General & Commercial Litigation

While our lawyers are skilled at trying cases for clients, we know how much our clients dislike the time, expense and uncertainty of that type of work. At Foster Swift, we pride ourselves on finding creative approaches to exceed our clients' expectations in ways that do not disrupt their lives and businesses.

Clients include individuals to Fortune 500 corporations. All benefit from our:

Client Support: Foster Swift's No. 1 priority is listening to our client and establishing regular and open communication regarding their matter.
Breadth of experience and knowledge of the law: With more than 30 attorneys on our litigation team and offices throughout the state, we have extensive experience handling all types of cases as well as familiarity with the courts, judges and lawyers throughout Michigan. Litigation matters do not always end up in the courtroom. Firm attorneys are well versed in taking cases to trial as well as representing our clients in mediation and arbitration proceedings.
Case evaluation and management: Foster Swift makes efficient use of technology to research law, evaluate cases and manage documents for litigation. These tools along with our attorneys' bank of experience and client's goals assist in the selection of the appropriate strategy for each case.
Perspective: We look at all sides of the matter - plaintiff, defendant, judge and jury. This 360 degree perspective is facilitated by our lawyers who are former judges, prosecuting attorneys, as well as credentialed arbitrators, mediators and neutrals.
Resources: Incorporating the specialized knowledge of subject-matter experts is often key to a case. Clients benefit from the extensive professional relationships our litigators have developed with qualified experts throughout the United States and internationally. We often use these experts to evaluate, report, and testify on behalf of our clients.
Professionalism: Foster Swift’s litigation group is highly regarded by clients, peers and the bench. As one member of the group said, “Integrity is our calling card…as much as our experience, as our abilities and our commitment to the communities we serve. We are known and respected for our integrity to our clients, our adversaries and our system of justice."

Consistent with the above, multiple members of this group are recognized by Best Lawyers in America®, Michigan Super Lawyers and have earned AV® Preeminent™ ratings from Martindale Hubbell.

Our litigation and dispute-resolution clients call on us to represent them in a variety of areas, including:

Administrative and Agency proceedings — insurance regulatory issues, professional and occupational licensing
Administrative and Municipal — municipal, zoning and land use litigation, governmental immunity issues, Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act claims
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Antitrust
Appellate Practice
Asbestos/Toxic Tort Defense
Business Disputes
Collections
Construction Law
Criminal Defense
Employment Litigation — civil rights, disability (ADA), Whistleblower Protection Act etc.
Energy
Environmental
First Amendment-Media Law
Family Law and Domestic Relations — divorce, child custody, adoption and related matters
Food Hospitality Services
Government Relations
Health Care
Medical and professional malpractice
No-Fault
Personal Injury
Probate disputes
Real Estate
Transportation law

We are committed to achieving the best results for our clients and approach each case creatively, efficiently, economically and with integrity.

Representative Matters:

April 2025, attorneys Destiny Hughes and Alexander S. Rusek earned a dismissal of all causes of action brought by all plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit alleging that the defendants committed fraud, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Foster Swift attorney Alexander Rusek successfully obtained the dismissal of felony and misdemeanor charges against his client arising from a late-night car accident in which 13 people were injured.
Foster Swift attorney Alexander S. Rusek represented a corporate client and its employee in a criminal prosecution and secured the dismissal of two misdemeanor charges. Rusek successfully negotiated a dismissal of the criminal charges resulting in a de minimis fine for the client.
Represented national corporation charged criminally for violating building codes and ordinances. Attorneys Alexander S. Rusek and Toi Thomas successfully negotiated a dismissal of the criminal charges resulting in a de minimis fine for the client.
Represented car dealership in a federal lawsuit and associated arbitration matter wherein the Plaintiff claimed numerous violations of consumer protection laws and other causes of action. Case was successfully settled within one week of the client retaining Foster Swift, which included a resolution of the arbitration matter and dismissal of the federal lawsuit without any admissions of guilt or liability.
On March 20, 2023, our client, a former government official involved in the events commonly known as the Flint Water Crisis, had nearly 600 individual and proposed class action cases against him in the Genesee County Circuit Court dismissed with prejudice as part of a $626,000,000.00 global settlement agreement. Previously, our client had numerous mass action and class action cases against him in federal court dismissed with prejudice.