Jeff Raphelson

Practice Areas

Focuses his practice on commercial litigation, particularly matters related to the automotive industry, finance and banking. He also dedicates a substantial amount of time to general commercial cases such as contract disputes, intellectual property litigation, corporate governance and dissolution, dealer and franchise termination, and other corporate law disputes. He also has deep automotive industry experience, having served in-house for two years as counsel for the seating division of Lear Corporation, a publicly traded Fortune 200 automotive supplier.

Professional Memberships

He is a former member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Ad Hoc Committee on Legislation, ex-officio chairman of the Computer Law Section Council (now the Information Technology Section) and a former member of the State Bar’s Task Force on E-Filing. He is past president of the American Constitution Society’s Michigan chapter and treasurer of the Historical Society for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He is also a member of the Oakland County Bar Association’s Circuit Court and Business Court Committees, and he is a trustee and secretary of the Oakland County Bar Foundation.

Publications

Co-Author (With Gene P. Bowen and Joseph J. Shannon), “Force Majeure/Commercial Impracticability and COVID-19: Does the pandemic crisis excuse contractual performance?,” Bodman COVID-19 Response Team Update, March 2020

Co-Author (with Thomas Tallerico), “Demonstrative Evidence,” Michigan Bar Journal vol. 94, no. 10 (October 2015)

Co-Author (with Jane Derse Quasarano), “Dueling, Dickering, and Delivering, UCC Battles of the Forms in Manufacturing Contracts,” Michigan Bar Journal vol. 93, no. 10 (October 2014)

“A Certain Parcell of Land Lying on this Island, Manhatans,” The Court Legacy, vol. XIV, no. 1 (February 2007)

“Old Laws, New Laws, and Technology: A Summary of Some Laws Affecting Use of the Internet,” 77 Michigan Bar Journal 1202 (November 1998)

“Is Alternative Dispute Resolution Right for Your Case?,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly (May 3, 1993)

Editor, Computer Law Theme Issue, Michigan Bar Journal (Oct 1988 and June 1994)

“Allocating the Risks of Computer Failure,” 5 Matthew Bender’s Commercial Damages Reporter 137 (July-Aug 1990)

“Professional Liability of Attorneys,” 39 Wayne Law Review 815 (Winter 1990) (cited in Gebhardt v. O’Rourke, 444 Mich. 535, 542 n. 6; 510 N.W.2d 900, 903 n. 6 (1994)

Personal

Listed in Benchmark Litigation 2018 as a State Litigation Star, in The Best Lawyers in America 2023 under Commercial Litigation, and in Michigan Super Lawyers 2022 under Business Litigation. He is a DBusiness Magazine 2022 “Top Lawyer” for Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation and is AV Preeminent ® Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Languages Spoken

Mr. Raphelson is proficient in French.

Education