Liability Seminar:  Protecting Your Company From Product Recall (Spring Manufacturers Institute, Tucson, AZ, May 1-3, 2003)
• Tribute to the Honorable James B. Loken on his promotion to Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Minneapolis, MN, Apr. 5, 2003)
• Legal Concerns for Artists (ArtServe Michigan, Business of Being an Artist Workshop, Grand Rapids, MI, Nov. 2, 2002)
• More than 30 Career Development Programs presented to Warner Norcross & Judd personnel on topics including legal research, what to expect from law practice, and client service principles (2000-present)
• University of Minnesota Law School Commencement Speaker (Minneapolis, MN, May 10, 1997)

Publications

• Numerous articles published in The Appellate Practice Journal, Appellate Issues, and the One Court of Justice Blog

• Sixth Circuit E-Filing: A Primer
• Michigan Supreme Court Agrees to Hear 15 New Cases; Will They Affect Your Business?

Professional Affiliations

• Defense Research Institute
  
• National Association of Diocesan Attorneys
  
• Supreme Court Historical Society
  
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
  
• Michigan Supreme Court's Advocates Guild
  

Community Affiliations

• AYSO Youth Soccer
  Coach (2003-Present)
  
• Hispanic Center of West Michigan
  Board of Directors (2006-09), Secretary (2008-09)
  
• Hugh Michael Beahan Foundation
  Board of Trustees (2003-05)
  
• St. John Vianney Worship Commission
  Chair (2000-03)
  

News

• Warner Norcross Attorneys Receive Law Review Award
• Warner Attorney John Bursch Heading Up Supreme Court Appeal on Asian Carp