MSU Law Alumni Recognized by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers
September 14, 2023
Michigan State University College of Law alumni have been selected by their peers for inclusion into the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Frederick D. Dilley,’75, and David R. Russell, ’05, with Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C., will be featured in the upcoming publication.
Mr. Dilley’s practice includes arbitration, mediation, and personal injury litigation in the Grand Rapids office. His brief biography on the firm’s website states that he, “has been actively involved in the Grand Rapids and West Michigan legal communities in both state and federal courts as a first chair litigator for more than 35 years. He has worked on a variety of complex and difficult matters ranging from business disputes to divorce cases to personal injury matters.”
Commercial Litigation is the focus of Mr. Russell’s practice, working out of the Lansing location. The firm’s website states that Mr. Russell is a former business owner, and his entrepreneurial experience provided first-hand knowledge of the legal, strategic, and operational challenges, and opportunities, faced by his business clients. “He is a former Co-Vice President of his firm’s Lansing office, a former co-leader of the General Litigation Practice Group, and his practice serves a range of client needs, including commercial litigation, business law, real estate law, sports and entertainment law, liquor licensing, and estate litigation.”
MSU Law Alumni were featured in Best Lawyers as “Ones to Watch.” These awards are “given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in America,” according to the Best Lawyers website. Recognition is given to attorneys who have been in practice less than nine years. MSU College of Law Alumni were among the honorees for 2024. All four practice at Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C.
The honorees featured were:
- Benjamin C. Dilley, ’15, Commercial Litigation, Securities Regulation, Personal Injury Litigation
- Jacquelyn Dupler, ’12, Family Law
- Rachel G. Olney, ’15, Commercial Litigation
- Michael C. Zahrt, ’14, Employee Benefits Law
Plunkett Cooney lawyers and MSU Law Alumni were named "Super Lawyers" by Michigan Super Lawyers magazine. This yearly list is compiled based on peer evaluations, independent third-party research, and peer evaluation by a credentialed panel of attorneys. The awardees were:
- Douglas C Bernstein, ’82
- Jeffrey S. Hengeveld, ’03