DETROIT – Miller Johnson has announced that Fadwa Hammoud, chief deputy attorney general of the state of Michigan and former solicitor general of Michigan, has been named managing member of the firm’s Detroit office. Hammoud will help lead key lines of service for Miller Johnson, including crisis management, dispute resolution, intellectual property, health care, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and education law. Hammoud immediately joins the firm’s leadership team and will report directly to David Buday, managing member of Miller Johnson.

We are thrilled to welcome Fadwa as the leader in our Detroit office. We are even more excited that Fadwa shares the same vision for client service and making a positive impact in our communities that we do.  – David Buday, managing member of Miller Johnson.

Hammoud was appointed chief deputy in 2022 by Attorney General Dana Nessel and now joins a Miller Johnson team that is among the fastest-growing law firms in the state, boasting double-digit growth in employees and revenue gains over the past 24 months and maintaining its mission of giving back to the communities it serves and serving clients to help them achieve their goals.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me personally and professionally, as I aim to increase the impact I am able to have in the communities I have served throughout my career through the kind of direct access the world of private practice provides,” Hammoud said. “Miller Johnson is the firm of choice for me based on its reputation of excellence and of giving back to the communities it serves. It is a team that cares deeply about the people and organizations that they serve, and I look forward to help leading our efforts in Detroit as Miller Johnson strengthens its position as Michigan’s law firm.”

Fadwa Hammoud

Hammoud will play an integral role in advising the firm’s strategic direction in addition to serving as a primary conduit to legislative and judicial personnel at the state and federal levels.

“We are thrilled to welcome Fadwa as the leader in our Detroit office,” Buday said. “We are even more excited that Fadwa shares the same vision for client service and making a positive impact in our communities that we do. She has been the architect of many historic firsts in the legal profession, and we believe her advocacy skills will only generate more positive outcomes across the state.”

As chief deputy attorney general, Hammoud oversaw the Department’s three bureaus, including 18 civil divisions and four criminal divisions, and the Offices of Human Resources, Fiscal Management, Legislative Affairs and Public Information and Education. In her role, she oversaw more than 500 employees and managed the Department’s more than $100 million annual budget.

As Michigan’s 12th solicitor general, Hammoud made history as the youngest to ever hold the position and the first ever Arab American Muslim solicitor general in the United States. She also became the first Arab American Muslim woman to argue before the United States Supreme Court, winning the case of Brown v. Davenport in 2022.

Fadwa has made outstanding contributions to the office as solicitor general and chief deputy. – Dana Nessel, Michigan AG

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a memo to the staff of the AG’s Office informing them of Hammoud departure. In the memo Nessel wrote that Hammoud’s last day with the office will be March 8.

“I am sorry to see Fadwa go. She has been a good friend and colleague for many years,” Nessel said. “Fadwa has made outstanding contributions to the office as solicitor general and chief deputy, including her role as the first Arab-American Muslim woman to argue a case in the U.S. Supreme Court. Fadwa will be missed by us all, and I wish her well in her new endeavor.” Nessel wrote.

Before Hammoud’s service at the capital, Hammoud was lead attorney for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, establishing the Business Protection Unit and advocating on behalf of the county’s various ethnic and immigrant communities. In 2021, she was appointed to the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs, where she served on the Legislative Committee for the Hispanic/Latino, Asian Pacific American and Middle Eastern American Affairs Commissions.

Hammoud is a member of several organizations, including the League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women and the Women Lawyers Association. She has previously served on the Board of Trustees at Henry Ford College, as a trustee and treasurer of the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education and as a board member of the Government Bar Association, the Dearborn Education Foundation, and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Additionally, she is the former vice president of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC).

In 2023, Hammoud was selected as a “Influential Women of Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and in 2017, she received the Rising Star Award from the Arab American Chamber of Commerce.