9/16/2009
John J. Bursch, a partner with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, has been elected chair of the American Bar Association's Council of Appellate Lawyers – the youngest in the Council's history.
Active with CAL since 2003, Bursch will serve a one-year term as chair of the Council, which is the first and only national appellate bench-bar organization in the country. Most recently, Bursch served as CAL's chair-elect.
Bursch chairs the Firm's Appellate Practice Group and in recent years has prevailed in appeals with a cumulative amount in controversy that exceeds $2.25 billion. A former law clerk for the Hon. James B. Loken, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Bursch speaks and writes on a variety of legal issues and is the co-founder of a popular blog on the firm's Web site, the One Court of Justice Blog (http://www.ocjblog.com/), which tracks the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals. Bursch routinely assists other lawyers in preparing motions and briefs in state and federal appellate courts including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Active professionally and in the community, Bursch also serves as chair of the ABA Litigation Section’s Supreme Court Subcommittee, is the former treasurer for the State Bar of Michigan's Appellate Practice Section, and has served on the board of directors of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan. He is also a member of the Michigan Supreme Court's Advocates Guild, the Defense Research Institute, the National Association of Diocesan Attorneys, the Supreme Court Historical Society and the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.
Bursch is recognized in Best Lawyers, Michigan Super Lawyers, Who's Who in America Law and Who's Who in America. He also received the 2009 Distinguished Brief Award for submitting one of the most scholarly briefs in the Michigan Supreme Court.
Bursch holds two bachelor’s degrees from the Lee Honors College of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and served as executive note and comment editor for the Minnesota Law Review.
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About Warner Norcross & Judd
Warner Norcross & Judd LLP is one of the leading law firms in Michigan and one of the top 200 in the nation. With more than 220 attorneys in Grand Rapids, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Lansing, Holland and Muskegon, Warner Norcross is a full-service provider of legal services. Nearly half of our partners are listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Warner Norcross has been recognized for business excellence and workplace flexibility with an Alfred P. Sloan Award, as a national leader in client service among law firms by BTI Consulting, as one of the nation's leading employment law firms by Workforce Management, as one of the 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For in both West Michigan and Metro Detroit and as one of the Best Michigan Businesses by Corp! Magazine. The Firm represents local, statewide, regional, national and international clients in all areas of business and civil law.