LEGAL NEWS PHOTO BY CYNTHIA PRICE
by Cynthia Price
Legal News
(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of monthly profiles of solo firms in the Grand Rapids area. If you have a suggestion for a firm to cover, please email cprice@legalnews.com.)
Michael Adams came to the law late in life.
The solo lawyer, who shares a well-appointed office space with attorney John Beason, says his father always told him he would make a great lawyer, but he delayed deciding to pursue it.
“It was primarily my dad who encouraged me to go to law school. But when you’re young you’re thinking you’re immortal. I told my dad I would get around to it someday. But when he passed away in 1997, that’s when I made up my mind,” Adams says. “I think it had to do with the fact that you realize your own mortality when you lose a parent.”
Adams grew up in Flint, and counts himself lucky because both his parents had stable jobs working for General Motors. He attended Flint Southwestern High School and wrote for the school newspaper as well as played football on a team that produced Rick Leach, the star quarterback at University of Michigan under Bo Schembechler.
Following that, Adams enlisted in the Air Force, serving the first two years of his four-year stint in the U.S. “Then I?went to England for two years where I was a firefighter. After that I returned to Flint and kind of dipped my toes in the water,” he relates.
At the time, CETA?(Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) offered him the chance to learn to be a public safety officer, starting out at Flint’s Hurley Medical Center.
During that time of not quite knowing what he wanted to be when he grew up, Adams also started a locksmith business. “I thought I was going to make a million dollars overnight,. Though I’m not quite sure how I thought the locksmith business would get me there,” he laughs. “But when you’re young, that’s the time to try it.”
Even that brief foray into the world of small business had its advantages later on. “In fact, on the positive side, it did teach me about the financial part of running a business. I had no idea back then, but when I started practicing I had that background, understanding finances and how important it is to get your ducks in a row before you start earning a lot... All that stuff people don’t know about.”
Most of the time, he continued on the career path of law enforcement, including serving as a public safety officer for the University of Michigan. Then, at the ripe old age of 45, he decided to go to law school.
Having gotten his undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University (and taken classes at University of Michigan Flint), Adams enrolled at the University of Toledo College of Law. It was not his first choice; at the time he thought he would like to relocate to Chicago and preferred a law school near there. But Toledo offered him a full scholarship early on, so Toledo it was.
That choice would turn out to have far-reaching consequences, because it was there that he met University of Toledo alumni John Beason.
“Mr. Beason was at University of Toledo, showing his former legal assistant around the campus. I was sitting in one of the law school offices, doing some prep work for one of the judges in Toledo I?worked for. He asked me what I was going to do upon my graduation, and I?said I really didn’t know. I told him I would like to try and hang a shingle back in Michigan, my home state. And he said to me, ‘Have you ever thought about Grand Rapids?’ So he invited me to visit at Christmas, and he showed me around.
“I liked Grand Rapids right away, and thought it seemed to be on an upswing. So I came here, and I’ve never regretted it,” Adams says.
Beason gave Adams a small office while Adams was studying to take the bar exam, during which he worked as a night auditor at a local hotel. Adams says, “I would come down here on the days I could and help him with legal research, which kept my mind active.”
When he passed the bar exam, Beason increased the size of the office, but still did not charge Adams rent — an incredible advantage for an attorney starting out, and one for which Adams is extremely grateful.
At first, Adams encountered a bit of difficulty getting his practice going. “I was fortunate to get on the 61st District Court criminal appointment list, which kept a little money flowing in my pocket.
It was a struggle, even though not paying rent was a big help. But we all have to struggle in life, we all have obstacles and hurdles. That was all something that I?had to go through to get where I am now, which is just a hugely productive practice.”
He does neglect and abuse work for Kent County, representing parents or children, as well as juvenile delinquent cases. He is still on the felony appointment list, but he also does his own retained work. “As more and more people talk about the good work I do, that continues to grow. My calendar’s full now; I even give other attorneys work at times. I feel blessed,” he says.
He has also handled some immigration cases, and is especially proud of one of them. Another local attorney had told a young woman whose parents brought her here from Mexico when she was seven that there was no help for her, “she should just pack her bags.” Although they were not able to win in court, Adams was able to delay decisions long enough that she was still in the U.S. at the time of President Obama’s order to allow the so-called “Dreamers” to stay in the country. “The important point with that is, she was here illegally through no fault of her own,” he says.
Adams is vice-president of the Floyd Skinner Bar Association, and says he got involved to continue the legacy of Judge Ben Logan, increasing the membership and community presence, of the specialty bar.
And he continues to sing the praises of Grand Rapids. “I’ve watched Grand Rapids grow, it’s more diverse and people here are more accepting. ArtPrize has done a lot for this city. I encourage people to come visit from Flint and the east side, and everybody’s surprised to see what a nice city this really is,” he says.
“I’ve been greeted with nothing but open arms. I felt welcome here right away, and that’s the reason I decided to stay here,” he says, adding that he feels that has been a big contributing factor to his success.
Adams is philosophical about monetary success, preferring to focus on other measures. “I’m working on some really interesting cases, and some heartbreaking cases. The criminal work gives me a
sense of satisfaction, especially when they’re young people I can try to redirect in life,” he says. “I try to hold myself to the highest standards, and I feel like I’m making a difference.”
Looking at a photo of his two daughters, one of whom is attending law school at Howard University and one of whom is a registered nurse, he adds, “My daughters are my legacy, and that’s
ultimately what’s important.”
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