By Sheryl M. Vassallo
Trial attorney Cheryl A. Bush — majority owner and managing partner of Bush Seyferth Kethledge and Paige PLLC in Troy — has had an enormously distinguished career, from successfully trying national cases for DaimlerChrysler Corporation, General Motors Corporation and Ford Motor Company to recently being elected an associate member of the Michigan Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Oh, and she's never lost a jury trial.
"Overall, I have had tremendous success winning cases. I don't like to talk about that because I'm a little superstitious. I'm just afraid I'm due for a really big one," she said. "It has been wonderfully gratifying. But I have to say I don't do these things alone. I've got a whole law firm of people who are smart, talented and work hard. It truly is a team effort."
In addition to recognizing her firm's contributions, Bush credits much of her success as an attorney to her humble upbringing.
"I grew up very blue collar. Neither of my parents graduated from high school, and so it was Perry Mason on T.V. [who influenced her career path]," she confided, adding that she didn't realize that not all lawyers actually tried cases in court.
"Honestly, it wasn't until I got well into college that I realized that most lawyers are not trial lawyers," she explained. "I just sort of associated what I saw on T.V. with what all lawyers do, which was not accurate."
Nevertheless, Bush followed her dream and built a winning career — one in which she said she can't imagine doing anything else or she'd be "bored silly."
She believes her upbringing has allowed her to connect with juries in a way that other attorneys may not.
"I think my background has a lot to do with my treating the members of the jury respectfully," she noted.
As for other factors that may have contributed to her success, Bush stressed it was impossible to overstate the importance of always doing what you know is right.
"Sometimes people on the other side don't play fair. Sometimes cheap shots get taken, and it's very difficult to take the high road," she contended. "But it's my mantra when I am faced with that sort of situation."
In March, Bush — who frequently lectures for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), teaching less experienced lawyers "how to kick butt" — was honored with the "Breakthrough" award from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), an award given to a woman business owner who has overcome obstacles or removed obstructions for other women in the workplace.
However, of all of the honors she's received, Bush said one of the most gratifying is the response she gets from women jurors.
"After every single trial I've had, one or more of the women comes up to me and says, 'Ms. Bush, we were so proud of you,'" she recounted. "It's the same good feeling now as the first time that it happens."
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Q. You were recently named one of the Top Ten Women Business Owners in Michigan by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and honored with the "Breakthrough" award. Why do you think you were chosen for this and how did it feel to receive that honor?
A. I think largely because I am the first named partner in a law firm that does national litigation and I'm also the managing partner. There aren't many women who are in that position across the United States. It was really terrific and it was an honor to be up there with other women who had done terrific things.
Q. The most recent NAWBO newsletter quoted you as saying that your success "has allowed me to operate as an employer the way an employer should — on a merit-based approach without regard to stereotypes." Why is this so significant?
A. That is one thing that is very important to me, here. We are a total meritocracy. I will tell you that, even apart from questions of sex or even race, I'm not really picky about whether someone's got a college degree. Obviously you have to have a college degree if you're a lawyer here, but people are smart and we like to give people opportunities to show us what they can do.
Q. Your specialty is automotive product liability trial work. How did that come about?
A. I started working on General Motors cases back when I was at Dykema Gossett PLLC and I really enjoyed the automotive stuff. You get the opportunity to learn something new all the time, whether it's the engineering, whether it's the biomechanics — the study of how people move or get hurt in vehicles — and you get to work with smart people. It was just a lot of fun to do.
There are lawyers who call themselves litigators who don't go to trial, but they spend a lot of the client's money working something up to do that. We try cases and we do so across the country.
Also, I am National Airbag Counsel for DaimlerChrysler Corporation, which means that I manage all airbag related discovery for Chrysler. It also means that if there is a catastrophic or significant airbag case, our firm basically runs lead on the case and will try the case anywhere in the U.S.
Q. Is it difficult simplifying the facts of the types of cases you handle and then putting them in terms a jury will understand?
A. It is, but I'll tell you that is, in part, where some of the blue-collar background comes in to help. I can always sort of run stuff by my family members or other people and get their feedback on whether they're understanding and following what I'm trying to explain to them.
Q. What are the challenges involved in the types of cases you try?
A. They're tough cases emotionally because a lot of the cases involve children and, frankly, those are tough cases to win.
Part of what I think makes good trial lawyers is not always to separate themselves emotionally. Cases with kids are very sad cases and when I'm trying that kind of case, I acknowledge that to the jury. We all have kids that we know and love. But the real point the jury is there to determine is whether or not my client was responsible for what happened to the child — whether my client did what they should have done under the circumstances. So you can do both. You can acknowledge that it's a terrible thing that happened to the person who got hurt and you can also say "but we're all here to figure out what's fair."
Also, for me, there is some difficulty because my practice is mostly national, in that when I go to courtrooms across the country, often the judge doesn't know me. In terms of establishing a level of credibility with the court, that is a challenge. So far I've been lucky that it's worked out very well.
Q. How do you overcome that challenge?
A. You are pristine in your approach with the court. A lot of lawyers tell the truth but we [at the firm] are just scrupulous about representations that we make to courts. And, generally speaking, judges see that we are very well prepared, that we are not going to waste the court's time, and that it is our goal to present an interesting case to the jury. All of those things are a great assistance in getting over that bump in the road.
I think you always have to have your game face on, but it's important to let the court get to know you and see that you're a straight shooter and that your client is a straight shooter and is there to get a fair trial.
Q. What are your professional goals for the future?
A. My professional goals for the future are to continue to try cases, to have fun trying cases and to watch the other people in my law firm grow and turn into the terrific trial lawyers they either already are or are on their way to becoming. That really is very rewarding.
One of my associates here — Amy B. Larson — has been out of law school for two years and she is progressing way ahead of schedule for someone who is two years out of law school. I'm so proud of her and proud of any influence that I've been able to have on her growth and development as a lawyer.
Q. How do you measure success as a lawyer?
A. What it means to me to be successful as a trial lawyer, obviously, is winning lawsuits. But that is only part of it. Having clients who are thrilled with the job you have done for them, whether the case goes to trial or not and having a law firm with talented people who are enthusiastic about what they do and get great results for clients are all areas of success in my mind.
April 3, 2006
