Attorney Profile

Meet Doug Dovitz

Doug is a life-long Detroiter. His father and grandfather were in the produce business in Detroit, and he worked in his dad’s market while attending Wayne State, where he graduated in 1976 with a degree in political science. He then attended and graduated from Detroit College of Law in 1980, (DCL merged with/moved to Michigan State University Law School in the 90s), clerking for Donald Cutler, who had a personal injury practice in Southfield.

After passing the Michigan Bar in 1980, he worked for Michigan Mutual Insurance Company, then moved to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, both as in-house counsel, with Liberty from 1983 to 2003, handling general liability, worker’s compensation, and subrogation claims. During this time, he was associate editor for two years of the Workers’ Compensation Section newsletter.

After going out on his own in 2003, in 2005 he became partners with James Tanielian at Tanielian Legal Center in St. Clair Shores, handling primarily negligence and workers’ compensation, but also adding Social Security Disability claims, along with collection cases, as well as criminal and probate court assignments from Macomb County.

In 2011, Doug re-established his own practice in the former Tanielian Legal Center building in St. Clair Shores, which now is the Maynard Law Associates building, on Harper between Eight and Nine Mile Roads.

Doug is an active member of the Macomb County Bar, the State Bar of Michigan, and quite active in the Michigan Association for Justice, particularly their online chat room “List-Serv”, where attorneys help each other out with advice as to unique case situations and legal research. His practice is primarily injury litigation: negligence cases (particularly automobile accident), Social Security Disability/SSSI claims and Workers’ Compensation. He mainly represents injured employees or medical providers for these type claims. Doug also does handle other matters, and has an extensive network of attorneys to whom he can refer specialized claims for areas he does not practice in, such as medical malpractice, bankruptcy, etc.

As a sole practitioner, when you retain Doug, he is your attorney. You will not be bounced between multiple attorneys as can happen with a larger firm. Doug makes it a practice to return telephone calls as soon as possible and to be available to his clients, as he understands that the legal process, while familiar to him, is an unknown to many clients.

There aren’t many courts or judges that Doug has not appeared before in southeast Michigan!
In his spare time, Doug likes to swim and work out. He played softball through 2000, and is thinking about making a comeback next year! Interestingly, while playing for another firm’s team in 1987, his team beat the Tanielian team to win the Lawyer’s League championship.

Doug has been married since 1984. He lives with his wife and their beagle, Elmer, while their son, who is also an attorney, for the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development, lives in Boston.