Thomas W. Cranmer, past president of the State Bar of Michigan (2005–2006) and current Miller Canfield trial lawyer, was presented with the WMU-Cooley Law School Integrity Award during the Auburn Hills campus “Integrity in Our Communities” speaker series on Monday, March 19. The Integrity Award is given to legal professionals who demonstrate the highest integrity in their profession.
Hosted by the law school and the Society for Personal and Professional Integrity, the speaker series offers students, staff and faculty an opportunity to hear legal professionals share their experiences on ethics, service or professionalism.
With more than 35 years of courtroom experience, Cranmer’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation and “bet-the-company” litigation. During his remarks, Cranmer posed several real life ethical dilemmas that lawyers may be confronted with during their careers. He compared being an ethical lawyer to applying advice received from golf experts to improve one’s game.
“You can research all the things you need to do in order to become a better golfer, but you’ll probably find out that the advice is more or less the same. It’s not about ‘knowing’ what you are supposed to do, but how you actually apply it that is tougher,” Cranmer said.
He closed with saying, “Law is a very fulfilling and a very challenging profession. At the end of the day, in order for it to be that kind of fulfilling experience for you, you have to be able to look in the mirror and say ‘I made the best ethical decisions all day.’”
Before joining the firm Miller Canfield, Cranmer served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Oakland County, Michigan, and an assistant chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Cranmer has extensive experience as a leader and instructor of trial advocacy including teaching for one of the preeminent trial advocacy programs in the United States, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. In addition, he has lectured and written on a wide variety of civil litigation, criminal law and evidence topics. He is a co-author of a Michigan treatise, Civil Trials and Evidence and a contributing author to Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial/Sixth Circuit. He has served as an adjunct professor for WMU-Cooley Law School teaching Evidence.
Cranmer has been listed in the Top 10 Attorneys in every edition of Michigan Super Lawyers and he has been the highest, second highest or third highest rated attorney out of more than 44,000 Michigan attorneys for the past 11 years. Additionally, he has been rated one of the Top 5 Business Attorneys in Michigan for the past five years.
Since 2004, he has been recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA, a referral guide to leading lawyers in the United States based upon the opinions of clients and peers. Chambers has noted that Cranmer is highlighted by commentators for his advocacy skills, courtroom presence and “fantastic judgment.” He is noted as “a top tier lawyer” and “a wonderful litigator who is very bright but practical in his advice.” In 2015, he received the Excellence in Defense Award from the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel. He was also recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as its Lawyer of the Year for 2014.
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