Notable Cases
$14.3 million jury verdict on a $25,000 offer, Clinton County – Truck accident, brain injury
$7 million settlement, Oakland County – Confidential auto accident
$5.6 million jury verdict, Macomb County – Auto accident, brain injuries
$5 million judgment, Wayne County – Auto accident, wrongful death
$5 million judgment, Genesee County – Auto accident
$3.5 million jury verdict, Jackson County – Semi-truck accident, brain injuries
$3.5 million settlement, Macomb County – Tire separation accident, brain injuries
$2.5 million jury verdict, Macomb County – Commercial truck accident, wrongful death
$2.3 million jury verdict, Jackson County – Commercial truck accident
$2.1 million jury verdict, Washtenaw County – Rear-end car accident, brain injury
$690,000 arbitration verdict, Wayne County – Attendant care case, brain injury
$652,000 settlement, Macomb County – Commercial truck accident
$610,000 settlement, Oakland County – Rideshare accident
$570,000 settlement, Macomb County – Commercial truck accident
$510,000 settlement Wayne County – Commercial truck accident
$500,000 jury verdict, Clinton County – Contested liability auto accident, brain injury
$432,000 arbitration verdict, Wayne County – Attendant care case, brain injury
$425,000 settlement, Wayne County – Commercial transportation accident
Honors
Tom has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers™ in America since 2022. This honor is limited to the top 5 percent of all attorneys in America. He has also been selected to the Michigan Super Lawyers list since 2013. He obtained this recognition for his work advocating for his clients and volunteering within the legal community as an educator in the fields of trucking litigation and auto accident law. Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement and is limited to the top 5% of Michigan attorneys.
Tom has been named to DBusiness Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit for 2022 and 2023.
Tom was also named a Michigan Lawyers Weekly Up and Coming Lawyer. According to the legal newspaper, Up and Coming Lawyers are attorneys who have been practicing for a decade or less, but who have already distinguished themselves from the thousands of other Michigan attorneys with their accomplishments. Tom was chosen for his extensive work as a trial attorney, as he had tried more than 25 cases, and has earned several multimillion-dollar, record-breaking jury verdicts for people injured in auto accidents within his first years of practice.
Tom was named a Michigan Association for Justice Pacesetter. This is a recognition that highlights noteworthy Michigan attorneys excelling in their fields. Tom received this award because of his work in the legal community assisting other attorneys in the field of No Fault and Truck collision cases. The Michigan Association for Justice is an organization of more than 2,000 personal injury attorneys who are dedicated to helping accident victims.
Education
Michigan State University College of Law, East Lansing, Michigan
- Graduated with Honors
- Dean’s List
- Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Business and Securities Law
Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California
- Master of Business Administration
San Jose State University, San Jose, California
- Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society
Legal Experience
- Michigan Auto Law, Farmington Hills, Michigan
- St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Centreville, Michigan
Memberships and Affiliations
- Michigan Association for Justice: Executive Committee Member
- American Association for Justice: Board Member of the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway, and Premises Liability Section; Member of the Trucking Litigation Group
- Negligence Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan: Member
- American Civil Liberties Union: Member and Pro Bono volunteer
Presentations
Events
- Speaker, “$14.3M Verdict on $25,000 Offer”; Michigan Association for Justice Trial Advocacy Seminar; Grand Rapids, MI; June 9, 2023
- Speaker; “Taking on Your First Truck Collision Case – Proving The Truck Collision Case – Part 3”; Michigan Association for Justice SeminarWeb; Hosted from Lansing, MI; March 24, 2022
- Speaker, “Truck Accidents for Car Crash Attorneys”; Michigan Association for Justice No-Fault Institute XVIII; hosted by Novi, MI; October 8, 2021
- Speaker, “How to Conduct a Safety Director Deposition”; New Jersey Association for Justice Boardwalk Seminar – Trucking: On the Road Again-Trucking Cases 2021; hosted from Trenton, NJ; June 29, 2021
