Trifecta MLaw alumna combines legal, accounting, real estate skills

By Sheila Pursglove Legal News Roshunda Price wears three hats: attorney, Certified Public Accountant, and real estate broker. "In transactions, commercial or real estate, it's not unusual to become involved in the business of the transaction," she says. "As a CPA, I understand the numbers; as a real estate broker, in a real estate transaction, I understand the market." A partner in the Southfield office of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, Price is a member of the Corporate and Real Estate Practice Groups and focuses her practice on advising clients on a variety of corporate and real estate matters including selection and structure of business entities, financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint venture and strategic alliances, real estate development, the acquisition and disposition of commercial and residential real property, construction transactions and landlord/tenant leasing arrangements. "I enjoy closing the deal," she says. "I like the fact that at the end of a transaction, everyone is happy-it's a win-win." A member of the State Bar of Michigan, in September Price was named one of only 30 "Women in the Law" honorees for 2016 by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. As a child and throughout high school, Price dreamed of becoming a judge a dream that drew her to studying law. With an eye to becoming a business lawyer, she earned a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Administration. "I had no idea what to major in-I was just focused on getting through it so that I could get to law school," she says. Her professor, who was also a mentor and friend, advised her to major in accounting, for job security. Price remained a Wolverine to earn her J.D. from U-M Law School, where she was a contributing editor for the Michigan Journal of International Law; a Midwest region finalist in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition; a member of the Black Law Students Alliance; and a recipient of the Alden J. "Butch" Carpenter Scholarship, awarded each year to 1L BLSA members who exemplify its namesake's ideals. "Ann Arbor is the best place in the world to be a student-there is just enough city life and city activities, but not too much to be a distraction," she says. After clerking for a year for the Hon. John Feikens in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, she worked for a large Detroit-area law firm, then for ANR Pipeline Co. in Detroit, and then as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency, before returning to her alma mater as a staff attorney. She went on to become a clinical assistant professor of law at Michigan Law, and then director of the Urban Communities Clinical Law Program, where she single-handedly revamped the program to focus on small business development and gave law students real world experience through training and instructional sessions with business owners. "I enjoyed the students' commitment to servicing the clients," she says. As Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Detroit Medical Center for four years, Price played a critical role in many significant transactions, such as the sale of DMC's $140 million real estate portfolio to Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (VHS) in conjunction with its acquisition of the DMC, a $1.5 billion deal. She also negotiated all contracts related to $850 million worth of construction and improvements occurring at the DMC over the five-year period subsequent to the VHS acquisition, including the expansion of the $1 billion Children's Hospital of Michigan. "The health care industry is ever changing-there was never a dull moment in the job," she says. After DMC, Price hung out her own shingle as president and CEO of Price Law Group PLLC in the Greater Detroit area, where she provided expertise in commercial/corporate, real estate and transactional matters and various health care issues. "I enjoyed being my own boss, setting specific goals and holding myself accountable," she says. In her leisure time, Price enjoys reading, working out and spending time with friends and her extended family. "My mother had seven siblings who all had their kids around the same time," she says. "Although we were cousins, we felt more like siblings. Although we don't see or talk to each other as often as we did when we were kids, the family bond is always there." She has given back to the community by serving as president of the Detroit Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, a membership organization of mothers dedicated to nurturing future leaders by strengthening children. "In my role, I had the ability to help cultivate leadership development, volunteer service events and organize philanthropic giving for the metro Detroit community," she says. She also enjoys volunteering as a mentor with The Links, Incorporated, a national philanthropic women's organization made up of professional women of color, and has spent the last 12 years helping The Links Detroit chapter promote and engage in educational, civic and inter-cultural activities to enrich the lives of the African-American community. "Serving as a mentor to the Detroit International Academy, I've helped young female students prepare for their futures with cultural education, college prep workshops, job application sessions and more," she says. Price is a Detroit native and lifelong resident of the Motor City. "Detroit is my home. I've never lived anywhere else, but I've traveled enough to know that our people are special," she says. "Detroit's residents are extremely genuine and kind to one another. There's a real community vibe that's hard to find elsewhere. I think today, the city offers endless possibilities to those willing to grasp it." Published: Thu, Dec 22, 2016