Former Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services and Former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court Maura Corrigan joins Butzel Long
Justice Maura Corrigan will serve as Counsel to the firm
DETROIT, Mich. – Maura Corrigan joined Butzel Long as Counsel on November 27, 2017. Justice Corrigan will concentrate her practice in litigation and appeals.
“Maura is highly regarded and deeply respected for her legal acumen and her exemplary service to the state of Michigan,” said Justin G. Klimko, President and Managing Shareholder, Butzel Long. “Our clients and our attorneys will benefit greatly from the talent, experience and wise counsel she brings to our Firm.”
Justice Corrigan served as a law clerk to Judge John Gillis of the Michigan Court of Appeals. She then became a Wayne County assistant prosecuting attorney in 1974, and Chief of Appeals in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit in 1979. In 1986, she was promoted to Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney, the first woman to hold that position. She became a partner at Plunkett and Cooney in 1989.
In 1992, Governor John Engler appointed her to the Michigan Court of Appeals. In 1997, the Supreme Court named her Chief Judge of the appeals court. She was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1998 and reelected in 2006. Justice Corrigan is the only person ever to serve as Chief Judge of both the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. She served two terms as Chief Justice. She left the court on January 14, 2011 to become the Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services under Governor Rick Snyder.
From 2015 - 2016, Justice Corrigan was a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. where she worked on poverty and child welfare issues. In that role, she testified in Congress, authored papers and book chapters, and served as liaison to state secretaries of human services.
Justice Corrigan has participated in numerous community and professional activities. She currently serves on seven nonprofit boards. She is a past president of the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers and the Detroit Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. She served as a public member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission from 1991-1998, as an executive board member of the Michigan Judges Association, and as a member of the Judicial Advisory Board of the Center for Law and Organizational Economics at the University of Kansas Law School. She was vice-president of the Conference of Chief Justices from 2003 - 2004. She is a published author in the legal and child welfare fields. She holds seven honorary doctorates from Michigan colleges and universities, among numerous honors and awards.
She earned her J.D. degree (cum laude) from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her B.A. degree (magna cum laude) from Marygrove College.
