We are pleased to announce that attorney Jim Acho has been named a 2023 Top Lawyer in Labor and Employment Law by DBusiness magazine. The research for the Top Lawyers list was created by Professional Research Services and is based on an online peer-review survey sent out to the certified lawyers within the metro Detroit area. We are delighted to have a CMDA attorney named to their Top Lawyers list. […]

CMDA is pleased to announce that partner Jim Acho has been selected as a summer feature by Super Lawyers magazine. Sportswriter Brendan Meyer, who has covered Jim and some of his cases for ESPN and Bleacher Report, also does special features pieces for Super Lawyers. Mr. Meyer wanted to do a more specific piece chronicling Jim’s career handling sports cases, many of which have made national news and some even […]

CMDA is proud to announce that several attorneys from our Firm have been selected for inclusion in the 2022 Michigan Super Lawyers & Rising Stars list. The following attorneys have been selected to the 2022 Michigan Super Lawyers list: Jim Acho, Top Rated Civil Litigation Defense Jeff Clark, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal Tim Ferrand, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal Haider Kazim, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal […]

I first met Frank Beckmann through some Detroit Lions alumni events Lem Barney and Mike Lucci had taken me to in the late 1990s, and Frank and I instantly hit it off. It tickled me because I idolized the guy as a kid. Back then, I thought I wanted to be a radio play-by-play guy like all the legends we had in this town: Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey, George Kell, […]

Jim Acho, a partner in our Livonia office, was a guest on several sports radio shows this week–including on KMOX in St. Louis–to discuss the lawsuit filed against the NFL by coach Brian Flores. Longtime ESPN radio voice Kevin Wheeler now mans the drive time sports radio show for KMOX, a seat once held by legendary sportscasters Harry Caray, Jack Buck and Bob Costas; Jim has been a guest on […]

A great man passed today, one of the finest men I ever knew—not just in football, but in life. He did more for me in my career than I can tell you and he did more quietly to help former players than I can say on here. He told it like it is. Blunt, direct, no BS about him. But a warm, generous spirit. Won a world championship in Cleveland […]

CMDA is proud to announce that several attorneys from our Firm have been selected for inclusion in the 2021 Michigan Super Lawyers & Rising Stars list. The following attorneys have been selected to the 2021 Michigan Super Lawyers list: Jim Acho, Top Rated Civil Litigation Defense Jeff Clark, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal Tim Ferrand, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal Haider Kazim, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal […]

For nearly 20 years, CMDA partner Jim Acho has served as legal counsel to the Detroit chapter of the NFL Alumni Association. NFL Alumni Association President Pete Chryplewicz is a longtime client of Mr. Acho, as are numerous ex-Lions. At the annual dinners, Jim often speaks and provides retired NFL players with updates or changes in the law as it affects retired player benefits. This year’s dinner was held at […]

If you have visited CMDA partner Jim Acho’s office, you have no doubt seen the framed Houston Astros game jersey on his wall. It was a gift from client J.R. Richard, legendary Houston Astros pitcher who unfortunately lost a short battle with Covid on Friday. Jim was invited to J.R.’s Astros Hall of Fame ceremony in 2019. Said Jim to Houston sports radio KFNC, “J.R. was a man who dealt […]

WJR’s own hall of famer, Frank Beckmann, who was in the audience, told his radio listeners the next day it was the funniest roast he had ever seen–live or on TV. Jim has been honored to represent Lem his entire 21 years as an attorney but moreover to call him a dear family friend.