BAR ADMISSIONS            
Michigan
United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States District Court for the Western District of MI

WORK EXPERIENCE            
Sole practitioner, March 1993 to present
General civil trial and appellate litigation in state and federal courts, including personal injury, employment discrimination and harassment, and worker’s compensation

Farr & Oosterhouse, Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 1984 to February 1993
General civil trial and appellate litigation in state and federal courts, generally from a defense perspective, and primarily in the areas of legal malpractice, products liability and negligence

Baxter & Hammond, Grand Rapids, Michigan
January 1983 to July 1984
Civil litigation with emphasis in same areas mentioned above; left firm when four of the partners formed Farr & Oosterhouse in July 1984

Law Clerk to Chief Justice Mary S. Coleman,
Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing, Michigan
June 1981 to December 1982
Prepared drafts of opinions; analyzed other justices’ opinions; analyzed applications for leave to appeal

EDUCATION                                    
Valparaiso University School of Law, Valparaiso, Indiana
Juris Doctor, May 1981
Valparaiso University Law Review:
Articles Editor, 1980-1981
Note, Abortion Laws, Religious Beliefs and the First Amendment, 14 Val. L. Rev. 487 (1980)

Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Bachelor of Arts, May 1977
Double Major:  Chemistry, Philosophy

PUBLISHED AUTHOR
Seeking God: How Christianity Makes Sense of What a God of Love Is Doing in this World 

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Mel Trotter Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Volunteer, Christian Legal Aid Clinic

Opera Grand Rapids
Board member and chair of Nominating Committee, 
2000 thru 2009

LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Member, former elder and Bible study leader,  

Christian Legal Society of West Michigan
Past President