Lawyers giving back to our communities

Michigan Auto Law's charitable donations and public service work: making Michigan better and safer

Our attorneys have been protecting people seriously injured in automobile accidents throughout Michigan for more than 50 years. It's also our mission to help those in need, to give back to our communities, and to help make Michigan a better and safer place.

Our lawyers take giving back to the community very seriously.

Helping auto accident victims, pro-bono - Each year, our accident lawyers donate their legal services pro bono to many auto accident victims.

Forgotten Harvest - We volunteered at the Oak Park-based food bank, packing 4,182 pounds of food donation packages for hungry families in metro Detroit. Our law firm also made a financial donation to help fight hunger. Forgotten Harvest is a nonprofit organization that rescues surplus, prepared and perishable food and donates it to 250 emergency food providers throughout Michigan.

Gleaners Community Food Bank - Our staff volunteered at the Detroit food bank, by making food donation packages for hungry families. Gleaners distributed 46 million pounds of emergency food to more than 600 soup kitchens, shelters and pantries throughout Michigan.

Helping law school students - Michigan Auto Law gives mentoring and annual scholarships to law school students who show exemplary leadership skills and who are working hard to become our next generation of excellent, ethical personal injury attorneys.

Distracted Driving Awareness - Michigan Auto Law sponsored a Distracted Driving Safety Awareness campaign and insurance giveaway. The safety campaign was designed to make people more aware about of the dangers of distracted driving. The winner received auto insurance for one year.

Attorneys teaching students about distracted driving – Our attorneys are speaking at high schools and colleges throughout Michigan, to teach students and young drivers about the dangers of distracted driving, texting while driving and impaired driving.

Auto Insurance Giveaway and Awareness Campaign - Michigan Auto Law gave a financial gift used to buy full coverage auto insurance for one year, to help bring attention to the staggering number of uninsured drivers on our roads today. It is estimated that more than half of the drivers in Detroit and Pontiac drive without auto insurance.

Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law for promoting truck accident safety - Steven Gursten has been honored as a Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law of more than 50,000 Michigan attorneys, for his efforts to force unsafe trucking companies to comply with mandatory state and federal laws. He is past president of the American Association for Justice Truck Lawyer Litigation Group, and serves on the board of governors representing the state of Michigan for the Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America.

University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital - Every year, our firm has a University of Michigan/Michigan State University rivalry that ends with a charity donation by the lawyers who went to the losing school to the charity of choice of the winning team. We recently made a financial contribution to the leading Ann Arbor children's hospital.

Brain Injury Association of America - Michigan Auto Law makes an annual donation to the Brain Injury Association of America, a national non-profit organization that provides education, research, prevention information and support to brain injury survivors, their families and the people who serve them.

Brain Injury Association of Michigan - Michigan Auto Law made a very substantial donation to this organization to support Brain Injury Awareness Month in May. The Brain Injury Association of Michigan is a Michigan-based arm of the Brain Injury Association of America.

Michigan Auto Law Adopts a Highway – Our law firm is participating in the Michigan Department of Transportation program, Adopt-A-Highway. Our section of the highway is in metro Detroit, on I-75, between 14 Mile Road and Rochester Road. We are doing several clean ups of this busy stretch of highway several times a year in order to make our roads more safe and our community more beautiful.

Green Technology and interior renovation at Michigan Auto Law main office - Our Farmington Hills office underwent a complete interior renovation in 2010, using principles of sustainable energy and environmental design to increase workplace health, safety, and environmental principles of sustainable energy.

Michigan State University College of Law Alumni Association - Every year, the Michigan State University graduates from Michigan Auto Law participate in the law firm challenge fundraising project to benefit the College of Law.

JARC - Michigan Auto Law is involved with JARC fundraising efforts, and participation in JARC events to help people with developmental disabilities. JARC is a non-profit organization that provides community-based Jewish residential services, serving nearly 150 adults in its group homes and supported independent living arrangements.

Lawyers testifying in Lansing - Our lawyers, including Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) past-president Robert Raitt and current MAJ officer David Christensen, as well as Larry and Steve Gursten, have all testified in Lansing before the Michigan Legislature on various proposed laws in order to bring awareness to specific issues to help make our laws stronger, safer and smarter.

Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) Amicus Committee - David Christensen and Robert Raitt both serve on the MAJ Amicus Committee, donating hundreds of hours addressing legal issues impacting consumer rights, safety and fairness. The Michigan Association for Justice is the state’s largest organization of trial lawyers and consumer advocates representing the needs of injured accident victims. Michigan Auto Law is a long-standing member, major contributor and strong supporter of the organization.

Donating to the community

Michigan Auto Law makes and has made financial donations to the following charities:

Consumer Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) - The CVSA is an international non-profit organization comprised of motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives, and it promotes commercial motor vehicle safety.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - A cutting-edge hospital that treats children with cancer and finds cures for pediatric cancer.

Do Foundation - A nonprofit organization that provides homes for people who are homeless and helps them become self-sufficient.

Michigan Humane Society - A nonprofit organization that finds homes for animals and cares for animals in need.

Michigan Wheelchair Athletic Association Challengers – A wheelchair basketball team for children throughout the tri-county area with disabilities.

Downtown Detroit Partnership - An organization that advocates and develops programs and initiatives to create a clean, safe and economically viable downtown Detroit community.

Boy Scouts of America - A program for young people that teaches them character, responsibility, community involvement and fitness.

Washtenaw Alano Club - A nonprofit organization that helps recovering alcoholics and people with substance abuse issues.

Our legal speaking engagements

Our attorneys are leaders in many legal organizations that help injury lawyers to better protect victims of car, truck and motorcycle accidents. We have spoken at hundreds of legal seminars in Michigan and across the nation.

Here's a list of some of our recent legal speaking engagements in 2012:

• "Auto Accident Claims: The Influence of Colossus on Recoveries," Strafford; CLE Webinar, November 2012
• "Helping Accident Victims: A Fresh Approach for Injury Lawyers," TAOS Injury Lawyers; Jackson Hole, WY, October 2012
• "Understanding Auto Insurance Industry Tactics," Michigan Association for Justice Young Lawyers Forum; Southfield, MI, September, 2012
• "New Ways to Overcome Jury Bias and Increase Personal Injury Damages," Michigan Association for Justice; Southfield, MI, August 2012
• "How to Maximize Damages in Truck Accident Lawsuits," 360 Advocacy Institute; Las Vegas, August 2012
• "How Titan Insurance v. Hyten Affects Victims," Negligence Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan; Troy, MI, August 2012
• "Getting the Highest Car Accident Settlement," Michigan Association for Justice; Southfield, MI; July 2012
• "How to Get the Highest Settlement in Car Accident Cases," American Association for Justice Jazz Fest Seminar; New Orleans, LA, May 2012
• "How Bus and Truck Accident Lawsuits are Different," New Jersey Association for Justice Summer Boardwalk Seminar; Atlantic City, NJ, April 2012
• "Increasing Settlements in Auto Accident Tort Practices," Florida Justice Association; Orlando, FL; March 2012
• "Representing Auto Accident Victims at Trial," Michigan Association for Justice; Southfield, MI, March 2012
• "A Career as a Personal Injury Lawyer," Wayne State University Law School; Detroit, MI February 2012
• "Winning Trucking Cases," National Trial Lawyers; Miami, FL; January 2012

Here's more information about our legal seminars and speaking engagements.

Here are some videos of Steven Gursten speaking at legal seminars on litigating auto accident lawsuits and trucking cases.