Practice Groups
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Corporate
Litigation

Contact Information
gjesshaki@abbottnicholson.com
TEL: 313.234.6208

Gene J. Esshaki is one of the founding shareholders of Abbott, Nicholson, Quilter, Esshaki & Youngblood, P.C.  Mr. Esshaki specializes in business and corporate law, and acts as general and special counsel to a number of business enterprises.  Mr. Esshaki is also recognized for his expertise in complex commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution.  Gene is a member of the American Arbitration Association's Panel of Arbitrators for Mass Claims Resolution.  He is also a member of the National Panel of Neutrals and a member and advisor to the Association's Michigan Office Complex Case Hearing Panel.  Gene has participated in extensive training in alternative dispute resolution, is certified as a Mediator by the Michigan Supreme Court and has lectured on the topic.  Mr. Esshaki is a hearing panelist for the Wayne County (Michigan's largest Trial Court) Mediation Tribunal Association and the Attorney Discipline Board of the State Bar of Michigan. He has been called upon by Trial Court Judges and practitioners in numerous State and Federal Courts to mediate and/or arbitrate numerous complex commercial disputes. Gene has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Bar Association, a Trustee and President of the Detroit Bar Foundation, and is a Fellow in the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

Mr. Esshaki received both his B.A. degree, cum laude, in 1971, and his J.D. degree in 1974 from Wayne State University.  Gene is married to Cynthia E. Merry, Esq., an attorney and managing partner of her own firm.  He has two children, Katherine, a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and currently practicing law in northern Ohio, and Kristin, a graduate of Albion College and currently employed in the Department of Treasury at the Ford Motor Company, World Headquarters.  Mr. Esshaki has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the firm and as a member of its Executive Committee.

Gene holds an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating awarded attorneys by their peers. He was honored as a Michigan Super Lawyer in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the area of alternative dispute resolution. He was also recognized as a Top Lawyer in Metro Detroit – 2010 by DBusiness Magazine.