The Butzel law firm in Detroit has appointed attorneys Aaron L. Davis and James J. Urban as co-managing shareholders for the firm’s Lansing office, where they will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office.
Davis has experience representing employers on all matters impacting their employees under federal and state labor and employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
He also has experience representing clients in union representation, labor arbitrations, collective bargaining, and litigation before the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC).
Davis devotes a portion of his practice to the representation of State of Michigan Non-Exclusively Represented Employees (NERE) through the Michigan State Civil Service appeal process.
Davis earned his law degree from The University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law and his undergraduate degree. in political science from Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Urban has concentrated his practice in the representation of infrastructure contractors and their trade associations for more than 25 years. He has experience representing infrastructure contractors in the public and private sectors in a wide variety of challenges facing those contractors.
Urban has handled and resolved construction disputes throughout Michigan and in Indiana, Ohio, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, and Canada for Butzel’s infrastructure contractor clients. He also has served as an arbitrator and as a mediator in construction disputes on both public and private projects.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the ABA Construction Law Forum, the Ingham County Bar Association, and is a former member of the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. Prior to entering private practice, he was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Livingston County.
Urban has been listed in Michigan Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for Construction Litigation, 2007 – 2022 and was named Lansing Construction Litigation Law Lawyer of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 by Best Lawyers. He also has been listed in DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Construction Litigation, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
He is a graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1982 and earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 1977.
