David F. DuMouchel

David F. DuMouchel is a Shareholder practicing in Butzel's Troy office and chairs the firm's Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations and Criminal Defense practice. He is a cum laude graduate of Wayne State University Law School (J.D., 1975) and the University of Detroit (M.A., 1972). He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, whose membership is limited to 1 percent of trial lawyers in any state. Mr. DuMouchel also is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers.

Mr. DuMouchel's practice is limited to white collar criminal defense, defense of corporations and individuals in criminal and civil antitrust matters, professional licensure and criminal health care, IRS investigations of both taxpayers and professionals, SEC enforcement of corporate executives fraud, public corruption, as well as grand jury investigations, internal corporate investigations and compliance. He has particular expertise in the Clery Act regarding safety and security on campus at higher education institutions. Mr. DuMouchel's Clery Act practice includes auditing/reviewing compliance, U.S. Department of Education program reviews, development of compliance processes, procedures and programs, and internal investigations of campus security compliance.

In 2007, Mr. DuMouchel was part of a team of Butzel attorneys who conducted a ten-week internal investigation into Clery Act compliance at Eastern Michigan University. The investigation, which arose from University administrators' response to a student's death on campus, included over 80 witness interviews and the review of thousands of pages of documents. The team published a 500-plus page report of its findings, which was nationally cited by Good Morning America, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.

Mr. DuMouchel is a recipient of the prestigious Leonard Gilman Award from the Federal Bar Association as the outstanding criminal law practitioner in the Eastern District of Michigan. He has been named by Best Lawyers as the "2010 Detroit Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year." Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the "Lawyer of the Year." He has been listed in each edition of Best Lawyers in America since that publication began 30 years ago, including the most recent. He also is listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, as Tier One in white collar practice, and in Michigan Super Lawyers. From 1978 to 1985, Mr. DuMouchel served as chairperson of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

Mr. DuMouchel served as law clerk to Chief Justice Thomas Giles Kavanagh of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1975-1977. He was an adjunct professor of law at Wayne State University and is a frequent lecturer on criminal practice matters including "Ethics-Grievance Procedures," Detroit-Wayne County Criminal Advocacy Program; "Subpoenaing Lawyers," Criminal Justice Section, Federal Bar Association; "Plea Negotiation," White Collar Crime Seminar, Federal Bar Association; "Grand Jury Practice," Federal Bar Association; "Grand Jury Practice," U.S. District Court, New Lawyer Seminar, 1986-present. He has often served as a panelist; he was featured at the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants Fraud Awareness Symposiums; the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law's presentation on corporate misconduct entitled "Conducting an Internal Investigation: Legal and Corporate Issues;" and the State Bar of Michigan's program "Compelled Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege for Businesses: Issues and Practices for Corporate Lawyers and their Clients".

Mr. DuMouchel has served on the faculty of the U.S. District Court, Advocacy Institute; ICLE: Attorney Grievance and Discipline Practice; ICLE: Health Care Law Institute; ICLE "Polygraphs"; ABA Health Care Fraud, 2005; ABA White Collar Crime Institute, 2006, 2007, 2008; State Bar of Michigan Program, "Compelled Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege," 2006; Michigan Association of CPA's, "Accounting Fraud," 2006, 2007. He also is a frequent speaker on internal corporate investigations and federal criminal procedure matters.

In 2006, Mr. DuMouchel was appointed to serve on the American Bar Association's White Collar Crime Committee for a two-year term as chair of the sentencing committee. He has served as a member of the Rules Advisory Committee, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan and was a member of the U.S. District Court Committee on Magistrate Program Evaluation, and chaired the Federal Bar Association Criminal Defense Committee. He served as a member of the Advisory Committee which drafted the Restatement of Law Governing Lawyers of the American Law Institute, and is on the Member's Consultative Group of the ALI Model Penal Code Sentencing Project. Mr. DuMouchel has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan Criminal Code Revision Committee, U.S. Courts Committee, and Grievance Committee. In addition, he is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and was a Director in 1981. Mr. DuMouchel is a Master of Bench emeritus, American Inn of Court Ch. XI. He is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Michigan State Bar Foundation. Mr. DuMouchel is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves as a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, and is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers.

In 2012 Mr. DuMouchel was appointed as the 6th Circuit representative to the Practitioners' Advisory Group to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. He was re-appointed in 2014. He is a Member of Standing Committee on U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Planning Committee, he served as a member of the U.S. District Court Magistrate Selection Committee in 2014, and was a member of the Judicial Advisory Committee to evaluate applicants for the U.S. Attorney and federal judicial appointments in the Eastern District of Michigan in 2010 and 2012.

Mr. DuMouchel has recently been elected to the first Board of Directors of the Federal Community Defender of Eastern District of Michigan which will provide oversight in the provision of indigent defense services in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

All Related Practice Areas

Education

Wayne State University Law School 1975, J.D.

University of Detroit Mercy Graduate 1972, M.A.

Admissions

Memberships

• Member of Standing Committee on U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference Planning Committee
• United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan - member of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel
• United States Sentencing Commission, Practitioner Advisory Group Voting Member, 6th circuit Representative
• Federal Community Defender Eastern District of Michigan - Board of Directors
• American Law Institute - Advisory Committee, Restatement of Law Governing Lawyers
• American Law Institute - Member's Consultative Group, Model Penal Code Sentencing Project
• State Bar of Michigan - Criminal Code Revision Committee, U.S. Courts Committee, and Grievance Committee
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - former Director

Awards & Recognitions

American Inn of Court Ch. XI - Master of Bench emeritus

American Bar Foundation - Fellow

Michigan State Bar Foundation- Fellow

American College of Trial Lawyers - Fellow, and member of the Criminal Procedure Committee

International Society of Barristers - Fellow

Leonard Gilman Award, Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan (given to outstanding criminal law practioners)

Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers - Litigation: White-Collar Criminal Government Investigations

The Best Lawyers in America® - Criminal Defense: White-Collar; Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law; Bet-the-Company Litigation, 1983-2025

The Best Lawyers' 2010 Detroit Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year

Michigan Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2006-2021, 2023, 2024

Michigan Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar Top 100, 2012-2015, 2020, 2022

Top 50 Michigan Business Super Lawyers, 2014-2015

Top 10 Michigan Super Lawyers, 2015

Top 10 DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, 2016

DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Legal Malpractice Law; White-Collar Defense; Professional Malpractice Law, 2011-2013 & 2020; White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2014-2023, 2025, Antitrust Law, 2023

Recipient of Certificate of Appreciation from The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Amicus Curiae Committee