Photo courtesy of Wayne Law
Attorney Shirley Kaigler has handled estate planning for many - from high-profile clients such as Rosa Parks to hospice patients in need of pro bono services.
A 1993 graduate of Wayne State University Law School's master of laws program in taxation, she is a partner with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC and immediate past practice group coordinator of the firm's Estate Planning/Wealth Planning/Probate Group. She also focuses her practice on elder law, special needs issues and retirement planning.
Kaigler, who lives in Southfield, is a past president of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Foundation Inc., which honored her with a Trailblazer Award, and an oft-awarded Michigan Super Lawyer. Michigan Lawyers Weekly named her a Leader in the Law in 2014, and Hour Detroit magazine named her among the Top Women Attorneys in Michigan in 2015.
She's proud of her work for civil rights icon Parks and of her work handling legal matters for Detroit's Motown Museum in connection with former Beatle Paul McCartney's restoration of the historic piano there. But she's also proud of her less high-profile work.
"It has been rewarding to assist with preparation of estate planning documents for philanthropic individuals who have accumulated modest wealth that include financial legacies for various causes they care about, and hospice patients who are putting their legal and financial matters in order for those they will leave behind," Kaigler said.
She grew up in Detroit, one of five children of a middle-class family with strong values on education, the church and work ethic. She began her college education at Eastern Michigan University and transferred to Wayne State.
"I always wanted to improve the quality of life for those who were faced with emotional, physical, psychological, financial or medical challenges," Kaigler said. "Initially, I thought becoming a social worker was the way to serve. In my senior year, as I learned more about the field of social work and compared it with the practice of law, I felt I could have a greater positive impact in the lives of others by going to law school.
"I felt that my knowledge of the legal system would be the best way to empower and achieve the most sustainable outcomes for those who were powerless, underserved or vulnerable so they could address the challenges they faced."
She earned her bachelor's degree with distinction from Wayne State and went on to graduate from the University of Michigan Law School.
She worked for Arthur Young & Co. (now Ernst and Young) in the taxation department, and, then, as she and her husband, Dr. Darnell Kaigler, became parents, she made a tough decision.
"I made a choice early in my professional career to move into the 'mommy track' to raise my family, so I resigned and opened my own practice, which allowed me to work a flexible schedule while maintaining a presence in the law," Kaigler said. "I knew this would limit the amount of experience I could get in my chosen area of practice. That was troubling for me. I did not want to be left behind my peers in position and knowledge when it was time for me to re-enter practice on a full-time basis."
So, she attended the master of laws program in taxation at Wayne Law.
"What made it easy for me to go back to school was the location of the campus and LL.M. class offerings," Kaigler said. "The access to excellent professors and coursework in the evening was ideal."
In 1996, she joined Jaffe.
Kaigler has been active over the years in many civic and cultural organizations, serves as a member of the Black United Fund of Michigan Advisory Board, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Legal Financial Network and Oakland County Bar Foundation, and served as immediate past president of the Greater Wayne County Chapter of Links Inc. and on the executive committees of the boards of trustees for the Southfield Community Foundation and the Council of Michigan Foundations.
"I enjoy community work and the people who are committed to community service," she said. "They tend to be compassionate, innovative and generous in spirit. I believe in the adage that we make a living by what we get, and we make a life by what we give."
Published: Tue, Aug 16, 2016
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