By Julie Freer
Legal News
Growing up in a family of storytellers, it wasn't much of a leap for Alison Furtaw to pursue a career in the law.
"My father was a World War II veteran and I was raised on stories of bravery and sacrifice," said Furtaw, a first-generation lawyer who grew up in Detroit.
While a student at Regina High School in Harper Woods, Furtaw won an award for a speech she gave on JFK, whom her mother loved.
"I think the die was cast from that point on," said Furtaw, of her legal aspirations. "Between my Italian father and my Irish/Scottish mother, there was no shortage of storytellers in the family, and I was no exception. Litigation just seemed like a natural fit."
After spending 16 years in the public sector in both the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Attorney’s Office, Furtaw is returning to private practice. In September, she joined Dykema as senior counsel in its government investigations and corporate compliance practice in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office.
“We’re thrilled Alison decided to join Dykema’s growing white collar practice,” said Mark Chutkow, a former federal prosecutor who now leads Dykema’s government investigations and corporate compliance practice. “Alison’s background handling matters relating to health care fraud, health care licensing, and cybercrime adds to Dykema’s depth in these areas."
Before her government service, Furtaw spent seven years in private practice running her own criminal defense practice law firm. She attended Oakland University, then went on to earn a J.D. from the former Detroit College of Law. She attended law school with her husband, Tom Furtaw.
"Tom graduated a year ahead of me," said Furtaw. "He was a homicide prosecutor in Wayne County and then went on to run the criminal division for the Attorney General’s Office."
The Furtaws have three children — Alexander, an attorney clerking in the federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan; Katherine, a clinical therapist in Birmingham; and Anthony, a finance major at Indiana University.
Tom and Alison were married for 13 years before Tom died unexpectedly at age 43.
"Tom was a very kind person, and he taught me a lot about being a good lawyer and a decent person and that the two should not be mutually exclusive," said Furtaw. "His death was a great loss to our family and the legal profession."
After Tom's death, Alison went to work as an assistant attorney general for the state, prosecuting hundreds of criminal cases. She also created a position as a Cybercrime Specialist — prosecuting complicated computer crimes, including a national computer-based Ponzi scheme.
"I switched to the government when Tom died because I needed health care and regular hours," recalls Furtaw. "I had three kids to raise and I couldn’t work private practice hours anymore. The surprise was that I wound up loving my work and feeling a great sense of satisfaction from my many years of service to the people of the State of Michigan and to the Eastern District."
Over her 12 years with the Michigan Attorney General's Office, Furtaw handled financial crimes, election law and fraud cases, and cybercrime while also working on the clergy abuse task force.
"My most rewarding work was working with the survivors of sexual assault crimes and prosecuting predators who were attempting to meet up with children," said Furtaw. "It was hard work because you can't help but feel the pain of the victims, but I am glad I gave my time to such worthy work."
In 2020, Furtaw became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District.
"I worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for three years and two of those years were in the Health Care Fraud Division," said Furtaw. "I learned a lot about the damage opioids have done to society and the danger to our young people in particular. That assignment was interesting and very difficult work because you have to have a grasp of the medical terminology
as well as have a good command of the law. My boss in that unit was amazing and she did a lot to bring me along and give me great confidence."
While at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Furtaw was part of a team that prosecuted the owner and operators of a medical clinic for issuing and dispensing prescription opioids for supposed “patients” who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs. In December of 2023, a federal jury convicted the Shelby Township doctor who ran the clinic on all counts of a 20-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription opioids.
"That was a six-week trial, and I learned how much hard work goes into the preparation of health care fraud cases," said Furtaw. "I have to give a shout-out to the FBI agents on the health care fraud taskforce and my trial partner. They put in hours and hours of time interviewing witnesses and helping go through voluminous medical records. It really was a team effort."
Furtaw said with her youngest child off to college, she was ready for the switch back to private practice.
"I am so excited to join Dykema," said Furtaw. "I do think my years of experience in government investigations for both the state and the federal government is of enormous help to my clients. I can help clients with regulatory matters because I have worked closely with Licensing and Regulation for the state of Michigan and I have also worked with the Medical Board, a sub-section under LARA. This is a great benefit to my clients that are physicians, nurses and pharmacists."
When it comes to criminal cases, her first-hand knowledge of how to head off a criminal investigation or respond to an indictment will be beneficial, she says.
"It is so important for clients to get a competent defense attorney with the requisite experience to respond to a complicated white-collar investigation," said Furtaw. "I have great resources at the firm with my colleagues in the firm’s government investigations and corporate compliance practice group, so we make a formidable team."
In her free time, Furtaw enjoys the company of her family, her fiancé, and her dog Tucker.
"I am blessed to have gotten engaged this year. In 2025, I am planning my wedding, so that is definitely something fun to do in my free time," said Furtaw.
She also enjoys gardening and writing and has published two works of young adult fiction involving mysteries taking place in her hometown of Grosse Pointe. Twice a year she volunteers as a judge for a trial advocacy class at Notre Dame Law School, where her son graduated.
“I am blessed to work in a profession I love and I enjoy getting to work with aspiring lawyers in a law school environment.”
