I have spent my legal career defending the little guy against big corporations. Everyday we help regular people fight the mortgage companies, insurance companies and the big auto companies. Without proper representation, citizens do not stand a chance against these large corporations. While taking on these cases is surely challenging the reward of helping those truly in need is unmatched.

Rebecca Filiatraut graduated in 1991 from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. In 1994 she received her Juris Doctor from the Detroit College of Law. While attending law school she worked at the Public Defenders Office, representing individuals charged with misdemeanors at the 36th District Court in Detroit. After her graduation, she spent several years working for a large and nationally recognized personal injury law firm. It was here that she began her career of handling federal civil rights cases which has spanned over the course of her more than twenty years in practice. Rebecca focused on §1983 civil rights actions involving police and jail misconduct, as well as other complex matters such as trucking and medical malpractice cases. Seeking to further broaden her experience, she also practiced on the defense side for a number of years, successfully defending a multitude of cases, primarily on behalf of a number of different municipalities and police departments, as well as other businesses and insurance carriers across the State of Michigan. After gaining experience on the defense side, Rebecca returned to the work she loved, representing individuals against large corporations and insurance companies in order to help these people obtain rightful compensation for their injuries. Rebecca has extensive trial experience in both state and federal courts on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants, having been involved in some very high-profile and notable jury trials during the course of her career. She is licensed to practice in the State of Michigan, as well as the United States District Courts of both the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Rebecca is an active supporter of the legal community and a member of several associations, including the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Section and the Michigan Association for Justice.

Abood Law Firm has been providing legal services throughout the state of Michigan since 1956. With offices in East Lansing and Birmingham, Abood Law Firm provides legal representation in Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties. Specifically, Abood Law Firm specializes in matters of Criminal Defense, Criminal Expungements, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury, Civil Rights, and Family Law. Our attorneys are also considered to be amongst the top DUI and DWI lawyers in the State of Michigan. Abood Law Firm is experienced, aggressive, and knowledgeable and gets promising results for its clients. If you, or a loved one, has been charged with a criminal offense or are in a civil dispute, your choice of hiring an attorney is important. Call our office today for a free consultation and let us show you how we can provide you with all the protection you need. The criminal defense and personal injury attorneys at the Abood Law Firm are happy to provide initial consultations at no charge to prospective clients, and are able to advise clients 365 days a year. Contact us today to see how Abood Law Firm in Birmingham and Lansing, MI can help you. Jeffrey Lance Abood, born from a long line of proven and awarded lawyers, was raised in Missouri and attended Missouri Southern State University. Midway through his undergraduate education, Jeffrey decided to follow his true calling of practicing law with his family in Michigan. He graduated Summa Cum Laude (above a 3.8 GPA) from Wayne State University and earned his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Based in Oakland County, he practices in the areas of family law (including divorce, child custody and support) and criminal defense (including alcohol and drug related offenses and white collar crime). Additionally, Jeffrey handles cases before the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and Michigan Lottery Bureau, sat on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board of Wayne State University and serves as General Counsel to Metro-Detroit non-profit organizations.

R.J. serves as a strategic partner and counselor to his clients and their business needs across multiple industries, including automotive, finance, health care, leasing, property development, real estate development, staffing, technology, and telecom. He prioritizes developing an intimate understanding of his clients’ unique goals and challenges and applies his deep knowledge of the law to ensure proactive and results-based legal counsel. A formidable and accomplished advocate, R.J. also acts as lead trial counsel when legal disputes arise after exhausting preventive measures. Clients describe R.J. as an engaged litigator whose attention to detail, tenacity, and professionalism set him apart from other counsel. He obtains cost-effective results by quickly digging into the facts and leveraging the results in favor of his clients. R.J. previously served as chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s 2,300-member Litigation Section. Michigan Super Lawyers® has consistently recognized him as a Rising Star in Business Litigation, an award granted to only 2.5 percent of Michigan attorneys under 40. R.J.’s peers have elected him to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, an honorary society comprising one percent of each jurisdiction’s attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and welfare of their communities. He is a founding member of his community’s Rotary Club.

