OUR ATTORNEYS
Deborah L. Gordon
Deborah L. Gordon is a trial lawyer who has specialized in employment and civil rights law for over 30 years. She graduated from The University of Michigan and The University of Detroit School of Law. She was Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan in the Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Division, and Senior Trial Attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prior to entering private practice in 1980.
Deborah has tried dozens of cases successfully in the state and federal courts. Some of her trial work has been on a pro bono basis - in 1986 she litigated the case of Rick Sitz vs. State of Michigan on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, which ultimately put an end to drunk driving road block stops by the State Police on the basis that they are a violation of individual civil liberties.
Since 1987 Deborah has been listed in Best Lawyers in America(published annually by Woodward & White) as one of the best employment lawyers in the United States. She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, widely considered to be the premiere legal professional organization in America comprised of the best of the trial bar in the United States and Canada, and has received the highest rating possible, “AV”, from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review national Legal Directory. Deborah was named one of the "top ten" lawyers in Michigan in "Michigan Super Lawyers ", published September, 2006 and 2007, and by Crain's Detroit Business as one of Michigan's '100 Most Influential Women' in 2007 In 2009 she was named by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of Michigan's "Leaders in the Law".
Deborah was President of the Labor & Employment Council of the State Bar of Michigan for the 2005-2006 term, which represents approximately 2000 labor and employment attorneys throughout Michigan. She is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Wayne County Case Evaluation Tribunal Plaintiff’s Selection Committee, and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association. She formerly served on the Federal Bar Association’s Board of Directors. She has authored or co-authored the following publications: Sexual Harassment Law and Practice, a Michigan practitioner’s guide; Michigan Causes of Action Formbook (Employment Claims chapter); Advising the Older Client (Age and Handicap Discrimination chapter); and Attorney Fee Agreements in Michigan Forms and Practice Guide (Employment Litigation chapter) - all published by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. She participates in local radio and television news and talk programs and lectures extensively on employment law and trial skills to her peers.
And yes, for you long-time Detroiters, Deborah is the daughter of the late Lou Gordon, of WKBD’s “The Lou Gordon Program”. Lou was described this way in a recently-published book: “He was Detroit’s Mike Wallace, a broadcast cop who cowered before no one. The bigger the interview, the tougher he got. Most interviewers bowed and scraped before Bob Hope, but Gordon asked him about his defense of President Richard Nixon during the Viet Nam era. Gordon questioned George Wallace’s sanity - to his face. Gordon was, by far, the most feared man in television, maybe in the history of the local medium.” (From Soupy to Nuts! A History of Detroit Television, by Tim Kiska, Momentum Books LLC, 2005).
To view clips from the Lou Gordon Program, please click here.
Carol A. Laughbaum
Carol Laughbaum has over 18 years civil litigation and appellate experience representing plaintiffs. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.
Carol has written or co-written numerous amicus (friend of the court) briefs which have been filed with the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court on issues of major importance in the area of employment and civil rights law. She has authored briefs on behalf of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association, the Michigan AFL/CIO, the International UAW, the National Lawyers Guild, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Carol is a contributing author to Employment Litigation in Michigan, Michigan Causes of Action Formbook, and Advising the Older Client (all published by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education), and has written numerous articles on employment law and litigation.
Sarah S. Prescott
Sarah Prescott's practice concentrates on employment law, and in particular civil rights violations both in and out of the workplace. She has successfully tried and settled suits for Michigan workers who have been harassed or faced workplace discrimination on the basis of sex, race, disability, pregnancy, and age. Sarah has also represented many government employees who have blown the whistle on public corruption and average citizens whose civil rights have been denied by courts, cities, townships, schools and other state and local entities. Her cases have been covered in the Detroit Free Press, National Law Journal, Wall Street Journal (online), ABC News, MSNBC, and local papers and outlets.
Sarah joined Deborah Gordon PLC in 2006, having previously served as a clerk in the Federal Courts and having practiced law in Washington, D.C., where she handled employee benefits matters on behalf of large corporations. These experiences provide Sarah with insight into how Big Business and the Courts are likely to react to her clients' positions, helping her thrive in the type of work she loves: working for individuals whose rights have been violated. Sarah represents "the little guy" exclusively, the employee, the average citizen, the bystander who happens to face a legal conundrum and who needs sophisticated legal guidance.
Sarah works for individual rights outside the courtroom as well. In 2009, Sarah was appointed to the Advisory Board for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. She has been asked to testify a number of times for worker-friendly changes to Michigan law in Lansing, and in late 2009 she helped write and lobby for the first amendment to Michigan's anti-discrimination law in over 20 years. Finally, as a cooperating attorney with the ACLU, she has worked pro bono to assist clients challenging discrimination.
Sarah's hard work on behalf of Michigan's citizens caused her to be named among the Up & Coming Lawyers in Michigan Lawyer's Weekly in November 2010.
Sarah earned a BA from Northwestern University and a JD from Harvard Law School, where she graduated with honors and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She is a member of the bars of California, Washington D.C., and Michigan, and is an officer of Michigan's Employment Lawyers Association. Sarah is married to JJ Prescott, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, and is the proud mama of Annelise Prescott.
Sharon Dolente
Sharon Dolente is a graduate of Vassar College, the University of Michigan Law School and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
Sharon was the 2004 recipient of the Law School’s Jane L. Mixer Award for making the greatest contributions to social justice during her law school tenure. Sharon was also awarded a Woman Lawyers Association of Michigan Award in 2004.
Prior to joining the Law Office of Deborah Gordon, Sharon worked at the Detroit law firm of Gurewitz & Raben, PLC. Sharon is admitted to practice law in Michigan, Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Sharon serves on the boards of the Michigan Employment Lawyers Association and Southwest Housing Solutions.
