Hon. Julie Nicholson (Ret.)

Twenty-seven years on the bench in one of Oakland County's busiest courts, ten of them as Chief Judge of the 52nd District Court, following a decade of civil litigation as a law firm partner.

Judge Nicholson obtained her certification as a civil case mediator from the National Judicial College in 2024 and joined MI-JADR the same year. She mediates from the Livonia office and remotely.

Elected in 1996, she served more than 27 years on the 52/3 District Court, presiding over thousands of civil cases and jury and non-jury trials, and sat as a Visiting Judge in the Oakland County Circuit Court's Civil Division. The Michigan Supreme Court appointed her Chief Judge of the 52nd District Court for a combined ten years, responsible for four of Oakland County's largest district courts, ten judges, ten magistrates and a budget of more than $15 million. She also served on the Supreme Court's ADR Workgroup.

Before the bench she was a partner in large and mid-sized firms with a civil litigation practice spanning employment, premises, business and commercial, product, highway, personal injury and environmental liability, tried in state and federal courts and the Michigan Court of Appeals. She served as a neutral case evaluator for the Oakland County Bar Association.

A Michigan Judicial Institute faculty member on ADR, jury trial management and court administration, she has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and was a contributing legal columnist for the Observer & Eccentric.

Credentials

• Judge, 52/3 District Court (1996–2024)
• Chief Judge, 52nd District Court (10 years)
• Visiting Judge, Oakland County Circuit Court – Civil Division
• NJC Certified Civil Case Mediator (2024)
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent

Download curriculum vitae (PDF) →

Education

• JD cum laude, Detroit College of Law (Law Review)
• BA Business Administration/Pre-Law, Michigan State University