Richard S. Victor
Contact Information
1721 Bellwood Ct, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
Telephone: 248-762-9223
RESUME/CV
Practice State
Michigan
Emphasis
High End Divorce and Support cases as well as Traditional Client Representation and Litigation Divorce, Child Custody, Grandparent Rights, Matrimonial Agreements, Adoptions, and Parenting disputes.
Legal Organizations
Certified Fellow American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers - Elected to State Chapter Board of Managers and Board of Examiners; Secretary, 1999-2000; Treasurer,2000-2001; Vice-President,2001- 2002; President-Elect, 2002-2003; President, 2003-2004; CLE Co-Chair, Michigan Chapter, 1995- present; Sustaining member of the Oakland County Bar Association; Chair of Lawyers Admission Committee (1981); Chair of Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (1982); Chair of Old-timer Night Holiday Dinner (1984 and 1985); Chair Speakers Bureau (1985). Participant in OCBA Bench/Bar Conference, 2001-2005. Member of Oakland County “COPE” (Co-Parenting Effectively), Coordinating Committee, Trainer/COPE Educator; Co-Founder/Chairperson and Panel Participant in the State and Oakland County "SMILE" (Start Making It Livable For Everyone) Parent Education Program; Recipient "Distinguished Service Award" Oakland County Bar Association, 1994; Recipient "Child Advocate Award" and Award of Appreciation from Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County (1994 and 1995); Recipient of special honor by Joint Legislative Resolution #454 - Michigan Legislature, 9/93; Recipient of 24 "Awards of Appreciation" from the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan from 1986 through 2000; Lifetime Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation; Recipient of 1984 and 1989 Honor Roll - Oakland Livingston Legal Aid Society; Recipient of "Award of Appreciation" Oakland County Circuit Court (1990,1991 and 1999); Life Fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, Sustaining Member of the Oakland County Bar Association
Awards
Named to Best Lawyers in America for Family Law. Named by U.S. News and World Reports top Family Law Firm in Metropolitan Detroit. 2008-Cover Story Michigan Super Lawyers edition, published by Law and Politics Magazine; 2008- Hermes Creative Book Award for Children’s Books (You and Me Make Three); 2006- National Fellow of the Year, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; 2004 -Champion of Justice Award, State Bar of Michigan; 2000- National Alumni of the Year, Michigan State College of Law; 1999- Lifetime Achievement Award, Family Law Section State Bar of Michigan; 1999-Lawyer of the Year, Michigan Lawyers Weekly; 1993-Meritorious Service to the Children of America Award, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, AAML News In Brief (notification of Champion of Justice Award), Alumnus Richard Victor Receives MSU-DCL Distinguished Alumni Award, Lawyer of the Year, State Bar Honors 2004 Award Recipient, State Bar Honors 2004 Award Recipient (in PDF format, Adobe Reader required)
CLE Presentations
Faculty Member 1975 through 1992 Oakland University, Rochester, MI, Author and Instructor in Family Law. Law School Guest Lecturer on Family Law and Child Custody: Emory Law School, University of Michigan Law School, Michigan State University College of Law, the Detroit College of Law, Wayne State University Law School, and University of Detroit Law School. Guest Lecturer for Institute for Continuing Legal Education; Family Law Section State Bar of Michigan; American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; and American Bar Association. Keynote speaker for State Bar Convention-Family Law Section for the Arizona Bar Association-1994; Delaware Bar Association-Family Law Section-2002
Author
Author and General Editor, 3 volume “Michigan Practitioners Series: Family Law and Practice”, West Group Publications, 1997. Editor Grandparents Rights Organization (GRO) Newsletter 1989 through present; "Legally Speaking", a national legal column for the "Stepfamily Bulletin" (1984 through 1989); "The Extended and Psychological Family of Children in the 1980's and Beyond" (1985 Michigan Family Law Journal); "The Right to Visit" (1986 Michigan State Bar Journal); "Rights of Third Parties in Child Custody Disputes" (1988 Michigan Bar Journal); "Grandparent and Stepparent Rights" (1989 Trial Magazine); "The Changing American Family - Grandparent/Stepparent Rights" (1989 Michigan Family Law Journal, "Grandparents Law" (Legal Secretaries Association Magazine); "Common Sense Doctrine for the Changing American Family" (1989 Oakland County Bar Association Magazine - Laches); "Family Law Needs Considerate Language, Divorce Training" (1989 Michigan Lawyers Weekly newspaper); "When Third Parties Come First" (1989 American