By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Somewhat fortuitously, the first three people that Don Campbell met in law school at Wayne State University have played key roles in his life and career, a twist of fate that he didn’t see coming when he began his legal studies in downtown Detroit.
The first student that he met was Margaret Conti Schmidt, who now serves as an attorney with Krispen S. Carroll, the Chapter 13 Trustee.
“Margaret introduced me to my wife (Sheri Ann) and is a godmother to our youngest son,” said Campbell, the president and co-managing partner of Collins Einhorn in Southfield.
His second law school acquaintance was Theresa Asoklis, a former co-manager of the firm and the attorney chiefly responsible for bringing Campbell on board at Collins Einhorn in 2003.
“I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Theresa,” Campbell declared. “It was a chance phone call from her that led to a job here in grievance defense and professional liability defense work.”
The third Wayne State student he met, who shall remain nameless, was someone “I eventually disbarred while working at the Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC),” Campbell acknowledged, noting that years later he would be seated unexpectedly at the same table with her during a dinner event that had all the makings of a decidedly awkward encounter.
“Fortunately, she was pleasant and handled the situation well,” Campbell said with a sense of belated relief.
A Detroit native, Campbell became president of Collins Einhorn in January 2024 and shares a co-managing partner role with attorney Kellie Howard, the chief executive officer of the firm that was founded in 1971 and now numbers more than 110 employees.
Campbell is quick to praise Howard for her leadership abilities, calling her a “visionary who is the firm’s leading light and guiding light,” while adding another layer of praise for good measure.
“She is a really terrific lawyer who we all have great respect for,” said Campbell of Howard, who represents various Fortune 500 companies in the public utility, automotive, and health care sectors. “I was deeply honored when she asked me to be her co-managing partner. She is truly stellar.”
A product of University of Detroit High School, Campbell earned a bachelor of arts degree from Loyola University of Chicago, a Jesuit school that was a natural fit for a U of D High grad. He returned to the Motor City for law school at Wayne State, obtaining his juris doctorate in 1989. As the son of two former Wayne County assistant prosecutors (see related story), Campbell followed a prosecutorial path as well, but in Oakland County instead.
“I was hired by Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson, who took a chance on me, giving me an opportunity to learn the ropes as a trial attorney,” Campbell said. “It was a place where you learned in a hurry.”
Campbell was part of a new group of assistant prosecutors that included Mike Cox, a future Attorney General of Michigan who served two terms from 2003-11 and now is rumored to be considering a gubernatorial bid in 2026.
“I spent three years with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, handling 40 jury trials, a couple hundred bench trials, and countless preliminary exams and motion proceedings,” Campbell said of the eye-opening job experience. “I had the privilege of working with a lot of talented people dedicated to our justice system.”
Campbell was then encouraged by a friend to consider applying for a job opening with the Attorney Grievance Commission, the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the Michigan Supreme Court for allegations of attorney misconduct. He spent 10 years with the state agency trying more than 250 cases and handling appeals.
“In that role, about 90 percent of the cases I investigated were closed by the Commission,” Campbell indicated. “So, while I saw some very bad lawyering, I also was exposed to many good lawyers who happened to be grieved.
In studying those matters, I really learned how to be a good and organized lawyer. I saw firsthand how to keep detailed records.”
When Campbell joined Collins Einhorn, he immediately was in a role reversal mode, representing lawyers facing misconduct allegations before the AGC in addition to counseling judges in the crosshairs of a Judicial Tenure Commission investigation.
In addition, Campbell has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, teaching courses in Professional Responsibility and Criminal Law.
As a longtime colleague and friend, Theresa Asoklis knows Campbell well and firmly believes that Collins Einhorn is in “very good hands for the foreseeable future” with Howard and Campbell at the helm.
“We met during our first week of law school at Wayne State (in 1986),” Asoklis recalled of the first time she crossed paths with Campbell. “Don was a leader even back then – organizing and leading quite a few after-class activities at our local watering hole.
“We lost touch a bit after we graduated,” added Asoklis, but they reconnected when Campbell was working for the AGC.
“I was working on a challenging ethical issue for a lawyer-client of mine and on a whim called Don to get some of his expertise on the subject,” Asoklis noted. “That call ended up with me recruiting him to join our firm’s professional liability practice group. He was hired within a month of that call. Over the years, Don has taken on and succeeded in some of the most challenging lawyer and judicial ethics cases in the state. In my opinion, he is the top ethics lawyer in the state.
