About Lisa
Lisa Dwyer began her academic path at Saint Louis University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and in science and technology in 1989. She went on to study law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, receiving her J.D. in 1992. These years gave her both a grounding in liberal arts and formal legal training.
Her early legal work was largely transactional and courtroom-based. She entered practice as an associate at Sheldon Halpern, P.C. in 1992. By 1994 she had taken roles that included an associate position at Advantage Legal Services and work as a public defender with the Legal Aid and Defenders Association of Michigan. Those years added courtroom experience and exposure to criminal defense practice.
Dwyer’s résumé shows a mix of practice, teaching and public service. In 1997 she served as an adjunct professor of entertainment law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She spent time as senior associate at the Law Office of Kevin Ernst, P.L.C. in 1998. The following year she established her own firm, serving as president of the Law Office of Lisa Dwyer, P.C. Her career also moved into municipal leadership. In 2003 she was elected mayor of the City of Clawson, Michigan, a role that brought local government and administrative law experience into her portfolio.
In 2017 Dwyer served as a specially appointed lawyer for the State of Michigan Attorney General’s Office. That appointment sits alongside earlier internships and hospital legal affairs work from 1992, and research assistance for academic faculty. Taken together, those entries reflect a practice that has touched trial work, appellate matters, academic instruction and government service.
She is admitted to practice in Michigan and holds admissions in federal forums, including the Eastern District of Michigan and the Sixth Circuit. She is also admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. Her professional path has included public defense, private practice, academic teaching in entertainment law and municipal governance. She has handled courtroom matters at trial level and taken part in appellate work.
Dwyer currently leads the Law Office of Lisa Dwyer, P.C. from her Michigan office. She represents clients in state and federal courts and handles selected appellate matters as part of her current practice.
