About

Scott Brinkmeyer is a seasoned veteran in resolving civil disputes. He is  a past chair of the State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Section, and one of only twenty two Michigan members of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals. Since 2004, he has been a member of the National Panel of Commercial Civil Neutral Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association, and a Michigan Supreme Court approved mediator listed in numerous Michigan Circuit Courts beginning that same year. 

A past president of the State Bar of Michigan, Scott also served as president of the Western District of Michigan Federal Bar Association. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America, Leading Lawyers, Superlawyers, Who's Who in American Law, and has a Martindale Hubbell Peer rating of AV Pre-eminent. 

Since he began law practice in 1975, Scott has represented national corporations, small businesses, and individuals, as both plaintiffs and defendants, in a wide variety of complex matters. He brings to the table an abundance of legal, case evaluation and negotiation skills developed as the lead counsel successfully resolving hundreds of lawsuits. Such experience is invaluable in arbitration and mediation, and Scott's comparatively unique mix provides a distinct advantage in resolving conflicts. 

Over the past fifteen years, Scott has transitioned from specializing in civil litigation to focusing  more specifically on arbitration and mediation. He has chaired three-member arbitration panels, presided as a sole arbitrator, written numerous reasoned awards, and served as a mediator in scores of controversies, not only in Michigan, but from jurisdictions across the country and internationally. 

Similar to his extensive litigation practice, these matters have involved an exceptionally broad range of business, environmental, employment, real estate, probate and estate, insurance, personal injury, property damage and product liability disputes, and others. Issues considered have included contract interpretation, real estate valuation, condominium bylaw application and interpretation, estate asset allocation, private school franchising,  college education debt, negligence, fraud,  comparative tort and environmental liability, wrongful discharge, and partnership dissolution, to name a few.

One arbitration required two, week-long, liability and damages trials in a highly contentious $400,000,000 environmental contamination case. Dozens of interconnected corporations, successors and subsidiaries owned and operated the subject site extending over decades. Thousands of exhibits were produced, and over 30 motions were heard covering an array of issues. Both of the the reasoned awards issued following each trial were affirmed by the U.S. District Court on appeal by the non-prevailing party.  

Scott Brinkmeyer is admitted to practice in all Michigan state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. In 2018, after forty four years with the same law firm, he retired from Mika Meyers in Grand Rapids, and continues to practice, now concentrating on arbitration, mediation and consultation.

Scott received his undergraduate degree from DePauw University, then continued his education as a graduate student in the MBA program at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. He obtained his JD degree from Saint Louis University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Journal. He also spent a year as a judicial law clerk for the Missouri Court of Appeals. 

Since 2011, Scott Brinkmeyer has been an adjunct professor teaching Negotiation Skills and Pretrial Skills at Western Michigan University-Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Grand Rapids. A strong supporter of continuing education, he has received annual training from various sources, including the American Arbitration Association, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the State Bar of Michigan, and the Grand Rapids Bar Association. 

Mission: To provide objective and trustworthy ADR service to achieve mutually acceptable solutions through mediation, and  fair and reliable awards in arbitration.