By Tom Kirvan
Legal News

The proverb, “good things come to those who wait,” seemed particularly fitting when former Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Potts recently received “Legend in the Law” recognition.

The special distinction was accorded to Potts by the Oakland County Bar Foundation (OCBF) on October 29 during a ceremony at La Strada Italian Kitchen & Bar in Birmingham, where friends and admirers of the longtime judge gathered to pay tribute to a woman who was a powerful force on the court and in the legal community over her 21-year career in the judiciary.

The honor was four years in the making on account of the pandemic, which put an unexpected delay on many such in-person gatherings for safety’s sake. When the ceremony finally did take place earlier this fall, Potts said she was “humbled and deeply honored” by the recognition she received.
In particular, Potts said she was touched by remarks made at the event by two of her longtime friends, retired Oakland Circuit Judge James Alexander and Dickinson Wright attorney Lynn Sirich, a past president of the OCBF.

Alexander, who retired from the bench in 2020 and now works with Potts at the Detroit office of JAMS, had the pleasure of introducing the honoree at the Legend in the Law event.

“I had Googled her and came up with eight pages of information ... so I rolled them up into a scroll and told the group that if you want to know why she’s a Legend … and unrolled the pages,” Alexander recounted with his customary wit.

“What really makes Wendy legendary is her care and concern,” Alexander added. “No one cares more for their cases, litigants, colleagues, and friends than Wendy. No one will ever outwork her. And no one will ever have a better friend.”

Sirich, who is the chair for the Family Law Practice Group at Dickinson Wright, was equally effusive in her praise of Potts.

“Retired Judge Potts, or Wendy, to those of us who are fortunate to know her well, is a legend in so much more than just the law,” said Sirich. “She is a legend in fashion, friendship, wit, humor, and generosity. In the law, her accolades, accomplishments, and titles are many. She, along with a few of her colleagues, paved the way for women in our profession to become leaders in what was once a male-dominated profession. She did so with grace, humor, and style. The choice to honor Wendy was an easy one and so well deserved. I am honored to call her my friend.”

That friendship, said Sirich, has continued to grow in recent years.

“Judge Potts was and is an incredible mentor and cheerleader to younger attorneys,” Sirich declared. “She was always willing to help with internships or give advice along the way. When I applied to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers later in my career, Wendy was an enormous support. The national exam was daunting and Wendy’s support was unwavering. When I finally passed the exam and was admitted as a fellow in the Academy, Wendy insisted on having a party for me to celebrate my accomplishment. That is the essence of Wendy.”

The OCBF started the Legends in the Law program in the fall of 2019 by posthumously honoring Tom Plunkett, a former Oakland County Prosecutor who spent the bulk of his distinguished legal career as a partner with what is now Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett in Birmingham. Plunkett, who died in 2017 at age 78 after an 18-month battle with cancer, was a past president of the Oakland County Bar Association who enjoyed a reputation as one of the most respected and honorable men in the state’s legal profession.

Working with noted family law attorney Henry Gornbein, the host of an award-winning local cable television show titled “Practical Law,” the OCBF began the Legend in the Law program “to recognize lawyers in Oakland County based on their prominence in the profession, their impact on the legal community, their dedication to the service of Oakland County, and their support of the Foundation and its mission,” according to a spokesperson for the OCBF.

Potts, of course, has checked all those boxes during a career that began with a clerkship at the Michigan Court of Appeals, a job that served as a stepping-stone to a position with the Detroit law firm of Hill Lewis, now Clark Hill. In 1997, she was appointed to the Oakland County Probate Court bench. Ten months later, she accepted an appointment to the Circuit Court, a judgeship she held until retiring in 2019.

A Detroit native and graduate of Mumford High School, Potts is a University of Michigan alumna who obtained her juris doctor degree from Wayne State University Law School. During her time on the Circuit Court bench, she served as chief judge for six years, helping spearhead changes to the state’s jail overcrowding statutes. The overcrowding problem was particularly acute in Oakland County where the jail population mushroomed in 2007-09 in the wake of the area’s economic downturn during the Great Recession.

She also was widely praised for her efforts to support the drug court program in Oakland County, helping lead the way for the creation of The RESTORE Foundation in 2008 as a means of providing private funding help.

For those efforts, Potts was honored by the State Bar of Michigan in 2010 with its coveted Champion of Justice Award, just one of many honors she has received from various bar associations and civic groups over the years.