Michael P. Ashcraft, Jr., secretary/treasurer of Plunkett Cooney’s Board of Directors, was recently nominated by Michigan Lawyers Weekly (MiLW) as one of its 2026 Leaders in the Law. 

According to MiLW, an industry publication serving the state’s legal community, Ashcraft and this year’s 33 other honorees were selected for, among other things, their outstanding professional achievement, their significant contributions to advance the practice of law in Michigan and their commitment to serving their clients, colleagues and communities.

This year’s class will be honored during the annual Leaders in the Law Awards Luncheon on Nov. 20 at The Mint at Michigan First Conference Center in Lathrup Village.

Ashcraft, who is a partner in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, serves as a co-leader of the firm’s Professional Liability Practice Group. One of the state’s leading professional liability attorneys, he concentrates his practice primarily on the defense of judges, attorneys, accountants and their firms in professional liability, responsibility and licensing matters. In addition, he counsels professional firms on professional responsibility, ethics, risk management and claims avoidance issues.

Ashcraft graduated, cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law in 1992 and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1987. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the State Bar of Michigan, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Liability (Lawyers’ Professional Liability Consortium) and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of business and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs attorneys in Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, two Ohio cities and eight Michigan cities.

Plunkett Cooney’s Professional Liability Practice Group handles especially sensitive matters that arise from claims made against individuals who provide a professional service. Among the group’s clients are judges, attorneys, accountants, insurance brokers and agents, real estate brokers and agents, securities brokers, investment advisors, corporate officers and directors, notaries public, and other non-medical professionals. In addition to defending claims, group members represent professionals in licensing and regulation matters that arise both independently and attendant to claims.

Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms as well as recognition by Best Lawyers as one of the nation’s leading law firms since the honor’s inception in 2010.

For more information about Michael Ashcraft’s selection by MiLW as a 2026 Leader in the Law, contact John Cornwell of Plunkett Cooney’s Practice Development Department at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.

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