The oldest of four children, Harriet Rotter made a bid for a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1972, three years before she would graduate from law school. She was the only female congressional candidate in the state at the time.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
The joy of the holiday season gave way to a profound sense of sadness following the death of Harriet Rotter, a prominent family law attorney and political activist for more than four decades.
Rotter, the first woman president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, died Dec. 23 at age 83, some eight months after the passing of her beloved husband of 63 years, Dr. Norman Rotter, a noted neurosurgeon.
After several years in public service with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office in the mid-1970s, Rotter quickly established herself as one of the “go-to” family law attorneys in the metropolitan Detroit area, representing a host of high-profile clients that included those from the political, business, and entertainment worlds.
She represented the likes of Joey Nederlander, of theater and show biz fame, in his divorce, along with a host of sports stars, TV anchors and media personalities caught in the marital crossfire.
In a 1994 “Detroit Monthly” feature on the finer legal points of domestic break-ups, Rotter was among the magazine’s list of the “10 Divorce Lawyers You’d Want in Your Corner.” In its capsule summary of Rotter, the magazine said this:
“This former assistant prosecuting attorney — and history and political science teacher — is considered by some to be one of the most influential women in the state (especially in Republican circles). Known for her tendency to talk a blue streak — some colleagues refer to her as ‘The Mouth’ — Rotter is regarded as a caring advocate. She may be more widely known among TV viewers because of her frequent guest appearances on WXYZ-TV’s ‘Company.’”
Rotter, in a interview with The Legal News in 2016, said that her legal star began to rise soon after she made an appearance on a talk show featuring well-known TV anchor and newscaster Bill Bonds.
“I was very fortunate to get that break, which led to regular appearances on ‘Kelly & Company,’ another talk show that featured Channel 7’s John Kelly and his wife Marilyn Turner,” said Rotter. “Those appearances really shaped my legal career.
“I remember well that first show when I started talking about women’s issues and the phone started ringing,” recalled Rotter. “The discussion really resonated with women, and it provided the impetus for me to focus on family law in my practice.”
An early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, Rotter was equally adept at representing men and women in divorce cases.
Her family law wisdom appears in the widely read treatise “The Detroit Almanac,” in which she was quoted as saying that the “rule of thumb” is that “the divorce should cost no more than the wedding,” a legal nugget that is good as gold for most clients.
“Men have been my clients in many of my biggest cases,” said Rotter, who in recent years teamed with her niece, Nancy Stone, in a family law practice in Franklin. “I started representing more men, principally through my political contacts and the campaign work I was involved in on the local and state levels.”
Whomever the client, Rotter said that some of her colleagues teased that “I don’t represent people, I adopt them.”
As such, she zealously guarded their privacy, aiming to keep their marital difficulties out of the public limelight, especially when it would make for tasty media fodder.
Retired Oakland County Circuit Judge Joan Young, who knew Rotter since she was an assistant prosecuting attorney, said her longtime friend possessed a “brilliant mind” and turned “practicality” into a legal art form.
“Harriet was one of the smartest women I’ve ever met, and she always strove to do what was best for her client within the boundaries of the law,” said Young, who was among the speakers at Rotter’s funeral service. “Her approach was always very practical and methodical, and it was only in the rarest of circumstances that her cases played out in court, which was a testament to her skill and experience as an attorney.”
On a personal level, Young said she valued Rotter’s help and guidance in a variety of ways over the years, particularly when it came to child-rearing and in running an effective political campaign.
“Since we were both working women, I turned to her for advice on many occasions when it came to providing care for my children,” Young said of Rotter. “I remember picking her brain about the most important criteria for choosing a good pre-school and her answer was, ‘Do they pick up and deliver?’ She was always ready with a quip or a good line.”
Rotter may have learned a few from her dear friend Hilda Gage, the widely respected Michigan Court of Appeals judge who died of complications from Multiple Sclerosis in 2010. Gage, according to Rotter, was a “trailblazer” for women in the law, serving as the first female president of the Michigan Judges Association and the first woman chair of the Judicial Tenure Commission.
Gage enjoyed a “very special friendship” with Rotter, Judge Young, and Michelle Engler, Michigan’s former First Lady. The four often traveled together and they particularly relished the opportunity to visit on Mackinac Island, according to Mrs. Engler.
“The first time I met Harriet was shortly after I moved to Michigan in 1990,” Engler said in The Legal News interview. “She organized a luncheon to introduce me to a number of other women attorneys and judges in Michigan. It was such a thoughtful gesture because it recognized me not only as the new First Lady, but as a professional in my own right. She, Joan, Hilda and I became fast friends, and spent a lot of time together after that.
“We used to have girlfriend weekends at the Governor's Summer Residence on Mackinac Island,” Engler related. “The topics ranged from politics (of course), to husbands and children, to their stories of being the only women in their law school classes and their participation in marches in support of the ERA movement.”
In the meantime, Engler will be content to treasure another story about Rotter.
“When John was contemplating his first run for governor, one early visit was with Harriet to ask for her support,” Engler recalled. “She was always a ‘go-to’ person in Oakland County for Republican candidates. She had amazing connections and broad influence not only in the legal community and among professional women, but also within the Jewish community as well.”
Rotter graduated at age 19 from Wayne State University in 1959 with a degree in history, earning Phi Beta Kappa recognition. She also earned a master’s degree in political science and urbanology from Wayne State, and obtained her juris doctor from the University of Detroit.
Her history of volunteer service spanned nearly five decades and included serving on the board of Central Michigan University from 1993-2000. She also served on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from 2002-08 and the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
The funeral for Rotter was held Dec. 26 at Ira Kaufman Chapel in Southfield.
Survivors include: three sons, Dr. Steven (Lisa) Rotter, Michael (Tara) Rotter, and David (Holly) Rotter; a sister, Judith (Richard) Komer; a brother, Dr. Jeffrey (Meredith Weston) Band; five grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to Wayne State University or the charity of the donor’s choice.
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