- Speaker, “Staying on the Right Side of the Road – Ethical Considerations for the Big Truck Case”; American Association for Justice’s Annual Convention 2020; Hosted from Washington, D.C.; July 2020
- Speaker, “Truck Accident Litigation for the Car Crash Lawyer”; 2016 Annual Convention, American Association for Justice; Los Angeles, CA; July 2016
- Speaker, “Obtaining No Fault Benefits for Catastrophic Injury Victims in MI”; No Fault Summit, Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE); Plymouth, MI; April 2016
- Speaker, “Negligent Entrustment – The Role of Corporate Liability in Trucking and Auto Cases”; 71st Annual Seminar, Michigan Association for Justice; Detroit, MI; April 2016
- Speaker, “Voir Dire in Trucking Cases”; Annual Conference, American Association for Justice – Truck Accident Litigation Group; Montreal, Canada; July 2015
- Speaker, “Winning Truck Lawsuits: What Works and What Doesn’t”; Truck Litigation Seminar, Kentucky Justice Association; Kentucky; June 2015
- Speaker, “Truck Driver Depositions”; New Jersey Boardwalk Seminar, New Jersey Association for Justice; Atlantic City, NJ; 2015
- Speaker, “Effectively Using Accident Reconstruction in Truck Collision Investigation and Trial”; Strafford Webinar Publications; National; 2015
- Speaker, “Traffic Crash Reconstruction in Trucking Case”; Strafford Webinar Publications; National; 2015
- Speaker, “When the Truck Accident Case Gets Moved to Federal Court”; 2014 Annual Convention, American Association for Justice; Baltimore, MD; July 2014
- Speaker, “Electronic Discovery”; CLE Webinar, Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE); Michigan; 2014
- Speaker, “Discovery and the DME”; Annual Seminar, Michigan Association for Justice; Michigan; 2013
- Speaker, “Recent Developments in Auto Negligence Law”; Annual Meeting and Education Session, Negligence Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan; Dearborn, MI; September 2011
- Speaker, “First-Party No-Fault Claims”; Annual Meeting and Education Session, Negligence Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan; Dearborn, MI; September 2011
- Speaker, “Career Paths in the Legal Field”; Michigan State University Law College; East Lansing, MI; 2011
- Speaker, “Representing Injured Clients and Finding Value in Car Accident Claims”; Solo/Small Firm Section, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE); Michigan; 2010
- Speaker, “Handling First Party Automobile Benefit Claims”; Solo/Small Firm Section, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE); Michigan; 2006
Client Testimonials
We called Michigan Auto Law after a motorcycle accident in 2019. They were to our house the next day, and moved quickly on our case. They explained each process, how much things would cost us, and walked us through every step. Tom James was amazing and was always willing to call us back in a timely manner, and he was extremely personable and easy to talk to and listened to any of our concerns or questions. Colleen and Richard also helped on our case and were amazing to work with. We would recommend this office to absolutely anybody.
I wanted to take a moment to write about just how happy my husband Jeff & I are with the way everything went at Michigan Auto Law. We have never gone through this process. It was nice to be represented by a place that genuinely had me & my family’s best interest at heart. I actually told my lawyer Tom James when we were wrapping up our case that the only thing we’d miss in this process was him. He is a very smart, hardworking, very personable individual. He never once was cold or “all business”. He treated Jeff & I like we mattered, and genuinely had our best interest at heart. We greatly appreciate all of the hard work, phone calls, & meetings that went into this process & genuinely appreciate being treated so kindly EVERY SINGLE TIME we interacted with anyone at your firm. Something as simple as Michelle, our paralegal, calling me to discuss things, every single time, I was always greeted with a pleasant tone, always asked how I was doing, how I was feeling….small gestures such as that made such a difference. We’ve spoken volumes to our families about the character of the individuals at Michigan Auto Law, & will not hesitate to recommend you. Again, thank you to Larry Gursten, Robin, Michelle & Tom for all of the hard work and dedication that you all put into making sure that Jeff & I were treated fair & right.