JOSEPH LAVIGNE

Joseph A. Lavigne is the founding member of the Law Offices of Joseph Lavigne and is Of Counsel to Jeffrey Buehner, PLLC. Mr. Lavigne employs his strong personal, professional and academic experience in the service of clients every day. Having excelled in all phases of his career, Mr. Lavigne has established himself as a strong, effective advocate who gets results. In addition to his exceptional qualifications, he consistently helps clients see the big picture and provides honest, solid, accurate, and common sense advice that can be invaluable to clients who are often involved in difficult times. What follows is a snapshot of the experience and ability that he brings with him in every encounter.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney; Oakland County, Michigan. While there, Mr. Lavigne served as a trial attorney in both the Circuit Court and District Court divisions, and gained experience in the investigation and charging process in the Warrants Division.

Commercial Litigation Attorney; Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth & Heller, P.C. At the boutique law firm of Maddin Hauser, Mr. Lavigne worked on a broad variety of subject matters in all aspects of civil litigation, from preparing the lawsuit, to the discovery process, as well as motions, depositions, trial, post-judgment collection, appeals, and all other phases of the litigation process.

Partner and Founding Member; Lavigne & Sawicky, PLLC. Partner in general practice law firm specializing in criminal and civil litigation, juvenile and immigration law and appellate practice, representing clients throughout the state of Michigan as well as nationally.

Mr. Lavigne has also served the following offices of government:

United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Appellate Division.

Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney.

The Honorable Joe Knollenberg, Member of Congress.

Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety.

SPECIALIZATIONS

In addition to his broad experience, Mr. Lavigne has these specialized qualifications:

Certified by the Michigan State Police as a Class II DataMaster Operator--the same certification police officers need to give a suspected drunk driver an evidential breath test.

Founding member of the Oakland County Internet Crimes Task Force--he has extensive knowledge of computer and internet-related crimes, as well as with high-tech evidence.
Former Legal Instructor at the Oakland Police Academy--taught constitutional law, focusing on its application to the area of search and seizure.

Experienced litigator, with trial experience in Michigan's District, Circuit, Probate and Federal Courts--has also handled thousands of other criminal and civil matters in adversarial hearings and proceedings short of trial.

BAR ADMISSIONS

United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
All courts in the State of Michigan

EDUCATION

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Detroit, Michigan
Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1996

Graduated in the top 10% of class
Justice Frank Murphy Honor Society
Member, Law Review
Member, National Entertainment & Communications Law Moot Court Team, 1994-95, 1995-96
Runner-up best oralist and team quarterfinalist, 1994-95
Staff Writer, Michigan Business Law Journal
Vice President, Entertainment & Sports Law Society
Academic Achievement Award, 1994-95: Business Organizations

Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
Bachelor of Arts, 1993.

PROFESSIONAL & ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIPS (past and present)

State Bar of Michigan
Criminal Law Section
Federal Bar Association
Oakland County Bar Association
OCBA American Inn of Court (credential based selection; by invitation only)
Scribes--The American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects (requires multiple legal article authorships; by invitation only)
National District Attorneys Association
National College of District Attorneys
Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan
Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities (credential based selection; by invitation only)
Who's Who: American Law Students (credential based selection; by invitation only)
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Alumni Association
Michigan State University Alumni Association