John F. Youngblood

Abbott Nicholson, P.C., Detroit, USA

I began my legal career directly after graduating from law school in 1973 with a firm that specialized in labor relations law representing management clients only. Although it was a small firm our clients included some of the largest and most prominent manufacturing concerns and utilities in the southeast Michigan area. I became a name partner in the firm four years after I joined it. A short time later, I left that firm to become a partner in Abbott, Nicholson.

During the first ten or so years of practice, I limited my practice to employment relations matters representing employers. Subsequent to that time, my practice expanded to include general corporate representation and business counseling for large number of clients engaged in a wide range of business activities. The overwhelming majority of my time currently is spent representing retail automobile dealers and automobile dealer associations. I am general legal counsel to the Southeast Michigan Dodge Dealers Association, the Metro Detroit Ford Dealers Association and the owners of hundreds of retail vehicle dealerships located in Michigan and several other states. My clients include two of the top five retail volume Ford dealerships in the United States and the number one Lincoln-Mercury dealer in the United States. I also represent dealerships which are wholly owned by the major domestic automobile manufacturers during periods of transition from company owned dealerships to privately held status. I am also legal counsel to the Southeast Michigan Dodge Dealer's Association and the Metro Detroit Ford Dealer's Assocation.

In addition to my activities in retail automobile dealership representation, I also act as a counselor and attorney to individuals and entities engaged in other endeavors such as food processing and distribution, lumber milling, durable goods manufacturing and retail operations.

I served as a member of the Board of Directors of Meritas when it was known as Commercial Law Affiliates for the period from 1993 to 1996. I was twice elected to serve on the City Council for the City of Grosse Pointe during the mid 1980's and have served as an officer and director of a number of charitable and civic organizations. I have been a member of the American Bar Association since my days in law school and I am also a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

My wife and I live in Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit. We have three grown daughters, one of whom graduated in May 2001 from De Paul University Law School in Chicago and practices law with a firm there.