Blunt, cigar-chomping, small-town lawyer Michael Brooks honored for 50 years in law
TECUMSEH — He’s blunt, he’s always chewing on a Cristobol cigar, and has a passion for Newfoundland dogs and sour cream doughnuts, but it all works for Tecumseh attorney Michael Brooks.
Brooks, 76, will be one of the honorees when the State Bar of Michigan hosts its annual 50-Year Golden Celebration luncheon May 25 at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth to honor attorneys with 50 years of membership with the State Bar of Michigan.
Brooks will have his 50 years as an attorney this December and has no plans of retiring soon.
“I’m doing exactly what I want to do, exactly where I want to do it, and it hasn’t changed since I was about 12 years old. I wanted to be a small-town lawyer and I am a small-town lawyer,” Brooks said. “I’m from Adrian and I liked knowing what was going on around me, and there were two really good places to do that — one of them was a bank and the other one was being a lawyer. The people who work in those institutions have a pretty fair idea of what’s going on around them. I always enjoyed knowing that. Still do.”
Brooks grew up in Adrian first attending St. Joseph Grade School, which is no longer functioning, but the building still stands at St. Joseph Catholic Church. From there he went on to attend Adrian Catholic Central High School where he graduated in the Class of 1965. The school closed four years later, but not before his younger brother and sister also graduated from the school.
“That’s probably the educational experience I’m most proud of. My classmates, and there weren’t that many of them, but by in large they were very successful in life — doctors, lawyers, millionaire businessmen — all of that from that little bitty class,” Brooks said. “When any organization has you from first grade to 12th grade, they’ve imprinted on you at the very least a moral compass, which I still have a very Catholic moral compass.”
Brooks went on to attend Michigan State University, graduating in 1969 and then attended the University of Detroit School of Law, receiving his law degree in 1973. He moved to Tecumseh about 40 years ago and has had his office on West Chicago Boulevard next to the John Deere dealership also for about 40 years.
Brooks typically gets to work around 10 a.m. these days (he used to get in at 9 a.m.) and goes home around 5 p.m. He works on family law and estate planning.
“I get up every day. I go to work six days a week. I’ve done that for 50 years. When I reached age 75, I gave myself a birthday present, and I try to stick to it, and that is now I come in at 10 o’clock,” Brooks said.
People tell Brooks that he is blunt, but it is a style that has paid dividends for him.
'I shoot from experience'
“I’ve learned with a lot of experience not to get excited. People don’t come here for me to get excited. They’re excited. Me, I sit there calmly, listen, dissect it like a biologist would dissect a bug and look at what I think the potential solutions or problems are,” Brooks said. "People think I’m a pretty blunt person, and I am, but they pay me to tell them what they need to know as I see it. Sometimes I’m supportive, sometimes I tell them I think they’re wrong. That’s what people need to hear. Not shoot from the hip; I shoot from experience.”
Abuse and neglect cases can be difficult, but Brooks has his own strategy.
“Here’s what I learned, a long time ago before I was a lawyer — first of all, you tell them what’s on your mind in plain English. Forget the legal jargon. If the judge is interested, they’ll draw it out of you. If they’re not interested, they’ll ignore it. I’ve known all of these judges. Some of them, I’ve known them all their lives. Some of them, I’ve known their parents,” Brooks said. “It goes with the turf of being an old man and you can tell quickly when they are interested in what you have to say, or they need you to just shut up. Now, if they want you to shut up, you might as well shut up. If they’re interested, you move on, you tell them.”
Divorce and custody cases can also be tricky for most lawyers.
“Those are hard because you have to tell people some hard truths. Everybody’s an expert on divorce except the lawyers who have to litigate the cases,” Brooks said. “I sit and listen to what they have to say. They answer the questions that I need answered. To be really honest, at least with respect to the property settlement, I can pretty well predict within 5 or 10% what the outcome’s going to be. It may not be what the client wants to hear, but they’re going to hear it.”
The toughest cases are in probate court.
“Those are the very hardest ones there are in the whole building because if I lose often, that means that the children are permanently taken away from their parents forever. That’s tough,” Brooks said. “I’m the best probate court lawyer in Lenawee County. My blunt style works effectively with the clients that I have in probate court. They want to hear it. They need to hear it and they get it.”
'Takes his practice seriously'
Todd M. Morgan, one of Lenawee County's district judges, once worked opposite Brooks in divorce and neglect and abuse cases where Brooks was assigned.
“Mr. Brooks is very knowledgeable and someone who is very straightforward. Mr. Brooks is very personable, professional and honest,” Morgan said. “He will express his opinion and what he expects in a case. Mr. Brooks is a goodhearted, dedicated attorney and is an asset to the community.”
Anna Marie Anzalone, chief judge of Lenawee County Circuit Court, sees Brooks in her courtroom often.
“I have known Michael for at least 20 years. I met him when I started to practice law. Michael has been a mentor to every attorney that went through after him. He is always willing to talk about the law and answer questions. He practices in pretty much all areas of law and is a strong, vocal advocate for his clients,” Anzalone said. “He is honest and kindhearted. He always has a cigar he is chewing on and a smile on his face. He always is happy and glad to see you. He is a keeper of the stories for the county because he has practiced for so long. He loves to tell the stories of past judges. He is a funny man who takes his practice seriously.”
Tecumseh attorney Chuck Gross has been good friends with Brooks for many years.
“Mike is a good guy to have across town. He has a great sense of humor and never takes things too seriously. We both try to help each other as needed,” Gross said. “Mike has a great deal of integrity, respects the law and does his best to diligently represent his clients.”
Brooks has always been a solo practitioner but has mentored countless young attorneys. Beckee Nighbert, staff attorney at Legal Services of South-Central Michigan working on expungements, is one of the many attorneys Brooks has mentored. They worked together on divorce and custody cases that were very time-consuming with clients who were often defensive and combative at their hearings. They also worked together on abuse and neglect cases for more than five years.
“He taught me the ropes of the abuse and neglect documents. He also taught me that sometimes less is more. If you are winning the case, just be quiet and let the judge do their job,” Nighbert said. “Mike took all the hard cases we had for the abuse and neglect docket because he could talk to them when we couldn’t. This made him so useful for our dockets. He would just talk with them and be honest and real with them and he could get them to move forward in the case.”
Nighbert said that Brooks likes to attack his work head on and have time to spare.
“It can be scary to talk to him first because of his disposition, but really, he is a big teddy bear when you get to know him,” Nighbert said. “He truly cares about other attorneys but sometimes he just doesn't want to show his soft side. He loves his wife, kids, grandkids and his dog, and chewing cigars. He liked to joke around during our Tuesday abuse and neglect days where all the attorneys on the docket would sit around talking about ourselves and eating our favorite doughnuts. His favorite is a sour-cream thing. We all knew to order him two and everyone knew not to eat those.”
As far as the cigars are concerned, Brooks has never really smoked them.
“Never. They stink. I don’t even like the smell of cigar smoke. I have been chewing cigars for 40 years, maybe longer,” Brooks said.
The Newfoundland dogs are special to him.
“They kind of look like bears. I’ve had three. They’re absolutely adorable, they have good dispositions, and my wife likes them,” Brooks said.
Brooks has been married to Susan Brooks for 23 years. She is also his secretary. He has two children from his first marriage: David, who lives in Montana, and Jennifer, who lives in Chicago. Susan brought two children with her into the marriage: Lauren, who lives in Beverly Hills, Michigan, and Alexander, who resides in Sarasota, Florida. Brooks said that he is very close with his children.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh lawyer Michael Brooks honored
