Practice Areas
Industries
Education
Washington and Lee University School of Law
Lexington, Virginia
J.D., 1976
Denison University
Granville, Ohio
B.A., 1973
Court Admissions
All Michigan state courts
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Labor and Employment Attorney
Dick’s career as a labor and employment attorney included traditional labor relations, state/federal agency work, employment litigation, unemployment insurance taxation matters and arbitration of employment disputes. He also served as a facilitative mediator for the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, and the Michigan courts.
Chambers USA, which ranks top lawyers and law firms, notes Dick’s 40+ years of practice and declares he “continues to provide the Varnum team with the benefit of his many years’ experience, and is especially well versed in the automotive sector.”
Dick was named “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of Employment Law – Management in 2021 and 2022 by Best Lawyers in America®.
He became Of Counsel in 2020 and is living in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
Experience
Represented Fabco Holdings, Inc. in sale of product portfolio and related technologies to Meritor. Negotiated transaction documents and advised on employee benefit, union, intellectual property and financing-related matters.
Representation of significant transportation industry company in labor relations matters, including collective bargaining and labor arbitration with the American Postal Workers.
Representation of multi-employer construction industry associations in labor relations matters, including collective bargaining, fringe benefit fund issues and labor dispute resolution.
Representation of professional employer organizations, staffing firms, consumer products manufacturers, agricultural employers and automobile dealerships in multimillion dollar unemployment insurance tax appeals.
Representation of multistate environmental contracting company in labor and employment relations matters, including worksite picketing, out-of-area labor contracting, multi-employer fringe benefit fund issues, employment litigation and employment arbitration.
Representation of manufacturing employers in general labor and employment relations matters.
Honors and Recognitions
Best Lawyers in America® since 2005
Best Lawyers in America®, Lawyer of the Year, Employment Law – Management, 2021 and 2022
Best Lawyers in America®, Lawyer of the Year, Labor Law – Management, 2024
Best Lawyers in America®, Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2020
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Leader in the field of Labor & Employment
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, fellow
DBusiness© magazine, Top Lawyers, Labor and Employment Law, 2019 – 2022
Leading Lawyers: ADR Law – Employment; Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management
Martindale Hubbell® AV Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
Michigan Lawyers Weekly® Hall of Fame Honoree, 2020
Michigan Super Lawyers® since 2006
Professional Affiliations
Alliance for Education in Dispute Resolution
American Employment Law Council
American Bar Association: Labor and Employment Section; Committee on Unemployment Insurance Law, past co-chair; Committee on State Labor and Employment Laws, past co-chair; Committee on Employment Rights and Responsibilities
Center for Public Responsibility
Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE): Michigan Labor and Employment Law, “Unemployment Insurance Law,” Chapter Editor; Annual Labor and Employment Law Institute, speaker
Labor and Employment Relations Association, Detroit Chapter
National Arbitration & Mediation, Inc.
National Arbitration Forum
National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO)
Oakland County Bar Association: ADR Committee, chair
Oakland County Business Court’s Advisory Group
State Bar of Michigan, Labor and Employment Section
State Bar of Wisconsin, Labor and Employment Section
Community Involvement
Cooley Lake Association
Detroit Orientation Institute
Hands On Nashville, volunteer
Kent County Chapter of the American Cancer Society
Leadership Kalamazoo
The Center for Michigan, volunteer
The Well Outreach of Spring Hill, volunteer