Mary Massaron, J.D. '90

Partner Mary Massaron of Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest's oldest and largest law firms, will moderate a panel of guest speakers at the American Bar Association's (ABA) 32nd Annual Land Use Institute in Detroit. Hosted by the ABA's Section of State and Local Government Law, the Annual Land Use Institute program will take place April 19 and 20 at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. On April 20, Massaron will serve as moderator of "The Land Use Issues Impacting the Fall and Rise of Downtown Detroit" discussion.

Massaron, who previously served as a law clerk to Michigan Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia J. Boyle, practices in Plunkett Cooney's Bloomfield Hills office and has handled hundreds of appeals in state and federal appellate courts, including appearances before the Michigan Supreme Court, the Indiana Supreme Court, and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Among the significant land use and property development cases that Massaron has handled over the years is Hathcock v County of Wayne, which resulted in a decision overturning decades of precedent and establishing a new test for the government's right to take private property.

The Best Lawyers in America® (Copyright 2017 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) has honored Massaron with its "Best Lawyer" title for 12 consecutive years. Michigan Super Lawyers magazine has also honored Massaron for 13 consecutive years, including inclusion among its top 100 attorneys and top 50 women lawyers in Michigan. Her other significant honors include membership in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and designation by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a 2008 "Lawyer of the Year."

Massaron served as President of the DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar from 2012 to 2013. She is past chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan, DRI's Appellate Advocacy Committee, and the American Bar Association's Council of Appellate Lawyers, a division of the Appellate Judges Conference. Massaron also co-chairs the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation, an organization of Michigan appellate judges and lawyers.

Massaron graduated summa cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1990, receiving numerous academic accolades. She received her undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Marygrove College in 1982.