Staffwell Local: MI | Litigation Attorney (Insurance Defense)

Candidate Showcase: D.M._{(candidate’s initials)}

Litigation Attorney | Insurance Defense, Motion Practice, Brief Writing
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan (EST)

Candidate Highlights:

• Michigan-barred attorney (J.D., Michigan State University College of Law, cum laude).

• 7+ years in insurance defense and general civil litigation, including No-Fault, negligence, premises liability, and fire and casualty.

• Comfortable owning high-volume caseloads and handling matters end-to-end (pleadings, discovery, depositions, strategy, settlement).

• Writing-first profile: strongest in research, briefs, and dispositive motion work, with a track record of drafting substantive motions that were used across practice groups.

• Federal court: admitted in the Western District of Michigan; open to pursuing additional admissions as needed.

Experience Highlights:

• Plunkett Cooney (2018–2021): No-Fault and negligence defense, discovery management, depositions, substantive motion drafting, motion argument.

• Secrest Wardle (2014–2016): premises liability, fire and casualty, negligence and No-Fault defense; strategy and issue spotting on coverage-adjacent defense matters.

What they are looking for:

• A litigation seat where the firm values writing output and clean legal analysis.

• Open to discrete projects across multiple matters (briefs, MSJ/MSD support, research memos), or a broader role depending on need.

Compensation target: $110/hr (billable out-the-door), flexible depending on scope.
Interview availability: flexible this week and next.

If you want a writing sample: reply with “D.M.” and we will send it over.

Local note (30 sec read)

The 2026 legal hiring market remains competitive because many of the strongest candidates are already employed. One industry report noted lawyer headcount growth stayed strong in 2025 (2.9%), with hiring concentrated at firms seeing the most demand growth. 

Translation for Michigan boutiques: the best “writer-first” litigators are rarely applying inbound. They move when the role is unusually aligned.

Staffwell | Legal Recruitment
Staffwell.ca
(929) 560-0868