“I am best known for my competitive spirit and will to win.
I wear a few different hats … and they all fit.”
From my earliest memory, I had to win or succeed at everything I did. Some may have said it was excessive. Whether in sports, school, or work, no one played, worked, or studied harder than me. There were no other options as far as I was concerned. I was just an all-in type of person in everything I did. This has served my clients well over the years. I care about my clients. I live and die with each case. I stop at nothing within ethical bounds to obtain the best result possible. No one can out work me.
As both a criminal defense attorney and civil litigator I live and breathe in an adversarial world. I’m good with that. I honed my trial skills early in my career as a Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Michigan Assistant Attorney General. I am not only comfortable in a courtroom; I seek to own it when in trial. I have handled countless criminal cases including felonies, misdemeanors, all things “vehicular’ such as drunk driving and drug related offenses, negligent homicide, driver license matters etc. My job is to keep my clients charged criminally out of harms’ way. My case results speak for themselves.
I obtained a verdict in excess of 2 million dollars in my first negligence jury trial. My civil cases usually involve representing clients who sustain injuries due to another’s negligence. The result in each type of matter can be life changing for the better or for the worse. Clients who are injured and victims of negligence deserve compensation commensurate with their injuries, pain and suffering and loss of earnings.
Regardless of what type of case, I facilitate my clients staying on track with their lives. I think of my clients as my friends. Having credibility with many judges, prosecutors and opposing counsel inures to the benefit of my clients.
Hertz Schram was founded in 1979 providing formidable representation to clients large and small. We are a unique full service “large firm in a mid-size suit” with expertise in 25 areas of both business and personal legal services, locally, regionally, and nationally. Each client and each matter is our greatest concern.
We have earned awards for handling 200 million dollar mergers and acquisitions, received tens of millions of dollars in class action suits, multi-million dollar jury verdicts in injury cases, represent businesses of every size and persons charged with white collar crimes, all felonies and misdemeanors, even vehicular and OWI cases, full scope of family law matters and all the other business and personal legal services detailed in this website.
Our main office is in the Hertz Schram building on the shore of picturesque Square Lake in Bloomfield Hills, MI. We also opened a satellite office in downtown Detroit several years ago when we sensed it was embarking on becoming perhaps the greatest urban comeback in the history of America. For many of our senior partners, we have returned to where it all began and where it’s all beginning again. We are proud to be in Detroit again. It’s a revived mecca of commerce, finance, real estate development, retail, dining and entertainment of every variety. Entrepreneurial spirit, businesses of every variety, community involvement abounds everywhere with countless opportunities for young people and a vibrant and fun place to work, play, and live. It’s a miracle come true.
I have proudly been the firm’s managing shareholder since 1986 and responsible for every facet of firm management including day to day operations and long-term strategic planning. The list of my duties and responsibilities is endless (and boring to read and oftentimes to perform!). I do, however, evaluate each matter prior to accepting representation, work with some brilliant lawyers, and mentor, train, and supervise our up and coming next gen attorneys.
Meeting clients’ needs, achieving their goals, managing expectations, delivering desired results, being efficient and cost effective, taking a vested interest in each and every client and matter are many of Hertz Schram’s core values. I must lead and set the example for all attorneys and embrace these same core values in representing my own client matters.
We preach and practice… “don’t ever take your focus off the client.”
As invaluable as the camp experience and recreational endeavors are for the growth and development of our kids, there is risk. Most camps, however, manage those risks diligently, which is why they are among today’s safest places for children’s recreational activities. However, the sheer numbers of camper and recreational participants in North America can result in unfortunate injuries, drownings, or other catastrophic claims. Notably, in recent years, sexual, physical, emotional abuse of one kind or another has significantly increased.
Few people or attorneys truly understand the intricacies of running a summer camp or other recreational facilities. It is incumbent on camps to prioritize safety, emotional, mental, and physical health. Activities of every variety, some high risk and others not but all of which must comply with applicable laws and regulations and meet the applicable standard of care for each and every aspect of these venues and operations. Prosecuting or defending these claims is fact intensive.
In addition to litigation services, I also offer expert witness services including claim review, evaluation, consultation, risk management and loss prevention services for claimants, injured parties, camps, other recreational operations, adventure endeavors, as well for insurance companies.
