By Tom Kirvan
Legal News

There were plenty of role models in the courtroom and via Zoom when Steven Nicholas Andrews was sworn in as a member of the State Bar of Michigan on November 17, 2022.

There was his dad, Nicholas Steven Andrews, a prominent plaintiff’s attorney who has helped shape the no-fault litigation landscape in Michigan while a partner with the Bloomfield Hills firm of Liss & Andrews.

There also was his grandfather, Judge Steven Nicholas Andrews, a legendary figure who presided on the Oakland County Circuit Court bench for more than three decades before retiring in 2008.

And then there was his mother, Margaret, an attorney in Arizona who was watching on Zoom with Steven’s brother Thomas.

Steven’s stepmother, attorney Bonnie Bovee, also was in the courtroom that day for the special occasion that was filled with heartfelt moments and tearful emotions.

Adding further luster to the proceedings was the Zoom presence of Steven’s aunt, Mary, and her husband, Jay Knoll, both members of the State Bar. They were joined, via Zoom, by the honoree’s aunt, Elisabeth, a former paralegal, and her husband Michael Stone, a lawyer who is a retired Major General from the Michigan National Guard. Steven’s uncle, attorney Fred Grenn, also was overjoyed by the ceremony.

Each of the aforementioned played an important role in helping shape the legal future of the younger Steven Andrews, a Kalamazoo College grad who majored in chemistry and earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in the spring of 2022.

And all were equally proud when Andrews chose to become a member of the U.S. Army, which he now serves as a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), the military justice branch of the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy.

Currently stationed at Fort Irwin Army Base in the High Desert of Southern California, Capt. Andrews completed his Officer Training, known as the Direct Commission Course (DCC), in Georgia. The DCC is an intensive physical, weapons, and leadership course that serves as the basis of Officer Training.

Andrews, who is the third generation of his family to join the legal profession, then graduated from the JAG Legal Center and School, located on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

“He was first on the Commandant’s List and received the highest standings in Contract and Fiscal Law, signified by the ADK Coin for Excellence,” said his father, Nick Andrews, whose swearing-in ceremony took place nearly 33 years to the day of his son’s. “As a family, we are all incredibly proud of him.

“Interestingly, Steven’s brother (Thomas) and all his cousins have very varied and successful careers, but Steven is the only one to become a lawyer,” said Andrews, who noted that the swearing-in ceremony included a special closing touch courtesy of his father.

“My dad’s words to Steven at the swearing-in ceremony were great and when he brought up Steven’s other grandfather, Richard Porter, who also was an attorney and passed away before Steven went to law school, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the courtroom.”