Home Sweet Home at Duffy and Robertson

BY PATRICIA MAJHER Regan Duffy and Tracey Robertson do everything they can to give the firm a “homey” feel. Kids and pets are welcome in the office and special get-togethers—such as a recent wild-game dinner at a local restaurant—help build a warm, working relationship. When you look at the roster of Duffy And Robertson, P.C., of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, the law firm could almost qualify as an MSU-DCL alumni chapter. The two partners, as well as the three associates, graduated from MSU-DCL—and their summer clerk, Brian Nemes, currently is enrolled there. Founders Regan Duffy, ’88, and Tracey Robertson, ’89, didn’t start out to build their firm that way; it just happened. Explains Tracey, “Whenever we’ve interviewed candidates, the MSU-DCL graduates have always stood out. They’re workhorses—mature and eager to learn, and head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to research.” Regan and Tracey, who also are husband and wife, met in the 1980s while both were studying psychology at the University of Michigan (U-M). “It was kind of awkward for me there,” notes Regan. “I dared to use logic and reason in my classes. It wasn’t too long before I got the message that a thinker was not welcome in psychology,” he laughed. When it came time to graduate, Regan knew he didn’t want to pursue graduate studies in that field. Influenced by a favorite uncle, he decided instead to apply for law school. And Detroit College of Law was his top choice: “I checked out all the area schools and realized DCL was extremely well respected. A lot of judges and prominent attorneys came from there.” Regan thoroughly enjoyed his law school experience: “Some of my greatest memories were classes with Charlie Clark and Clark Johnson and Professor McKinnon. I still to this day use the principles they taught me.” Back at U-M, Tracey was experiencing her own dissatisfactions with psychology, specifically with the state of mental health services in Michigan. “I worked at Ypsilanti and Northville [mental health facilities],” she says, “and grew to be a strong patient advocate in both of those institutions.” After graduation, she continued her institutional work while pursuing a master’s/doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Wayne State University: “But I soon wondered if I could do more for patient rights from a position in the legal profession.” So she switched her focus to law and joined Regan at DCL. “I’d always had an interest in things legal,” she says. “My father was an FBI agent and often took my older brother and me with him to federal court to watch him testify.” When Regan graduated from law school, he accepted a position as an attorney at Clark, Klein and Beaumont in Detroit, and then moved to a small firm specializing in estate planning. Later, an opportunity came up at Stark, Reagan and Finerty in Troy, enabling him to develop an expertise in corporate transactions. Tracey worked as an associate at a small firm after leaving law school and opened her own firm in 1992 with a focus on litigation. A year later, Regan joined her in the practice. It took a few years to build up the business, and then they decided to bring on another partner: DCL graduate Dan McGlynn, ’92. Later, they hired three associates from their alma mater as well: Eric Swanson; Tracey’s brother, John Robertson; and Matt Fedor. Dan left to start his own law firm last year, but the associates remain, in large measure because of the excellent training they receive. “We really pride ourselves on the mentoring that we do,” says Tracey. Part of that mentoring means giving their associates an entire case to sink their teeth into, and being available to answer any questions that arise. “They get to see it through from start to finish,” notes Tracey, “an experience they wouldn’t get at a larger firm.” Mindful of the questionable ethics of some lawyers they’ve encountered in their careers, Regan and Tracey also encourage their associates to always take the high road. “A framed copy of the lawyer’s oath hangs in our entryway,” says Regan. “It’s the first thing we see when we come in the door each morning, and that’s intentional.” Regan and Tracey also do everything they can to give the firm a “homey” feel. Kids and pets are welcome in the office and special get-togethers—such as a recent wild-game dinner at a local restaurant—help build a warm, working relationship. Not surprisingly, the one adjective every associate uses in describing the firm is “family oriented.” Oldest among the associates is John Robertson, ’97, who came to the firm as a clerk in 1997. John first earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at U-M—a seemingly unlikely preparation for the law. But he’d seen how his sister and brother-in-law had succeeded with their law degrees and figured he could, too. “I trusted their judgment in selecting DCL, so I applied there and got in,” he explained. (John was a member of the college’s last class in Detroit and keeps a small picture of the old campus above his desk.) During law school, John opted to take night courses and particularly remembers the contracts sequence taught by professors Starnes and Johnson. His days were spent clerking at Bowman and Brooke in Detroit until Tracey and Regan called. “They were getting on their feet and asked me to come work for them,” he explains. At present, John helps Tracey manage the litigation business for the firm and assists Regan with corporate record keeping. He’s also trying to develop a new specialty—construction law—that would be a natural, given his undergraduate training. “There’s a lot of contract drafting in that field,” he notes. Associate Eric Swanson, ’99, took a more traditional path to his profession by earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice at U-M Flint. After graduation, he became a member of the first MSU-DCL class in East Lansing: “I had heard that Detroit College of Law produced some of the Detroit area’s best litigators, and that’s what I wanted to be.” While in law school, Eric took full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. “I was active on the Moot Court Board, the Student Bar Association and the Journal of Medicine and Law. I had a very well rounded experience.” In pursuit of his pre-law school aspirations, Eric joined Duffy And Robertson in 1999, and has been assigned to work predominantly on litigation matters. He also helps Regan with the corporate transactions work of the firm. “We all pitch in to do whatever needs to be done,” Eric adds. Associate Matt Fedor, ’00, is the only attorney at the firm who has no ties to the University of Michigan. His first degree, a bachelor’s in public affairs with an emphasis in environmental science, was earned at Indiana University. Matt’s attraction to law began after his father passed away and he had to help his mother determine what to do with the family business. “The lawyers we dealt with were instrumental in helping us work through that situation,” he says. “By the time I graduated from Indiana, I knew I wanted to help somebody in that way.” Matt picked MSU-DCL because of its reputation and its Big Ten affiliation. His most lasting memory there was formed during the college’s building dedication in 1998. “I volunteered to help out that day and was assigned to escort Governor Engler around,” he said. “Seeing him and President Ford at our event made me realize I was part of something big.” The last to join Duffy and Robertson—he graduated in 2000—Matt has easily fit in. He focuses on tax planning and estate planning, and in his spare time, he joins Eric—whom he’s known from their MSU-DCL days—in the Inn of Court activities of the Oakland County Bar Association. Professional activities like these are encouraged at the firm. So are community commitments; for instance, John is active in state and local politics while Regan and Tracey coach sports at their kids’ school and have served as Boy and Girl Scout leaders. “We firmly believe you can have a practice without giving up who you are,” affirms Tracey. And that includes not giving up their identities as dedicated MSU-DCL alumni, either.