Press Release

Leonard C. Wolfe, Dykema’s Chair and CEO, was selected as an inductee to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame. As a member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022, Wolfe will be recognized at a luncheon on Friday, April 8, 2022, at the Detroit Marriott Troy. In addition, a special Hall of Fame supplement will be published in Michigan Lawyers Weekly on April 18, 2022.

According to Michigan Lawyers Weekly, the Hall of Fame program recognizes Michigan’s legal leaders for their successful careers and valuable contributions to the community. “These legendary lawyers have made their mark, either in the courtroom or the boardroom, in their law firms or legal departments, with community organizations, and with local, state and national bar associations.”

Throughout his career, Wolfe has made a significant impact in the state of Michigan, especially in the area of education law. Prior to his election as Chair and CEO of the firm, he served for six years as a twice-elected member of Dykema’s Executive Board. He also acted as the Executive Board’s Liaison to the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for four years. Before that, Wolfe served as Director of Dykema’s Regulated Industries Department and Leader of the firm’s Government Policy and Practice Group for nine years.

In his practice, Wolfe focused on multiple specialties, including K-12 and higher education law, state procurement, administrative law, gaming, state licensing matters, and government restructuring. He has represented several business groups and trade associations specializing in assisting these organizations in the drafting, passage, and implementation of significant legislative initiatives. Throughout his career, Wolfe was involved in dozens of matters that had left a huge impact on Michigan’s government, as well as the legal, business, and education communities.

Wolfe is known nationally for his work with public charter schools. In total, he was involved in the formation of more than 200 public charter schools in Michigan on behalf of several state public universities, community colleges, intermediate school districts, and school district authorizing bodies. He helped draft and successfully defend the constitutionality of the state’s original charter school law and state appropriations for nonpublic schools. Wolfe was also a member of the Dykema team involved with the design, reorganization, and restructuring of the Community School District in the City of Detroit and other local school districts. For more than 20 years, he has counseled and represented the Michigan Association of State Universities (“MASU”), the state trade association representing the interest of the state’s public universities on various legal, legislative, and regulatory matters.

Wolfe has been involved in a number of high-profile public policy litigation matters, including most recently the case involving the constitutionality of non-public school reimbursements for health, safety and welfare mandates.

Outside of Dykema, Wolfe is an active member of the Michigan business community. He is a current member of the Detroit Economic Club Board of Directors and has previously served over the years as a member of the Michigan State Ethics Board and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as well as other community and national organizations.

Wolfe earned a J.D. from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and a B.A. from the James Madison College at Michigan State University. Before joining Dykema, he worked in the Michigan Legislature, United States Senate, and the Michigan Governor’s office.