Getting to Know: Jordan S. Bolton

Attorney Jordan S. Bolton is an Equity Member in Clark Hill’s Litigation Practice Group.

He has been with Clark Hill since 2002, is chairperson of the National Recruiting Committee (Summer Associate Program), leads various corporate culture initiatives, maintains a leadership role in the firm’s E2 initiative (helping start-ups and other early-stage ventures manage their legal spend), and is principally resident in the Birmingham office.

A cum laude graduate of Wayne State University Law School, Bolton helps business leaders, house counsel, and individuals by providing creative dispute resolution and transactional services. In addition to a national complex commercial litigation, mediation, and arbitration practice, he maintains an outside general counsel practice for individuals and business leaders, aided by his experience handling business disputes across the country.

A resident of Birmingham, Bolton has been recognized by Lawyers Weekly for obtaining the largest judgment in Michigan ($120,000,000, in a fraud action); named Legal Aid and Defenders' Pro Bono Attorney of the Year; named in Super Lawyers every year for more than a decade; repeatedly named a dBusiness's Top Lawyer; rated “AV Preeminent” (highest rating) by Martindale-Hubbell; rated “10/10 Superb” (highest rating) by Avvo; profiled in Crain's Detroit Business among the busiest litigators in Michigan; and selected to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General.

For the State Bar of Michigan, in addition to serving as a Life Fellow of the Foundation and Judicial Tenure Commission nominee, Bolton served on the Judicial Qualifications, Character and Fitness, and United States Courts Committees.

With the Oakland County Bar Association, he has served as a Life Fellow of the Foundation, Board of Directors nominee, Inns of Court Barrister, discovery mediator, and Founding Chairperson of the Business Courts and Counsel Committee.

He also has served as a Barrister for the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, and on the Boards of Directors for the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Knollwood Country Club, and Prosecutors' Foundation for the Kids.

By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News

What would surprise people about your job? Although we are adversaries when we are engaged on opposite sides of the “v”, many of my opposing counsel are good friends.


Why did you become a lawyer? From as far back as I can remember, no other vocation appealed to me, excepting a couple of brief delusional stints when I thought I might be able to overcome my lack of talent to have a viable career in athletics.

What advice do you have for someone considering law school? Only do it if you are reasonably confident you will genuinely enjoy being an attorney or will be able to leverage the education for other pursuits. For those who love it, it is a wonderful profession. For those who do not, it is far from ...

What’s your proudest moment as a lawyer? My proudest moments as an attorney have all come when I have been able to conclude a pro bono engagement in a way that genuinely helped someone in need achieve an end that they would not have been able to achieve without pro bono assistance.

What do you do to relax? Play with my two daughters – in those rare moments when I am able to force myself to truly escape into the game, I find no purer form of relaxation.

What would you say to your 16-year-old self? No matter how cool you think long hair looks, it does not.

Favorite local hangouts? Bella Piatti, Cork, Knollwood Country Club.
 
Favorite app? Flipboard (News Aggregator), Peloton, and Waze.

Favorite music? Beatles, Billy Joel, and Guns N’ Roses.

What is your happiest childhood memory? Skiing with my family at Nub’s Nob.

What is your most treasured material possession? Family photos – nearly everything else can be replaced.

What’s the most awe-inspiring place you’ve ever been? The Amalfi Coast.

If you could have one super power, what would it be? The ability to generate muscle from carbohydrates and fat.

What is something most people don't know about you? Counting in-laws and steps, I have siblings ranging in age from 2 to 50.
 
If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? Thomas Hobbes, James Madison and Abraham Lincoln.

What’s the best advice you ever received? When it comes to litigation, the devil is always in the details.

What is your motto? Each day is nothing more than a series of decisions between the right way and the easy way.