Who We Are
Deborah Gordon
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. She has been admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court.
Deborah Gordon has specialized in employment and civil rights law for over 30 years. She was formerly Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Division and a Senior Trial Attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Deborah has had a long, successful track record in the courtroom and in front of juries.
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Deborah is a previous President of the Labor and Employment Council of the State Bar of Michigan, which represents approximately 2000 labor and employment attorneys throughout Michigan.
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Deb is a board member of the Accounting Aid Society, Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society Board of Directors, the Federal Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, the Wayne County Case Evaluation Tribunal Plaintiff’s Selection Committee, and the Michigan Association of Justice. She formerly served on the Federal Bar Association Board of Directors.
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In 2016 Deborah received the Jean King Leadership Award given by the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan “In Commendation for Visionary Leadership in the face of Opposition and Outstanding Efforts Toward the Advancement of Women and the Legal Profession."
She has authored or co-authored the following publications: Sexual Harassment Law and Practice, a Michigan Practitioner’s Guide; Employment Litigation in Michigan; 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.
Sometimes these people with all this power have to learn to behave…to know when to say, sorry, we made a mistake.
TRIAL WORK AWARDS:
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Michigan Lawyers Weekly, January, 2016
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Michigan Lawyers Weekly, January, 2015
(obtained one of the top ten verdicts of the year.)
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Top Verdicts in the State of Michigan for 2013
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Michigan Lawyers Weekly, February, 2013
(obtained third and eleventh largest verdicts of the year)
Widely considered the preeminent civil rights and employment attorney in the state.
Sarah graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School and belongs to the Order of the Coif. She is currently an Executive Board member of the Federal Bar Association- Eastern District of Michigan, and a Council Member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
Sarah has been co-counsel in a number of complicated employment discrimination trials that yielded significant verdicts. In the pasts several years, Sarah helped obtained a $3.6 million dollar verdict against Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler) for age discrimination following an eleven- day arbitration trial; a $938,000 award for a client, one of three Black female neurosurgeons in the United States, after an arbitration trial against Tenet Healthcare for race and sex discrimination and retaliation; and a $300,000 verdict (where the client had no out of pocket wage loss) following a jury trial against LaFontaine Automotive Dealership for sex discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment. Sarah also helped secure a nearly one-million dollar settlement for a female police officer who was subjected to sex discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment after she became the first female Sergeant of the Almont Police Department.
Sarah also argued before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on a Title VI student-on-student race discrimination and harassment case. Her client was one of only a few Black students at the overwhelmingly white school district.
Sarah Gordon Thomas
Elizabeth Marzotto Taylor graduated second in her class, summa cum laude, from Wayne State University Law School while employed full time as a civilian Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist for the U.S. Army.
She is currently admitted to practice in all federal courts of Michigan and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in addition to the Michigan courts. She is also a member of the Labor and Employment Section of the State Bar of Michigan, the Federal Bar Association, and the Michigan Association for Justice.
Elizabeth has worked as a litigator at Deborah Gordon Law since 2017. During her time with the firm, she has performed significant work on numerous complex employment litigation cases, successfully negotiated settlement agreements, authored complex appellate and trial court-level briefs, including in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Michigan Court of Appeals, and briefed and argued a wide variety motions at the trial and appellate level in state and federal court.
Elizabeth has served as co-counsel to Deb in multiple arbitration hearings of single and multi-plaintiff employment cases resulting in multi-million-dollar trials and awards, and vindicating important constitutional and statutory rights.
Elizabeth Marzotto Taylor
Morry graduated from Michigan State University College of Law. He is currently a member of the Eastern District of Michigan Bar Association and the Labor and Employment Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
Before joining Deborah Gordon Law, Morry represented individuals and small businesses before the IRS and state tax tribunals. He received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University, graduating as a member of the National History Honors Society. As a law student he interned at The United States District Court-Eastern District of Michigan for the honorable Judge Bernard A. Friedman.
Morry Hutton
Marc E. Thomas
Marc Thomas is of counsel to Deborah Gordon Law and partner at the firm of Bendure & Thomas.
Marc has extensive experience in taxation, business law, trusts and estates, pension law, and litigation of all types. He has been admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Sections on Business Law, Litigation, Probate & Estate Planning, and Taxation and the American Bar Association Sections on Litigation, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law.
Marc graduated from Michigan State University and received a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy.
He was Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Urban Law at Detroit Mercy and a Clarence M. Burton Scholar. He obtained an L.L.M. in tax law from Wayne State University. Marc was a law clerk to the Hon. Lawrence Gubow, U.S. District Court Judge.
Marc is also a member of the Michigan State University Varsity Alumni Club (Intercollegiate Baseball and Lacrosse and Freshman Ice Hockey).
MARC’S AREAS OF PRACTICE INCLUDE:
Tax controversies
Pension & retirement plan disputes
Business litigation
Estate planning
Probate
Staff
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Dora Koski
PARALEGAL
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Teresa D'Costa
LEGAL ASSISTANT