“Don was a natural fit to take over the helm of Collins Einhorn during our leadership transition last year,” Asoklis proclaimed. “He leads with a firm, yet gentle hand. He is a consensus builder. His door is always open to any member of the staff who needs advice.”
One of eight children, Campbell grew up on the lower east side of Detroit and now lives in the house where he was raised.
“It’s a 100-year-old house that is filled with wonderful memories for me,” said Campbell. “I’m living the dream there.”
His parents, Patricia and Donald, met in Germany. His father was in the military while his mother was a civilian employee for the U.S. government.
“It was a fortuitous event that they met, as my dad went into military service after he was booted out of U of D law school,” Campbell related. “If it hadn’t been for his unfortunate experience at U of D, I wouldn’t be here now.”
The couple married upon their return stateside, where with the G.I. Bill in hand, the elder Campbell gave law school another go, graduating from Detroit College of Law before joining the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. He would work there until suffering a disabling stroke at age 47, a life-altering event for the family patriarch who passed away in 2000.
Campbell and his wife, Sheri Ann, were married in 1989 and celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary last fall. Sheri Ann spent five years as the office manager of St. Paul on the Lake in Grosse Pointe Farms, retiring in 2020.
She also has served in various human resource capacities for Comerica Bank, Great Lakes Strategies, and Allecon Stock Associates.
The Campbells are the parents of four children: Katherine, Hazen, Madeline, and Malcolm.
Katherine holds a master’s degree in endangered species recovery and conservation and currently works in a Texas A&M program designed to preserve the ocelot, the endangered medium-sized wildcat with a habitat near the Rio Grande Valley. Hazen, a Wayne State alum, is manager of environmental, health, and safety at LG in Hazel Park. Madeline, a product of Aquinas College, is a history teacher at Grosse Pointe North High School. Malcolm, a graduate of U of D Jesuit, is a junior studying political science at Loyola University of Chicago who may have law school in his future plans.
“We, as parents, have been wonderfully blessed by our children,” said Campbell. “They’ve brought great joy into our lives.”
Legal News
Somewhat fortuitously, the first three people that Don Campbell met in law school at Wayne State University have played key roles in his life and career, a twist of fate that he didn’t see coming when he began his legal studies in downtown Detroit.
The first student that he met was Margaret Conti Schmidt, who now serves as an attorney with Krispen S. Carroll, the Chapter 13 Trustee.
“Margaret introduced me to my wife (Sheri Ann) and is a godmother to our youngest son,” said Campbell, the president and co-managing partner of Collins Einhorn in Southfield.
His second law school acquaintance was Theresa Asoklis, a former co-manager of the firm and the attorney chiefly responsible for bringing Campbell on board at Collins Einhorn in 2003.
“I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Theresa,” Campbell declared. “It was a chance phone call from her that led to a job here in grievance defense and professional liability defense work.”
The third Wayne State student he met, who shall remain nameless, was someone “I eventually disbarred while working at the Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC),” Campbell acknowledged, noting that years later he would be seated unexpectedly at the same table with her during a dinner event that had all the makings of a decidedly awkward encounter.
“Fortunately, she was pleasant and handled the situation well,” Campbell said with a sense of belated relief.
A Detroit native, Campbell became president of Collins Einhorn in January 2024 and shares a co-managing partner role with attorney Kellie Howard, the chief executive officer of the firm that was founded in 1971 and now numbers more than 110 employees.
Campbell is quick to praise Howard for her leadership abilities, calling her a “visionary who is the firm’s leading light and guiding light,” while adding another layer of praise for good measure.
“She is a really terrific lawyer who we all have great respect for,” said Campbell of Howard, who represents various Fortune 500 companies in the public utility, automotive, and health care sectors. “I was deeply honored when she asked me to be her co-managing partner. She is truly stellar.”
A product of University of Detroit High School, Campbell earned a bachelor of arts degree from Loyola University of Chicago, a Jesuit school that was a natural fit for a U of D High grad. He returned to the Motor City for law school at Wayne State, obtaining his juris doctorate in 1989. As the son of two former Wayne County assistant prosecutors (see related story), Campbell followed a prosecutorial path as well, but in Oakland County instead.