Criminal Defense, including vehicular and licensing matters
Personal Injury / Auto Accidents
Civil Litigation
Camp & Recreational Law Litigation and Expert Witness Services
Oakland University, Rochester, MI – B.A. Political Science, Cum laude, 1972
Detroit College of Law, Detroit – J.D., 1976
Michigan, 1976 (sworn in by former Michigan Attorney General Frank J. Kelly)
U.S. District Court
U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit
Best Lawyers in America, 2021
Leading Lawyer, Commercial Litigation, 2013-Present
dBusiness Top Lawyers, dBusiness Magazine, 2010, 2020
Martindale-Hubbell A/V Rating, peer review, 2020-2021
Personal Injury
Client was thrown into side wall of an elevator when it abruptly jerked up and down a couple of times. Client claimed he could no longer lift his arms rendering him unemployable. Insurance company vigorously contested that elevator malfunctioned or that insureds negligence caused elevator to jerk. Also contested causation and severity of injury as client already had a pre-existing condition of weak back muscular structure making him easily susceptible to injury. Insurance company offered $5,000 before jury selection to settle claim. Wayne County jury rendered a verdict of $2,300,000 in favor of Plaintiff, my client.
Criminal-OWI (Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated)
Client charged with 5th drunk driving offense. BAC (blood alcohol content) was determined to be .42 some 4 times in excess of the then legal limit. Extensive sentence memorandum citing several compelling mitigating factors resulted in sentence of probation only. No jail time. Ultimately successfully won appeal of her suspended license restoring her right to drive.
Causing Auto Accident Resulting in Serious Bodily Injuries
Client truck driver was issued a tractor trailer by a trucking company to transport scrap metal. Rear ended an auto stopped at a GREEN Light causing brain and back injuries to 2 occupants. Client charged with 2 counts of Moving Violation Operating a Vehicle at Excessive Speed Causing Serious Impairment of Body Function, a 93-day misdemeanor and lengthy driver’s license suspension. Counsel was repeatedly informed by Prosecutor’s Office charges would not be reduced as part of a plea agreement. Counsel appealed multiple times seeking a meeting with supervising prosecutor to demonstrate compelling mitigating factors justifying reconsideration to reduce the charges. A fact intensive investigation with the assistance of an accident reconstruction expert revealed the trailer tractor issued to my client had multiple defective brakes and tires rendering the unit unworthy for road travel and unable to stop safely as evidenced by a braking skid mark of some 400 feet. Client was permitted to plead no contest to a somewhat fictitious offense of driving while license suspended. With an extensive sentence memorandum and presentation to the presiding Judge, a modest fine was assessed, but no jail time, no probation (extremely rare given the charges and disposition), and restitution for any out of pocket medical expenses for the injured occupants were capped at $1,000.
Saving a Physician’s Career and Life – Criminal Investigation
Referring attorney contacted me late in the afternoon informing me she was referring a client who was a long tenured orthopedic surgeon (without any criminal or license violations) who was alleged to have committed a sexual assault offense upon a patient by stroking her breasts during a physical examination of her KNEES. Further, that the supposed victim/complainant had contacted a TV news station which agreed to air an interview of her that evening ostensibly to deter this physician from ever repeating the alleged conduct. I frantically tracked down the reporter and challenged the newsworthiness of the story, it could potentially ruin the physician’s unblemished career, a police investigation had not been completed, no charges had been issued, and that last time I checked, the U.S. Constitution provided my client with a presumption of innocence. The reporter begrudgingly relented and indicated she would await the completion of the police investigation. Counsel along with his paralegal, conducted an extensive investigation of the complainant revealing she had filed multiple law suits seeking money damages with assorted allegations, that she was illegally receiving various government benefits as she was both working and not disabled, and multiple outlandish internet postings rendering this individual completely lacking credibility. All of these investigative findings were compiled, organized, and presented to the investigating detective. As a result, no charges were ever filed against my client. The mere allegation becoming public would have ruined and likely ended my clients distinguished career and caused untold emotional and financial distress. And, would have precluded him from continuing to take Residents to impoverished destinations in the world to provide free health services to both children and adults in need.
Driver’s License Appeals / Restoration Hearings
Successfully won all but one driver license appeal before the Secretary of State’s Driver License Appeal Division restoring several clients’ driver’s license suspensions primarily imposed due to multiple alcohol related convictions, excessive points, and assorted other reasons.
Writ of Habeas Corpus – Federal Bureau of Prisons
Client was on supervised probation and in a half-way house as a result of a Federal criminal conviction. His status was revoked and placed back in prison for allegedly having ingested drugs that exceeded the Federal Bureau of Prisons system levels. Counsel filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus that was granted and released from Prison having established that no illegal drugs were ingested but a false positive had registered by client consuming a poppy seed roll working at a delicatessen. And, that the Federal Bureau of Prisons violated its own policies.
American Bar Association
State Bar of Michigan
Member of Negligence, Criminal Law, Law Firm Management Sections
Oakland County Bar Association
Michigan Association of Justice
American Trial Lawyers Association Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan
Assistant Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney
Michigan Assistant Attorney General
Michigan Bar Journal 410, May 1995, Photo Finished: Calling into Question Michigan’s Roadside Confiscation Law by Victor M. Norris, Esq.