Personable but tough, Chris Chesney honed his legal litigation craft through years of special investigations litigation serving corporate clients. Chris prides himself on thinking outside of the box to create novel and winning arguments. Before Chris cut his teeth in the courts, he developed practical skills at the Michigan House of Representatives, advised business owners in South Africa, and conducted grassroots research in Scotland. Not every litigator understands what it’s like working on 70-foot-high scaffolding in a Houston oil refinery. Chris currently serves as an officer and Governing Council member for the State Bar of Michigan’s Litigation Section, serving as Treasurer for the 2,400-member section. He also presents at industry symposiums to continue his rise as a next-generation litigator. At Cronkhite Counsel, Chris serves as trial counsel using years of investigative work and real-world experience to outwork and outmaneuver opponents.

Racine Miller is the managing partner of The Michigan Law Firm, PC. Ms. Miller is an experienced litigator and trial attorney, who can proudly claim to have a near-perfect trial record. While maintaining a separate Michigan civil rights law firm, Ms. Miller works to ensure firm operations, administrative procedures, and firm organizational strategies are in place at The Michigan Law Firm, PC.

From his earliest days of legal practice, Steve Couch’s approach to advocacy has been marked by two consistent qualities: fearlessness and creativity. Within his first six months in private practice, he helped his clients hold a Massachusetts police department accountable in a wrongful death case before a jury that only needed ninety minutes to reach its verdict. While Steve’s litigation practice would evolve over time, this event set the tone for the rest of his career. Born and raised near Detroit, Steve grew up in a family of small business owners, giving him insights into the challenges that entrepreneurs face daily. He internalized these early lessons, which informed his approach to getting to know his clients as well as possible when working with them to address their legal needs. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he attended Boston University School of Law. While at Boston University, he devoted himself to honing his skills in trial and appellate advocacy through the school’s clinical litigation programs and its National First Amendment Moot Court team. Over the years, clients have entrusted Steve with significant matters in that required unconventional strategies and tenacious advocacy to achieve the necessary results. In one case, Steve successfully defended a national insurance carrier against a $45,000,000 claim, guiding the client to a zero-dollar settlement. Steve was also a pioneer of tapping into the wealth of third-party data collections as a litigation tactic for investigating opposing parties’ fraud, perjury and other misconduct. In recent years, Steve worked with a boutique law firm litigating on behalf of clients across the country. He has successfully represented individuals and companies in both trial and appellate courts from coast to coast. He is excited to bring that base of experience to Cronkhite Counsel.

Born into a family with ties to the intelligence community, Greg developed a strong sense of service early in life. This background also shaped Greg’s ability to identify patterns, uncover insights, and notice details that others overlook. Greg pursued his undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech, where he further sharpened his investigatory, analytical, and problem-solving skills through his role as an Associate in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s (ODNI’s) Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE). His work culminated in a formal written and oral briefing presented to a representative of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Greg is also a graduate of The Heritage Foundations Young Leaders Program, where he gained deep insights into the federal government’s inner workings and regulatory landscape, while also contributing to the collection and analysis of data assessing military capabilities of foreign nations. Greg later returned to his home state of Michigan to contribute to the startup phase of a company that leveraged artificial intelligence and autonomous systems initially designed for military and intelligence applications to the highly regulated field of autonomous passenger vehicles. It was during this time that he realized his skills in investigation, analysis, and problem-solving would be best utilized in service to his community through a career in law. While in law school, Greg received the CALI Award in his Business Organizations class, an honor given to the student with the highest grade in the course and was elected as Secretary of the Hellenic Bar Association of Michigan. He refined his investigatory and regulatory skills as a Compliance Extern at the University of Michigan Athletic Department amid a nationally notorious and closely scrutinized NCAA investigation, where he researched and enforced internal compliance with NCAA bylaws and HIPAA regulations, drafted legislative relief waivers, and conducted Title IX audits to ensure internal policies and procedures complied with federal legislation. After law school, Greg began his practice as an attorney serving corporate clients in matters of civil litigation including special investigations and fraud. Today, he channels his commitment to service into effective advocacy for clients in business and employment disputes. His background has shaped his approach as an aggressive, tenacious, and diligent trial attorney who leaves no stone unturned in pursuing his clients’ interests.

Mr. Whitehead is the owner and president of Access Legal Care, PLLC. Although the firm is headquartered in Garden City, Michigan, the firm provides limited, unbundled, and full-representation legal services, including local representation at court hearings, to clients in all Michgian counties. Access Legal Care, PLLC is an award-winning Michigan law firm providing affordable legal help for your most common legal needs (Mich & Fed law).