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CONTACT SPCSteinhardt Pesick & Cohen shareholder Jerome Pesick named a Leader in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly
SPC; February 18, 2019
Birmingham, Mich.---February 18, 2019 – Jerome P. Pesick, managing shareholder of Steinhardt Pesick & Cohen, P.C. (SPC), a Michigan-based law firm specializing in eminent domain and condemnation, commercial property tax appeals, commercial real estate litigation, and land use, has been named to the Leaders in the Law class of 2019 by the legal trade publication, Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Honorees on the coveted list are selected from all areas of the law in consideration of their outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Michigan and the leadership example they set for other lawyers. The complete list can be viewed here; honorees will be celebrated at the Leaders in the Law luncheon on April 18.
Possessing 40 years’ experience in eminent domain and condemnation law, Pesick’s achievements include serving as lead counsel on behalf of the property owners in the largest eminent domain verdict in Michigan history, rendering $25 million in a case that involved a 6.3-acre parcel on the Detroit River with an original government offer of $13.7 million. He has successfully represented clients in nearly every major condemnation project in Detroit and Southeast Michigan, including Poletown, Detroit Waterfront Casino and Reclamation Project, Comerica Park and Ford Field, I-696, M-59 (Hall Road), M-5 (Haggerty Connector), Northwestern Connector, Van Dyke Highway, Detroit Metropolitan Airport Expansion, Wayne State University Welcome Center, Wayne County Pinnacle AeroPark, Ypsilanti Water Street Redevelopment, Eastern Michigan University Business School, and the and Orchard Lake Road widening.
When the Macomb County portion of I-696 was originally constructed, Pesick successfully tried a class action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of Macomb County homeowners in adjacent subdivisions whose properties were in close proximity to the new freeway. In that case, Pesick was able to prove that the freeway violated deed restrictions that protected the residential nature of the subdivisions, which resulted in the court ordering that the homeowners be compensated for their properties’ loss in value.
Pesick is currently representing several Detroit commercial property owner clients whose property was taken for the development of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
In November 2018, Pesick was part of a legal team that achieved a major settlement for a client in a protracted eminent domain case against the City of Pontiac. Known for his collaborative approach in complex commercial real estate cases, Pesick was sought out by a prominent Michigan law firm to help handle the eminent domain issues specifically and to otherwise assist in the disputes between their client, the owners of the Ottawa Towers office complex, and the City of Pontiac. Pesick obtained a dismissal of the eminent domain case and, with the legal team, negotiated a global settlement of more than $7 million for the client.
Pesick also regularly represents clients in major property tax appeal cases involving all types of properties throughout Michigan. He has handled issues ranging from the valuation of properties worth millions of dollars to obtaining property tax exemptions for religious and charitable facilities, which requires the application of complicated statutory regulations and considerations.
Pesick is involved with a variety of professional organizations. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section on Litigation–Committee on Condemnation, Zoning, and Land Use. He served as Chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Real Property Law Section during 2009-10, and also served as Chair of the Section’s Eminent Domain Committee for seven years. He is the former associate editor of the University of Detroit's Journal of Urban Law and has authored numerous articles on eminent domain. He is also a popular speaker, instructor and lecturer at state and national eminent domain conferences. Earlier this month, he led a roundtable discussion on the topic of ‘Business Damages in Eminent Domain Proceedings’ at the 2019 Michigan Continuing Education Program for Real Estate Professionals, presented in cooperation with the State Bar of Michigan’s Real Property Law Section’s Special Committee on Commercial Leasing. In October 2018, he was a faculty presenter at the State Bar of Michigan’s Real Property Law Academy II and will be a presenter again for the Academy in May 2019.
Pesick’s civic activities include serving on the Executive Committee as Treasurer of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, and as a past board member of the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link and the Karmanos Cancer Institute.
Steinhardt Pesick & Cohen (SPC)
Steinhardt Pesick & Cohen is Michigan’s leading law firm representing commercial property owners in eminent domain, condemnation, property tax matters and complex commercial real estate litigation. Possessing nearly 100 years’ combined experience, SPC’s attorneys represent owners of office, industrial, retail, multi-family, research and development, hospitality, agricultural, mixed-use, and vacant properties.