Mr. Pollard commenced practice in the Office of General Counsel for Ford Motor Company in 1969.  He was assigned to a litigation group handling a full range of commercial law subjects.  Mr. Pollard left Ford for private practice in 1972.

During his 50 plus years of practice, Mr. Pollard has represented clients in multiple areas of law, including litigation, transactional, statutory and common law compliance matters.

Mr. Pollard has practice experience in a full range of employment/labor law representing employers both private and public. The practice experience includes representing employers both before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) involving both unfair labor practice charges (“C” cases) and union certification, decertification petitions or, more generally, union organizing efforts (“RC” petitions). He has appeared in contested matters both before Federal and State agencies and before appellate courts on appeal from labor agency decisions. He has also represented employer clients in Federal (Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Federal Portal to Portal Act) and the administrative agency (LARA) which enforces the Michigan Wage Hour violation (Michigan Workforce Opportunity Wage Act) claims. He has also frequently advised clients on collective bargaining negotiations and handled numerous grievance violations claims, including wrongful termination and employee discipline disputes. He has also represented employer clients in negotiating and drafting individual executive employment contracts and handling employment separation matters, both amicable and disputed.

Mr. Pollard has practice experience representing employers in all forms of employment discrimination claims under both Federal (EEOC) and State (Michigan Civil Rights Commission and Michigan Department of Civil Rights) agencies and before courts on appeal. Claims defended include Title VII (Civil Rights Act of 1964), Title IX (Education Amendments of 1972), §1983  of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act claims and other subjects of employment discrimination, including defending employers in both Federal and Michigan Whistleblowers’ Protection Act claims.

Mr. Pollard has served during his career as lead or primary counsel in over 80 cases before the Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan and Federal Courts of Appeal. He has also served as lead trial counsel in numerous civil matters in both Federal and State trial courts. In those capacities he has engaged on numerous occasions, prepared for testimony and examined at trial expert witnesses and cross examined opposing expert witnesses.

In 1994, Mr. Pollard tried a suit before a jury in Oakland County Circuit Court involving a complex legal malpractice claim in connection with the issuance of municipal bonds for over $55 million. The trial resulted in return in his client’s favor of a jury verdict for over $54 million (reduced to approximately $25 million for present value purposes). This trial involved the engagement and presentation of the testimony of three highly qualified expert witnesses in different areas of expertise on behalf of his client and cross examining two highly skilled expert witnesses on the opposite side of the case. This verdict was recognized as the highest jury verdict recovered in a Michigan trial court at that time and one of the highest recovered jury verdicts in Michigan judicial history through the present time.  Mr. Pollard also recovered one of the highest judgments (non-jury) in Michigan judicial history in an affirmance by the Michigan Supreme Court in June of 1997 of a money judgment for over $211 million for his clients based on the State’s violation of the Headlee Amendment, Durant v State, 456 Mich 175, 566 NW2d 272 (1997). These combined cases were recognized as exceptional recoveries by the publication Michigan Lawyers Weekly which, in turn, recognized Mr. Pollard as a Lawyer of the Year in 1997.

More recently, Mr. Pollard represented 458 Michigan school districts in a suit against the State of Michigan recovering a declaratory judgment in 2010 for the State’s violation of the constitutional prohibition on unfunded mandates for which his clients were reimbursed over $1.4 million in attorney fees and costs.  He has recently served as counsel for a Michigan school district in a case before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, 512 F3rd 253 (2008), and 584 F3rd 253 (2009) and a petition for writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court.  This case involved challenging the lack of statutorily required funding by the Federal government under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Mr. Pollard was appointed in November of 2007 by the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader, pursuant to 2007 PA 98, to serve on a State commission (one of five members appointed) to report to the Governor and Legislature on the State’s compliance with the Headlee Amendment to the Michigan Constitution. The State is prohibited through this Amendment from imposing mandates on local units of government without providing full funding for the costs of the mandates.  A report was provided by this Commission on December 31, 2009.  This Report served as the basis for Headlee reform bills, SBs 388-390, presently pending in the State Senate, as well as proposed amendments to the Michigan Court Rules 2.112(M) and 7.206(D) and (E), published by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Mr. Pollard has represented clients in numerous Federal and State Court of Appeals proceedings and many cases before the Michigan Supreme Court, on leave granted, or upon full review of the merits before that Court.

On the transaction side, Mr. Pollard has represented clients in numerous commercial real estate transactions from both buyer and seller sides and the sale of businesses and business assets among other business/commercial subjects. He has also provided legal advice through the issuance of written opinions for a wide variety of legal/statutory compliance matters.

