Judge Megan Maher Brennan joined MI-JADR, PC in June 2018 after 31 years of trial experience, both as a litigator and jurist. Judge Brennan is focusing her practice now on mediating civil cases in the Livonia Office.
Judge Brennan earned her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Political Science-Pre Law Studies, from Michigan State University in 1983 andJuris Doctor in 1987 from Wayne State University Law School, where she became an editor and published author in The Wayne Law Review. After graduation and admission to the State Bar of Michigan, Judge Brennan clerked for Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley from 1987 to 1989. Judge Brennan then joined the law firm of Bodman Longley & Dahling, where she focused her practice on commercial litigation and appellate work in both federal and state court, and eventually developed a special emphasis on labor and employment law. While at Bodman, the firm’s management team also appointed Judge Brennan to serve as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Grosse Pointe Park, where she advised city officials and staff on municipal, employment, and labor law, and handled local prosecutions and other ordinance enforcement actions. From 1994 to 2003, Judge Brennan established and managed her own private law practice, focusing on civil litigation and advising corporate and individual clients on legal issues in employment, civil rights, corporate, and real estate law. During this period, Judge Brennan taught business law classes as an adjunct professor in Madonna University’s Graduate School of Business. In 2003, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox appointed Judge Brennan to serve as an Assistant Attorney General, representing the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Unemployment Insurance Agency, in judicial and administrative proceedings related to complex tax and benefit issues.
On December 21, 2005, Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Judge Brennan to a vacancy on the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan (Wayne County Circuit Court), the largest and busiest trial court in the State of Michigan. Judge Brennan was elected to that Court in November 2006, and was twice re-elected in 2008 and 2014. Judge Brennan always strived to expand her legal expertise and service to the citizens, and eventually became the only judge on the current Wayne County bench, comprised of 58 judges, to serve in all four Divisions of the Court–Civil, Criminal, Family, and Juvenile.
During her tenure on the bench, Judge Brennan was appointed to, and served for many years, on the Court’s Executive, Docket Review, and Security Committees, and was also selected to work various specialized, solution-oriented dockets, such as the Single-Judge Grand Jury Fast- Track Trial Docket, Felony Non-Support Docket, and Personal Protection/Domestic Violence Docket. From 2010 to 2012, Judge Brennan served on the State Bar of Michigan Solutions on Self-Help Task Force, dedicated to expanding coordinated assistance for self- represented persons in all Michigan courts, and spearheaded the establishment of Wayne County’s first Legal Self-Help Center for low- income citizens. From 2008 to 2012, Judge Brennan served as Co-Chair of the Wayne County Family Court Mediation and ADEPT Parenting Programs, dedicated to expanding mediation services and improving parenting skills for parties during the early stages of litigation. In May 2018, after serving over twelve years on the bench, Judge Brennan retired to join the experienced group of neutral mediators and arbitrators associated with MI-JADR, PC.
Throughout her career, Judge Brennan has volunteered her time and expertise to advancing legal education in the State of Michigan, serving on the Academic Advisory Committee for the Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI) and presenting on various legal topics for the State Bar of Michigan, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), and Wayne State University Law School, among others. Judge Brennan has held leadership and board positions on several professional associations, such as the Michigan Judges Association and Children’s Charter of the Courts of Michigan, and charitable/civic organizations, such as University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, Services for Older Citizens, The Family Center, and Northeast Guidance Center.
Judge Brennan has been married to attorney Vincent J. Brennan since 1990. They have four adult children, Dr. Vincent J. Brennan, Jr., Daniel R. Brennan, Marijane K. Brennan, and Margaret P. Brennan.
Click on the link for Judge Brennan’s curriculum vitae.
Mediate With Confidence!