The Devil is in the Details!

Curt Benson and Mike Dunn have been practicing law for a combined 40 years.Professor Curt Benson grew up in a legal household. His father is The Honorable Robert A. Benson, a retired Kent County Circuit Court Judge. He is married to The Honorable Jane E. Markey, a judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals. He has a brother and a sister who are attorneys. He has an uncle and a grandfather who practiced law as well. Professor Benson earned a Batchelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University in 1983 and a Juris Doctorate from The Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1986. For twenty years, Professor Benson practiced law throughout the state of Michigan. He has tried dozens of jury and non-jury trials in both civil and criminal cases. He has appeared in federal court, state circuit and district courts, probate court, Bankruptcy Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals and The Michigan Supreme Court. He has acted as an arbitrator, a facilitator, a mediator and an appraiser in insurance disputes.Professor Benson joined the faculty of Thomas M. Cooley as a Visiting Professor in 2003 and was eventually promoted to Associate Professor. He teaches Evidence and Civil Procedure. He has published articles in a Law Review, a Bar Journal and has authored a chapter in a book on Michigan Insurance Law.Aside from his career, Professor Benson also served for six years as member of the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education, two years as President and two years as Vice-president.He lives in Grand Rapids with his wife Jane, son Bo, daughter Caitlin and the beloved family cat Pepperanne.

Mike Dunn hails for the Windy City where he was a business owner before turning to the law. Mike received his Juris Doctor degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He moved to Grand Rapids in 1987 and began his legal career at Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt and Howlett, where he practiced in both their Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo offices. Afterward, he attended Western Michigan University for a Masters in Business Administration, where he was also an Adjunct Professor.After leaving Varnum, Riddering, Mike Started a law firm and was senior partner of a 10 lawyer firm, Dunn, Malson and Kozera. Mike continues to practice in Grand Rapids and is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Cooley Law School where he refuses to say “yes boss” to Curt, who is an Associate Professor at the law school. His legal focus is Divorce/family law along with Criminal Defense – he is from Chicago after all!Mike also chairs the Township Zoning Board of Appeals in the community where he lives with his three sons, Michael, Griffin, and Keifer