His private sector clients have included Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Budd Corporation (later, ThyssenKrupp Budd), 458 local and intermediate Michigan School Districts, Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County, Bay City (a water rate case), and numerous other Michigan municipalities.

Mr. Pollard is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy where he obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.  He graduated from the University of Detroit, School of Law, Detroit, Michigan, obtaining a Juris Doctor degree.

Mr. Pollard is an active member of the following:

• Michigan Supreme Court Advocates’ Society
• Oakland County Bar Association
• State Bar of Michigan (Member-Appellate Law Section)
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
• NSBA and MASB, Council of School Attorneys

Mr. Pollard commenced practice in the Office of General Counsel for Ford Motor Company in 1969.  He was assigned to litigation group handling a full range of commercial law subjects.  Mr. Pollard left Ford for private practice in 1972.

During his 50 plus years of practice, Mr. Pollard has represented clients in multiple areas of law, including litigation, transactional, statutory and common law compliance matters.

Mr. Pollard has served during his career as lead or primary counsel in over 80 cases before the Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan and Federal Courts of Appeal. He has also served as lead trial counsel in numerous civil matters in both Federal and State trial courts. In those capacities he has engaged on numerous occasions, prepared for testimony and examined at trial expert witnesses and cross examined opposing expert witnesses.

In 1994, Mr. Pollard tried a suit before a jury in Oakland County Circuit Court involving a complex legal malpractice claim in connection with the issuance of municipal bonds for over $55 million. The trial resulted in return in his client’s favor of a jury verdict for over $54 million (reduced to approximately $25 million for present value purposes). This trial involved the engagement and presentation of the testimony of three highly qualified expert witnesses in different areas of expertise on behalf of his client and cross examining two highly skilled expert witnesses on the opposite side of the case. This verdict was recognized as the highest jury verdict recovered in a Michigan trial court at that time and one of the highest recovered jury verdicts in Michigan judicial history through the present time.  Mr. Pollard also recovered one of the highest judgments (non-jury) in Michigan judicial history in an affirmance by the Michigan Supreme Court in June of 1997 of a money judgment for over $211 million for his clients based on the State’s violation of the Headlee Amendment, Durant v State, 456 Mich 175, 566 NW2d 272 (1997). These combined cases were recognized as exceptional recoveries by the publication Michigan Lawyers Weekly which, in turn, recognized Mr. Pollard as a Lawyer of the Year in 1997.

More recently, Mr. Pollard represented 458 Michigan school districts in a suit against the State of Michigan recovering a declaratory judgment in 2010 for the State’s violation of the constitutional prohibition on unfunded mandates for which his clients were reimbursed over $1.4 million in attorney fees and costs.  He has recently served as counsel for a Michigan school district in a case before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, 512 F3rd 253 (2008), and 584 F3rd 253 (2009) and a petition for writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court.  This case involved challenging the lack of statutorily required funding by the Federal government under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Mr. Pollard was appointed in November of 2007 by the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader, pursuant to 2007 PA 98, to serve on a State commission (one of five members appointed) to report to the Governor and Legislature on the State’s compliance with the Headlee Amendment to the Michigan Constitution. The State is prohibited through this Amendment from imposing mandates on local units of government without providing full funding for the costs of the mandates.  A report was provided by this Commission on December 31, 2009.  This Report served as the basis for Headlee reform bills, SBs 388-390, presently pending in the State Senate, as well as proposed amendments to the Michigan Court Rules 2.112(M) and 7.206(D) and (E), published by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Mr. Pollard has represented clients in numerous Federal and State Court of Appeals proceedings and many cases before the Michigan Supreme Court, on leave granted, or upon full review of the merits before that Court.

On the transaction side, Mr. Pollard has represented clients in numerous commercial real estate transactions from both buyer and seller sides and the sale of businesses and business assets among other business/commercial subjects. He has also provided legal advice through the issuance of written opinions for a wide variety of legal/statutory compliance matters.

His private sector clients have included Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Budd Corporation (later, ThyssenKrupp Budd), 458 local and intermediate Michigan School Districts, Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County, Bay City (a water rate case), and numerous other Michigan municipalities.

Mr. Pollard is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy where he obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.  He graduated from the University of Detroit, School of Law, Detroit, Michigan, obtaining a Juris Doctor degree.

Mr. Pollard is an active member of the following:

• Michigan Supreme Court Advocates’ Society
• Oakland County Bar Association
• State Bar of Michigan (Member-Appellate Law Section)
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
• NSBA and MASB, Council of School Attorneys