Bar Association Magazine Family Advocate); "Some Common Sense Custody and Visitation Doctrines" (Fairshare Magazine 1989); "Third Party Custody - A Conflict in Laws" (Michigan Family Law Journal 1990); "Divorce in Michigan" (1990); "Psychological Evaluations - Waiver of Confidentiality" (Michigan Family Law Journal 1991); "Statutory Review of Third-Party Rights Regarding Custody, Visitation and Support" - American Bar Association Family Law Quarterly, Volume XXV, No. 1, Spring 1991; "History of Grandparent Visitation in Michigan" (Michigan Bar Journal, Vol. 71, No. 3, 1992); "The Rights of Children in Child Custody Disputes" (Michigan Family Law Journal, 1993); "Update on History of Grandparent Visitation in Michigan" (Michigan Family Law Journal 1993); "Grandparents Rights to Visitation" - American Bar Association Family Advocate Magazine, Volume 16, No. 1 (1993); Guest Columnist Detroit Free Press Advisory Board relating to family law issues (1990 through 1995), "Biology, Destiny and Children's Rights" - The Nation Law Journal, Volume 16, No. 30, (March 28, 1994); "Did the Candidates Really Understand Family Values?" Grandparents Rights Organization Newsletter, Volume 4, No. 1 (1992); "Grandparents and Other Third Party Rights to Visitation" Grandparents Rights Organization Newsletter, Volume 5, No. 1 (1992); "What Happens if You Find Yourself in a Dispute Requiring an Evidentiary Hearing or Trial?" Grandparents Rights Organization Newsletter, Volume 6, No 1 (1993); "Protecting the Rights of Children in Child Custody Disputes" Grandparents Rights Organization Newsletter, Volume 7, No. 1 (1993); "Fighting Over Jessica" The Brandeis Brief Vol. 2, No. 1 Winter (1994-95); "What is a Family?" Grandparents Rights Organization Newsletter, Volume 8, No. 1 (1994); "Georgia Takes a Giant Step Backward" Grandparents Rights Organization Newsletter, Volume 9, No. 1 (1995), "Examining the Proposed Divorce Bill" Eccentric/Observer Newspapers (June 15, 1995); "Making Divorce Harder" Oakland County Bar Association #360 (January 1996); “Are Grandparents Rights Laws Unconstitutional?” GRO Newsletter, Vol. 12, No. 1, January , 1998; “Good News/Bad News For Grandparents and Grandchildren”, GRO Newsletter, Vol. 13, No. 1, April, 1999; “Protecting the Children of Divorce Via Parent Education”, 13 Michigan Lawyers Weekly 1352, July 19, 1999. “Grandparent Visitation Laws Are Constitutional According to Justices”, Oakland County Legal News, June 30, 2000. “Grandparent Visitation Rights in the Twenty-First Century”, 2000 Law Review M.S.U.- D.C.L. 793. “Grandparents Have Rights!”, Michigan Bar Journal, February, 2001. “How to Find an Attorney”, GRO Newsletter, Vol.14, No.1, March,2001. “Third Party Custody Rights Examined By Appellate Court” Detroit Legal News and Oakland County Legal News, November 9, 2001. “Third Party Custody Rights Examined By Michigan Court Of Appeals”, Michigan Family Law Journal, Vol.30, No. 9, December, 2001 .“Alternative Dispute Resolution in Child Custody Cases”, Michigan Family Law Journal Special Edition, February, 2002. “Recent Court Rule Changes That Impact Family Law Practice”, Michigan Bar Journal, June, 2002. “Court Examines Grandparent Visitation Law’s Validity”, Oakland County Legal News, Volume 75, Number 42, October 18, 2002. “MSC To Consider Whether Grandparent Visitation Law Is Unconstitutional”, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Vol.16, No.51, October 28, 2002. “Visitation Should Be Allowed If It’s In The Child’s Best Interest”, Oakland County Legal News, Vol. 75, No.52, December 27, 2002. “Parents Working Together Serve Children’s Best Interests”, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Vol 17, No. 10, January 13, 2003. “DeRose v DeRose-What The Supreme Court Did Regarding Grandparent Visitation”, Michigan Family Law Journal, Vol. 33, No.8, October, 2003. “DeRose v DeRose. What the Supreme Court Did Regarding Grandparent Visitation and Why They Did It, Michigan Bar Journal, January, 2004. “How to Resolve Third Party Disputes Before They Get Out of Control”, Michigan Family Law Journal-A Guide Book for the Newly Divorced Person, 2004 Special Edition. "Neither Harm Nor Clear And Convincing Evidence Are Required To Meet Constitutional Requirements, Says U.S. Supreme Court Regarding Grandparent Visitation", Michigan Family Law Journal, Volume 36, Number 6, June/July 2006. "Is the Presumption of Joint and Equal Custody/Parenting Time Best for Children?", Michigan Bar Journal, February 2014. "Have Our Changing Economic Times Impacted The Professionalism Within The Practice Of Family Law?", Family Law Section Journal, April, 2014. "Promoting Professionalism through better Communication", Oakland County Legal News. March 20, 2015. "Still Part of the Family" Summer 2015 issue of Family Advocate, American Bar Association