Photo of Joel C. Bryant

Joel C. Bryant

Principal

Office

T:
+1.734.668.8908
O:
+1.734.663.2445
M:
+1.734.780.6557
F:
+1.734.747.7147
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Industries

Education

University of Michigan Law School, J.D. 2014

London School of Economics, M.Sc. 2005

George Washington University, B.A. 1999

Bar Admissions

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals 

  • Sixth Circuit

U.S. District Court

  • Eastern District of Michigan
  • Western District of Michigan

Joel Bryant handles complex disputes for businesses, institutions, and individuals, with an emphasis on sophisticated commercial matters and federal and state appeals.

Having clerked for a widely respected federal appellate judge, Joel has an insider's knowledge of the court system and judicial decision-making. Combined with a commitment to understanding his clients and their businesses, this allows Joel to develop legal strategies that focus on how best to achieve his clients' business and personal goals.

Joel's achievements include managing a commercial-loan dispute to successful resolution in Michigan state court, helping an energy-sector client successfully mediate complex contractual and tort claims brought by a municipality, securing the nondischargeability of a debt arising from a state-court judgment in federal bankruptcy proceedings through the novel application of res judicata principles, helping to earn favorable settlements in a federal civil rights case, and prevailing in a criminal case in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he established a first-in-the-nation precedent limiting warrantless searches of digital devices.

Joel previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Helene N. White in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Representative Matters

Reported and Published Decisions

In re Kramer, 543 B.R. 551 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2015).

United States v. Lichtenberger, 786 F.3d 478 (6th Cir. 2015), and United States v. Lichtenberger, 19 F. Supp. 3d 753 (N.D. Ohio 2014).

Honors

Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Up & Coming Lawyers Class of 2022

Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch," Appellate Practice, 2022-present

DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyers, Arbitration, Franchise Law, 2021-present

State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020-present

Law Clerk to the Honorable Helene N. White, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2016-2017

University of Michigan Law School, magna cum laude, earning Certificates of Merit in Federal Courts and Electronic and Class Action Discovery

Michigan Law Review, Contributing Editor, 2014-2015; Associate Editor, 2013-2014

Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition, University of Michigan Law School, Executive Board, 2013-2014

ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Regional Finalist, 2013

London School of Economics, M.Sc. with merit in Management of NGOs

George Washington University, summa cum laude in International Affairs

Professional Activities

Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan

State Bar of Michigan Litigation Section, President, 2023-present; Secretary, 2020-2023; Governing Council, 2018-present;Litigation Journal Editor-in-Chief

Detroit Bar Association

Ford Law Career Academy