Dennis C. Kolenda
Grand Rapids,
Michigan
Of counsel to the firm, Dennis C. Kolenda currently practices in the areas of alternative dispute resolution and appellate litigation. Previously, he worked as a law clerk to Hon. Robert B. Burns of the Michigan Court of Appeals. After almost 2 years as chief trial attorney for the Kent County Office of the Defender and over 13 years as a commercial litigator with Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt, and Howlett, Mr. Kolenda served as a Kent County Circuit Court judge from 1989 to 2008 and as chief judge from 1993 to 1999. During that time, he served as chairperson of the Supreme Court's Committee to Revise Rules of Criminal Procedure and as a member of the Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence, Dispute Resolution Task Force, and Caseflow Management Rules Committee. Mr. Kolenda has also served as chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan's (SBM's) Special Committee to Revise Michigan Criminal Code, as vice-chairperson of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, and as a member of the Michigan Judges Association's Rules Committee. An adjunct professor of political science at Aquinas College for 10 years, he is often on the faculty of programs sponsored by ICLE, Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI), Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, and Criminal Defense Attorneys Association of Michigan. In addition to his ICLE contributions, Mr. Kolenda is author of "Potentially Dispository Motions" (SBM Criminal Law Section) and coauthor of "Pre-Trial Motions Benchbook" (MJI).
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