Deborah Gordon

ATTORNEY

Widely considered the preeminent civil rights and employment attorney in the state...

 

Since 1987 Deborah has been listed in Best Lawyers in America (published annually by Woodward & White) as one of the best employment lawyers in the United States. She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, widely considered to be the premiere legal professional organization in America comprised of the best of the trial bar in the United States and Canada, and has received the highest rating possible, "AV", from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review national Legal Directory. She has been admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Since 1987 Deborah has been listed in Best Lawyers in America (published annually by Woodward & White) as one of the best employment lawyers in the United States. She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, widely considered to be the premiere legal professional organization in America comprised of the best of the trial bar in the United States and Canada, and has received the highest rating possible, "AV", from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review national Legal Directory. She has been admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

“Sometimes these people with all this power have to learn to behave…to know when to say, sorry, we made a mistake.”

Deborah Gordon has specialized in employment and civil rights law for over 30 years.  She was formerly Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Division, and a Senior Trial Attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Deborah has had a long and very successful track record in the courtroom and in front of juries. 

 

  • Deborah is a previous President of the Labor and Employment Council of the State Bar of Michigan, which represents approximately 2000 labor and employment attorneys throughout Michigan. 

  • She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Wayne County Case Evaluation Tribunal Plaintiff’s Selection Committee, and the Michigan Association of Justice. She formerly served on the Federal Bar Association Board of Directors.

  • In 2016 Deborah received the Jean King Leadership Award given by the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan “In Commendation for Visionary Leadership in the face of Opposition and Outstanding Efforts Toward the Advancement of Women and the Legal Profession." 

She has authored or co-authored the following publications: Sexual Harassment Law and Practice, a Michigan Practitioner’s Guide; Employment Litigation in Michigan; Michigan Causes of Action Formbook (Employment Claims chapter); Advising the Older Client (Age and Handicap Discrimination chapter); and Attorney Fee Agreements in Michigan Forms and Practice Guide (Employment Litigation chapter), all published by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.

 

TRIAL WORK AWARDS:

  • Michigan Lawyers Weekly, January, 2016

  • Michigan Lawyers Weekly, January, 2015

    (Obtained one of the top ten verdicts of the year)

  • Top Verdicts in the State of Michigan for 2013

  • Michigan Lawyers Weekly, February, 2013

    (obtained third and eleventh largest verdicts of the year)

 

And yes, for you long-time Detroiters,

Deborah is the daughter of the late Lou Gordon, of WKBD’s "The Lou Gordon Program". Lou was described this way in a recently-published book: "He was Detroit’s Mike Wallace, a broadcast cop who cowered before no one. The bigger the interview, the tougher he got. Most interviewers bowed and scraped before Bob Hope, but Gordon asked him about his defense of President Richard Nixon during the Vietnam era. Gordon questioned George Wallace’s sanity - to his face. Gordon was, by far, the most feared man in television, maybe in the history of the local medium." (From Soupy to Nuts! A History of Detroit Television, by Tim Kiska, Momentum Books LLC, 2005).