Firm Awards & Recognitions

Recognitions

Clients expect and deserve great service and great results. Therefore, our attorneys always strive to deliver outstanding quality and value in a manner consistent with the highest ethical standards.

Attorney ranking systems are one way to measure excellence within the profession; our attorneys do exceptionally well in rankings, whether ranked by peers or clients:

• Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating. 25 attorneys hold an AV^® Preeminent™ rating.
• Best Lawyers in America^©. 41 of our attorneys earned this designation for 2025. Additionally, Foster Swift was ranked in 48 of the 120 national practice areas listed in the U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers 2025 Best Law Firms in America. In 2025, seven attorneys were also named to the Best Lawyers® "Ones to Watch" list.
• Michigan Super Lawyers. 12 of our attorneys were selected for this recognition in 2024 based on the survey conducted by Law & Politics magazine. We were also honored to have Michigan Super Lawyers name four of our young attorneys as "Rising Stars."

In addition, prestigious legal associations have recognized our attorneys for excellence in their fields. As examples, Foster Swift attorneys Charles Janssen and Douglas Mielock have been elected fellows to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel while Fred Dilley has been named fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers. 

Mansfield Certification

In 2023 and 2024, Foster Swift was recognized as "Mansfield Certified Plus" by Diversity Lab, an international organization dedicated to advancing DEI. 

Mansfield is a year-long structured certification process designed to ensure all qualified talent at participating law firms have a fair and equal opportunity to be considered for advancement into leadership roles. The focus is on “opening the door wider” and ensuring that opportunities for advancement are transparent and inclusive for everyone.

"E" Award for Export Services

Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC has been selected as one of just 39 businesses in the country to receive the prestigious President’s “E” Award for 2020. Foster Swift is one of the recipients of the '"E" Award for Export Service' category for assisting and facilitating export activities over a four-year period. 

To learn more about the "E Award," visit EAwards. 

Community

Foster Swift was the recipient of the 2022 Highfields Partnership Award. This award is given annually to an organization that helps Highfields fulfill its mission to strengthen the lives of children and families in their local communities. What began in 1962 as a residential camp for troubled boys in Ingham County, Highfields Inc since then has taken their organization to new levels. They are now a multi-purpose human services organization which gives about 5,000 people every year the resources they need to turn their lives around.

Foster Swift has been connected with Highfields since the beginning when the late Thomas G. McGurrin Jr. sat on the Board of Directors in 1962. Since then, members of the firm have continued to serve, providing countless hours of time and expertise in order to help Highfields be successful.

Career Builders 

Foster Swift has attracted quite a few attorneys who have already had well-established careers with other law firms, courts, businesses and organizations. These include former prosecuting attorneys, in-house counsel and a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Additionally, several of our attorneys have held or currently hold leadership positions in local, state and national bar associations. For example, Ray Littleton is on the Board of Directors for the Detroit Bar Association, Julie Fershtman is a past president for the State Bar of Michigan, and Alex Rusek is president elect for the Ingham County Bar Association. 

There are also several distinguished Foster Swift alumni who’ve served the bench or have been recruited to other high profile legal positions after starting their careers at Foster Swift. A prime example is the Honorable Richard L. Hillman, a former attorney in our Lansing office for 20-plus years. He was appointed to the bench of the 55th Judicial District Court by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on April 7, 2020. He was elected to serve a six-year term in November 2020.

Another example is David W. McKeague, who was an attorney in our Lansing office for 20 years. He has been a federal judge since 1992, first on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan and, beginning in 2005, on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Theodore Swift Civility Award

Volunter of the Year