Legal News
Growing up in a family of storytellers, it wasn't much of a leap for Alison Furtaw to pursue a career in the law.
"My father was a World War II veteran and I was raised on stories of bravery and sacrifice," said Furtaw, a first-generation lawyer who grew up in Detroit.
While a student at Regina High School in Harper Woods, Furtaw won an award for a speech she gave on JFK, whom her mother loved.
"I think the die was cast from that point on," said Furtaw, of her legal aspirations. "Between my Italian father and my Irish/Scottish mother, there was no shortage of storytellers in the family, and I was no exception. Litigation just seemed like a natural fit."
After spending 16 years in the public sector in both the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Attorney’s Office, Furtaw is returning to private practice. In September, she joined Dykema as senior counsel in its government investigations and corporate compliance practice in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office.
“We’re thrilled Alison decided to join Dykema’s growing white collar practice,” said Mark Chutkow, a former federal prosecutor who now leads Dykema’s government investigations and corporate compliance practice. “Alison’s background handling matters relating to health care fraud, health care licensing, and cybercrime adds to Dykema’s depth in these areas."
Before her government service, Furtaw spent seven years in private practice running her own criminal defense practice law firm. She attended Oakland University, then went on to earn a J.D. from the former Detroit College of Law. She attended law school with her husband, Tom Furtaw.
"Tom graduated a year ahead of me," said Furtaw. "He was a homicide prosecutor in Wayne County and then went on to run the criminal division for the Attorney General’s Office."
The Furtaws have three children — Alexander, an attorney clerking in the federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan; Katherine, a clinical therapist in Birmingham; and Anthony, a finance major at Indiana University.
Tom and Alison were married for 13 years before Tom died unexpectedly at age 43.
"Tom was a very kind person, and he taught me a lot about being a good lawyer and a decent person and that the two should not be mutually exclusive," said Furtaw. "His death was a great loss to our family and the legal profession."
After Tom's death, Alison went to work as an assistant attorney general for the state, prosecuting hundreds of criminal cases. She also created a position as a Cybercrime Specialist — prosecuting complicated computer crimes, including a national computer-based Ponzi scheme.
"I switched to the government when Tom died because I needed health care and regular hours," recalls Furtaw. "I had three kids to raise and I couldn’t work private practice hours anymore. The surprise was that I wound up loving my work and feeling a great sense of satisfaction from my many years of service to the people of the State of Michigan and to the Eastern District."
Over her 12 years with the Michigan Attorney General's Office, Furtaw handled financial crimes, election law and fraud cases, and cybercrime while also working on the clergy abuse task force.
"My most rewarding work was working with the survivors of sexual assault crimes and prosecuting predators who were attempting to meet up with children," said Furtaw. "It was hard work because you can't help but feel the pain of the victims, but I am glad I gave my time to such worthy work."
In 2020, Furtaw became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District.
"I worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for three years and two of those years were in the Health Care Fraud Division," said Furtaw. "I learned a lot about the damage opioids have done to society and the danger to our young people in particular. That assignment was interesting and very difficult work because you have to have a grasp of the medical terminology
as well as have a good command of the law. My boss in that unit was amazing and she did a lot to bring me along and give me great confidence."
While at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Furtaw was part of a team that prosecuted the owner and operators of a medical clinic for issuing and dispensing prescription opioids for supposed “patients” who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs. In December of 2023, a federal jury convicted the Shelby Township doctor who ran the clinic on all counts of a 20-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription opioids.
"That was a six-week trial, and I learned how much hard work goes into the preparation of health care fraud cases," said Furtaw. "I have to give a shout-out to the FBI agents on the health care fraud taskforce and my trial partner. They put in hours and hours of time interviewing witnesses and helping go through voluminous medical records. It really was a team effort."
Furtaw said with her youngest child off to college, she was ready for the switch back to private practice.
"I am so excited to join Dykema," said Furtaw. "I do think my years of experience in government investigations for both the state and the federal government is of enormous help to my clients. I can help clients with regulatory matters because I have worked closely with Licensing and Regulation for the state of Michigan and I have also worked with the Medical Board, a sub-section under LARA. This is a great benefit to my clients that are physicians, nurses and pharmacists."
When it comes to criminal cases, her first-hand knowledge of how to head off a criminal investigation or respond to an indictment will be beneficial, she says.
"It is so important for clients to get a competent defense attorney with the requisite experience to respond to a complicated white-collar investigation," said Furtaw. "I have great resources at the firm with my colleagues in the firm’s government investigations and corporate compliance practice group, so we make a formidable team."
In her free time, Furtaw enjoys the company of her family, her fiancé, and her dog Tucker.
"I am blessed to have gotten engaged this year. In 2025, I am planning my wedding, so that is definitely something fun to do in my free time," said Furtaw.
She also enjoys gardening and writing and has published two works of young adult fiction involving mysteries taking place in her hometown of Grosse Pointe. Twice a year she volunteers as a judge for a trial advocacy class at Notre Dame Law School, where her son graduated.
“I am blessed to work in a profession I love and I enjoy getting to work with aspiring lawyers in a law school environment.”
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