dblevins@bsjzlaw.com
(313) 338-9500

Don Blevins is a University of Michigan law school graduate, with 25 years of experience handling complex commercial litigation. He spent more than a decade at one of Washington, D.C.’s premier law firms before returning to his home state of Michigan. Don regularly serves as lead trial counsel multi-million dollar cases. His extensive litigation experience also leaves him well suited to advise the firm’s construction clients on proactive ways to protect their rights and maximize their interests. The following is a partial listing of Don’s successful litigation results:$5.6 million jury verdict in favor of our client, a real estate developer, against a contractor for the improper installation of an underground sewer line.$550,000 jury verdict in favor of our client, a flooring company, as a result of a university’s unconstitutional debarment of the contractor from further contracts with the university. (With attorney fees, that case actually resulted in a total award exceeding $1.2 million.)$5 million jury verdict in favor of our credit union client against its insurer. That later became a judgment of nearly $8 million after the court added penalty interest.$200,000 jury verdict awarded to our property-manager client against its heating and cooling contractor for failing to run an office building’s systems efficiently. On top of that, our client recovered all of its attorney fees.$360,000, plus attorney fees, awarded to our credit union client against an auto dealership for the mishandling of auto loans.EducationUniversity of Michigan Law School (J.D. 1990)

University of Michigan (B.A., High Honors 1987Admitted to Practice in These JurisdictionsMichigan
Washington, D.C.
New YorkAlso Admitted to Practice in These CourtsU.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitPublications“Construction Contracting in Traditional and Alternative Project Delivery Systems: Finding the Framework that’s Right for the Owner and the Project,” Halfmoon seminar series presentation
“Liability Under the Federal False Claims Act: Lincoln’s Law Looms Larger.” Presentation before the Association of General Contractors/Construction Financial Management Association (AGC/CFMA)
“Construction Contract Close-Out: Accounting and Compliance,” webcast with co-presenter James T. Schmid.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly: “Contractor wins $550K in suit against Wayne State”
Michigan Lawyers Weekly: “Excessive energy costs prompt company to terminate contract”
DBusiness Magazine: “Jail Break: The legal battle between Wayne County and a team of contractors over cost overruns at the shuttered jail project in Detroit reveals a dysfunctional government structure, and an inconclusive FBI investigation, and an ongoing grant jury criminal probe.”
Michigan Lawyers Weekly: “‘Faithful performance’ for loans claim argued [$5,050,00 verdict Michigan’s sixth highest for 2009]
Michigan Lawyers Weekly: “$5.5M awarded in sewer project trial”
Michigan Lawyers Weekly: “Developer, township sued for bad sewer line” [$5,483,529 verdict is state’s sixth highest for 2014]
Macomb Daily: “Credit Union Wins Jury Award”
Macomb Daily: “Credit Union Sues Car Dealer Over Loans”