Position: Member

TEL: 248-258-2500

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Admitted: Michigan, 1977

Law School: University of Detroit, J.D., 1976

College: University of Michigan, B.A., 1968

Birth Date and Place: 1950

Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act

Additional Information: See: Paul Cordell v. Sharco Express, LLC

Deborah L. Gordon is a trial lawyer who has specialized in employment and civil rights law for over 30 years. She graduated from The University of Michigan and The University of Detroit School of Law. She was Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan in the Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Division, and Senior Trial Attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prior to entering private practice in 1980.

Deborah has tried dozens of cases successfully in the state and federal courts. Some of her trial work has been on a pro bono basis - in 1986 she litigated the case of Rick Sitz vs. State of Michigan on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, which ultimately put an end to drunk driving road block stops by the State Police on the basis that they are a violation of individual civil liberties.

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. Deborah was named one of the "top ten" lawyers in Michigan in "Michigan Super Lawyers", published September, 2006 and 2007, and by Crain's Detroit Business as one of Michigan's '100 Most Influential Women in 2007. In 2009 she was named by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of Michigan's "Leaders in the Law".

Deborah was President of the Labor & Employment Council of the State Bar of Michigan for the 2005-2006 term, which represents approximately 2000 labor and employment attorneys throughout Michigan. She is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Wayne County Case Evaluation Tribunal Plaintiff's Selection Committee, and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association. She formerly served on the Federal Bar Association's Board of Directors. She has authored or co-authored the following publications: Sexual Harassment Law and Practice, a Michigan practitioner's guide; 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. She participates in local radio and television news and talk programs and lectures extensively on employment law and trial skills to her peers.

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 Viet Nam 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).

Firm Members: Elizabeth Marzotto Taylor

Firm Members: Molly Savage

Firm Members: Sarah Thomas