“I was hired by Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson, who took a chance on me, giving me an opportunity to learn the ropes as a trial attorney,” Campbell said. “It was a place where you learned in a hurry.”
Campbell was part of a new group of assistant prosecutors that included Mike Cox, a future Attorney General of Michigan who served two terms from 2003-11 and now is rumored to be considering a gubernatorial bid in 2026.
“I spent three years with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, handling 40 jury trials, a couple hundred bench trials, and countless preliminary exams and motion proceedings,” Campbell said of the eye-opening job experience. “I had the privilege of working with a lot of talented people dedicated to our justice system.”
Campbell was then encouraged by a friend to consider applying for a job opening with the Attorney Grievance Commission, the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the Michigan Supreme Court for allegations of attorney misconduct. He spent 10 years with the state agency trying more than 250 cases and handling appeals.
“In that role, about 90 percent of the cases I investigated were closed by the Commission,” Campbell indicated. “So, while I saw some very bad lawyering, I also was exposed to many good lawyers who happened to be grieved.
In studying those matters, I really learned how to be a good and organized lawyer. I saw firsthand how to keep detailed records.”
When Campbell joined Collins Einhorn, he immediately was in a role reversal mode, representing lawyers facing misconduct allegations before the AGC in addition to counseling judges in the crosshairs of a Judicial Tenure Commission investigation.
In addition, Campbell has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, teaching courses in Professional Responsibility and Criminal Law.
As a longtime colleague and friend, Theresa Asoklis knows Campbell well and firmly believes that Collins Einhorn is in “very good hands for the foreseeable future” with Howard and Campbell at the helm.
“We met during our first week of law school at Wayne State (in 1986),” Asoklis recalled of the first time she crossed paths with Campbell. “Don was a leader even back then – organizing and leading quite a few after-class activities at our local watering hole.
“We lost touch a bit after we graduated,” added Asoklis, but they reconnected when Campbell was working for the AGC.
“I was working on a challenging ethical issue for a lawyer-client of mine and on a whim called Don to get some of his expertise on the subject,” Asoklis noted. “That call ended up with me recruiting him to join our firm’s professional liability practice group. He was hired within a month of that call. Over the years, Don has taken on and succeeded in some of the most challenging lawyer and judicial ethics cases in the state. In my opinion, he is the top ethics lawyer in the state.
“Don was a natural fit to take over the helm of Collins Einhorn during our leadership transition last year,” Asoklis proclaimed. “He leads with a firm, yet gentle hand. He is a consensus builder. His door is always open to any member of the staff who needs advice.”
One of eight children, Campbell grew up on the lower east side of Detroit and now lives in the house where he was raised.
“It’s a 100-year-old house that is filled with wonderful memories for me,” said Campbell. “I’m living the dream there.”
His parents, Patricia and Donald, met in Germany. His father was in the military while his mother was a civilian employee for the U.S. government.
“It was a fortuitous event that they met, as my dad went into military service after he was booted out of U of D law school,” Campbell related. “If it hadn’t been for his unfortunate experience at U of D, I wouldn’t be here now.”
The couple married upon their return stateside, where with the G.I. Bill in hand, the elder Campbell gave law school another go, graduating from Detroit College of Law before joining the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. He would work there until suffering a disabling stroke at age 47, a life-altering event for the family patriarch who passed away in 2000.
Campbell and his wife, Sheri Ann, were married in 1989 and celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary last fall. Sheri Ann spent five years as the office manager of St. Paul on the Lake in Grosse Pointe Farms, retiring in 2020.
She also has served in various human resource capacities for Comerica Bank, Great Lakes Strategies, and Allecon Stock Associates.
The Campbells are the parents of four children: Katherine, Hazen, Madeline, and Malcolm.
Katherine holds a master’s degree in endangered species recovery and conservation and currently works in a Texas A&M program designed to preserve the ocelot, the endangered medium-sized wildcat with a habitat near the Rio Grande Valley. Hazen, a Wayne State alum, is manager of environmental, health, and safety at LG in Hazel Park. Madeline, a product of Aquinas College, is a history teacher at Grosse Pointe North High School. Malcolm, a graduate of U of D Jesuit, is a junior studying political science at Loyola University of Chicago who may have law school in his future plans.
“We, as parents, have been wonderfully blessed by our children,” said Campbell. “They’ve brought great joy into our lives.”
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