Education:
Saginaw Valley College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1970, University of Michigan, J.D., 1973
Practice Areas:
Medical Malpractice Defense; Legal Malpractice Defense; Products Liability; Employment Litigation; General Liability
Membership:
Wayne County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County and American (Member, Litigation Section) Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan (Member, Negligence Section); Association of Defense Trial Counsel; Michigan Association of Hospital Attorneys; American Board of Trial Advocates; International Association of Defense Counsel.
Admissions:
1973, Michigan
Biography:
Richard M. O’Connor is President of O’Connor, DeGrazia, Tamm & O’Connor. Mr. O’Connor has defended clients in both commercial and professional liability suits. He has successfully tried numerous negligence cases (including auto, general liability and construction cases) in Wayne County and throughout southeast Michigan. For many years Mr. O’Connor has represented physicians and hospitals against claims of professional/medical negligence. He has frequently lectured on trial practice and medical liability issues. He has also defended and tried professional negligence lawsuits on behalf of attorneys. He acted as attorney for the plaintiff in a multi-million dollar action involving property loss, insurance coverage and indemnity claims in Wayne County Circuit Court, which was resolved successfully for his client.
Mr. O’Connor is a founding member of O’Connor, DeGrazia, Tamm & O’Connor, which was formed in 1992. His litigation practice is centered in Oakland County, however, he has practiced in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Monroe, Genesee, Saginaw and Ingham Counties. He has handled cases as far north as Traverse City and Petoskey. He has tried approximately 140 jury cases in federal and state courts. He is well-known and respected in the legal community, reflected by membership in some of the most prestigious trial groups. Mr. O’Connor and the O’Connor, DeGrazia, Tamm & O’Connor law firm are listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Register of Preeminent Lawyers (
www.americanregistry.com). He is AV rated, the highest rating given by Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register. Fewer than 5 percent of law firms nationally are listed in this directory. He is a member of the American Bar Association (
www.abanet.org), Litigation Section and Employment and Labor Section, and the Michigan Bar Association (www.michbar.org).
He and his partners are listed as SuperLawyers in the directory of the same name (
www.superlawyers.com). This peer review list names fewer than 2 percent of the attorneys nationally and 80 different practice groups.
Mr. O’Connor’s most recent nomination and perhaps the most difficult to achieve is his nomination to the American College of Trial Lawyers (
www.actl.com). Membership to this group is by invitation only and is secured only after evaluation of the applicant by judges and other attorneys with personal knowledge of the quality of representation and the ethical standards. Membership in the group represents the highest caliber of ethical standards and peer review from other attorneys with similar qualifications.
The American Board of Trial Advocates (
www.abota.org) is another trial lawyer group to which membership is secured by invitation only. The group is composed of attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants and is devoted to the preservation of the right to a jury trial by our citizens. Mr. O’Connor has participated as a presenter in virtually every “Masters in Trial” presentation given since inception of the group in the state of Michigan. He has achieved the level of Diplomate which requires a minimum of 100 jury trials with verdicts. Currently only two members of ABOTA have achieved this level in the state of Michigan.
A new, select group of trial attorneys, Litigation Counsel of American (
www.trialcounsel.org) recently invited Mr. O’Connor to become a fellow in the organization based upon his experience and effectiveness as a trial attorney and his ethical standing in the community. Fewer than one-half of one percent of all attorneys will be members of this group.
Mr. O’Connor has been a member of the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel (
www.mdtc.org) since its origination in Michigan. He is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (
www.iadclaw.com). The group is dedicated to improving the quality of representation nationally and internationally in the defenses of lawsuits.
Mr. O’Connor founded The National Bankruptcy Forum (
www.nationalbankruptcyforum.com) and the Detroit Bankruptcy Blog. The blog has been created to educate clients and potential clients about bankruptcy issues. The blog and the National Bankruptcy Forum are designed to assist people in need of bankruptcy services. The O’Connor, DeGrazia, Tamm & O’Connor law firm is committed to supplying quality consumer bankruptcy services to those needing help in these difficult economic times.
Mr. O’Connor is a graduate of Saginaw Valley State University and member of the Alumni Association (www.svsu.edu). Following graduation he attended law school at the University of Michigan and received a Juris Doctorate in 1973 (
www.alumni@umich.edu). He is committed to providing clients with the personal counseling as well as the legal expertise necessary to guide them through the legal system. You may contact him by phone at (248) 433-2000 ext. 2002 or email at
rmoconnor@odtlegal.com
.