JAMS, a provider of alternative dispute resolution services in Detroit, has hired Sean F. Cox, retired chief judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to serve as a mediator, arbitrator, court-appointed neutral and neutral evaluator, handling business and commercial, civil rights, construction, education, employment, governmental, insurance, and personal injury matters.
Cox served on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2006 to 2025, serving as chief judge between 2022 and 2025. He previously served as a judge on the Third Judicial Court of Michigan from 1996 to 2006. While on the bench, he successfully resolved some of Michigan’s most protracted disputes.
He is known for his resolution of a 1977 matter involving the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Later, he leveraged these insights for a mediated settlement that created the Great Lakes Water Authority. As part of the mediation team that resolved Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy, he facilitated a historic public utility deal resolving longstanding issues amongst the counties of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne, and the City of Detroit.
Based in the Detroit Resolution Center, Cox will be available to conduct sessions in person, as well as virtually, for clients across the country and internationally.
“Judge Cox is well known in the Michigan legal community and beyond for his thoughtfulness and diligent approach,” says Kimberly Taylor, president and CEO of JAMS. “His deep experience handling challenging disputes as a jurist and mediator will be an asset to the parties he serves. We are proud to welcome Judge Cox to the JAMS panel.”
Prior to taking the bench, Cox was a partner at Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho from 1990 to 1996, where he was a trial lawyer focusing on municipal and personal injury litigation, including medical malpractice. His broad perspective on the law also is informed by his diverse early experiences. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was a construction worker and worked on the assembly line at Ford Motor Co. As a mediator, Cox helps parties find common avenues of dialogue, even in the most complex cases.
“I look forward to bringing to JAMS the same insightful, deliberative and experienced approach that enabled me to resolve some of the federal court’s most protracted and historic disputes,” says Cox.
Cox earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from Detroit College of Law.
