Bio
A partner in the Bloomfield Hills office, Michael P. Ashcraft, Jr. serves as Secretary/Treasurer of Plunkett Cooney's Board of Directors and Co-Leader of the firm’s Professional Liability Practice Group.
Mr. Ashcraft concentrates his practice in the defense of attorneys and accountants in malpractice claims and professional disciplinary matters both directly and through insurance carriers. In addition, he represents a wide range of other professionals, including judges, insurance brokers and agents, securities brokers and dealers, investment advisors, real estate brokers and agents, officers and directors and notaries public in many different types of complex litigation in both state and federal courts. Mr. Ashcraft also counsels professional firms on professional responsibility, ethics, risk management and claims avoidance issues.
Representative Client Work
- Defended various professional liability cases with multi-million dollar exposure
- Tried numerous cases to jury and bench verdict
- Arbitrated numerous cases to conclusion
- Counseled law and accounting firms on professional liability, ethics and risk management issues
- Represented attorneys in Attorney Grievance Commission and Attorney Discipline Board matters
- Represented judges in Judicial Tenure Commission matters
- Counseled law and accounting firms, including professionals, on matters related to firm divisions, realignments and the withdrawal of professionals
- Instructor in continuing legal education deposition skills, ethics and trial skills programs
Notable cases
- Bass v Combs, 238 Mich App 16 (1999)
- Estate of Mitchell v Dougherty, 249 Mich App 668 (2002)
- Manzo v Petrella, 261 Mich App 705 (2004)
Professional Memberships
- State Bar of Michigan (Member, Professional Ethics Committee)
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- American Bar Association (Committee on Professional Responsibility and Liability)
- Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers
Publications and Lectures
- "Closing the Deal: Drafting and Enforcing Settlement Agreements," panelist, 23rd Annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, March 7, 2024
Areas of Practice
Trending
Credentials
Education
- Michigan State University College of Law, cum laude, J.D., 1992
- University of Michigan, B.A., 1987
Admissions
- Michigan, 1992
- U.S. District Court, District of Michigan, 1992
- U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska, 1992
Honors/Awards
Honors & Recognitions
- Best Lawyers' Detroit Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year," 2014 - 2015
- Best Lawyers in America® for Legal Malpractice Law (Copyright 2019 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC), 2009 - 2024
- Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating-AV Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
- Michigan Super Lawyer in Professional Liability: Defense, Michigan Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters publication, 2009 - 2021
- Leading Lawyer in Professional Malpractice Defense: Incl. Legal/Technical/Financial, Leading Lawyers Magazine Michigan, 2015 - 2022
- Top Lawyer in Legal Malpractice Law, dbusiness Magazine, 2009 - 2011, 2013 - 2016, 2018 - 2020, 2022 - 2024
- Detroit College of Law Class President - Centennial Class, 1992
- Detroit College of Law President - Student Senate, 1991-1992