Amy J. DeRouin is a managing attorney with Christopher Trainor & Associates. Beginning as an associate attorney in 2007, her focus and passion have always been in civil rights and personal injury. The most rewarding work for her is to restore the voice, strength, and confidence in those individuals whom have been so wrongly abused by one in a position of authority. “Whether that abuse occurs from an employer or a police officer, my job is to hold those accountable who believe they are above the law—as they most certainly are not!” DeRouin says.
Over the years, Ms. DeRouin has continued to represent employees who have been unlawfully terminated and retaliated against by their employers for federal violations under the Family Medical Leave Act, American’s with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act as well as for Title VII violations with a special concentration in sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and race discrimination. Her employment practice in state court has also included violations under Michigan’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, and Worker’s Disability Compensation Act. “Nobody should have to worry about losing their job for missing work because of a serious medical condition or for caring for a sick child, speaking out against their employer who is in clear violation of the law or for opposing their employers’ unwelcomed and grotesque sexual advances—enough is enough and I simply will not stand for it.” DeRouin says.
Ms. DeRouin also shares this same passion when it comes to representing her clients who fall victim to police brutality as her federal and state practice includes a vast array of constitutional violations for excessive use of force, unlawful arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and deliberate indifference to the health, safety, and welfare of those in the custody and control of a jail or prison system. Not only has she prevailed in both the Eastern and Western United States District Courts along with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit as to these claims, she has also obtained favorable rulings for her clients and against municipalities and police departments for spoliation of evidence. “It is simply not an excuse for a police agency to no longer have video and/or audio recordings from an officers’ dash camera or body camera because it is lost or the device has allegedly malfunctioned, if the evidence supports wrongdoings of spoliation on behalf of the police agency, we will pursue it.” DeRouin says.
Ms. DeRouin is also no stranger to fighting insurance companies where she has obtained several policy limits settlements for her clients only after those same cases were valued at nuisance value by the insurance adjusters. These cases not only have included damages for pain and suffering but also for significant excess wage loss that she has recovered for her clients. In addition to obtaining policy limits on cases involving general negligence, dog bites, and third party auto negligence, Ms. DeRouin has also obtained maximum recovery for her clients who were fighting with their own insurance companies for the benefits they deserved related to first party No-Fault PIP claims involving medical expenses, attendant care, wage loss, and replacement services. Not only has she obtained maximum recovery of PIP benefits for her clients, but she has also obtained judgments against the insurance company forcing them to pay attorney fees, costs, and interest for their unlawful denial to pay these rightfully owed benefits when they were first claimed by her clients.
Ms. DeRouin believes there are strength in numbers and contributes most of her success to her fearless mentor Christopher Trainor, who gives relentless representation to his clients 24/7 days per week, as well as her team of associates, paralegals, and legal assistants—it is these individuals who are the foundation to our firm as they give 100% day in and day out for our clients. “The benefit to working with our firm is that our clients just don’t have one attorney working to restore their rights and to get them the compensation they deserve, they have an entire team standing behind them.” DeRouin says. It is this teamwork that has resulted in some of the following highlighted settlements for her clients:
Even though she now calls the metro-Detroit area home, Ms. DeRouin grew up in Western Michigan with her parents and younger brother, who is also an attorney after proudly serving our Country in the United States Army. “My parents are two of the hardest working people I know and have instilled in me from an early age that you treat others how you would want to be treated and do what is right—always.” DeRouin says. After graduating from Fruitport High School summa cum laude, Ms. DeRouin went on to Albion College where she dual majored in Economics Management and Political Science graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the summers between her undergraduate years, Ms. DeRouin interned in the Civil Service Department for the City of Muskegon. Ms. DeRouin obtained her Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School where she was active in law review and graduated cum laude. After completing a law clerkship with a prestigious multi-practice law firm in Lansing, Ms. DeRouin is grateful for the opportunity to begin her career pursuing civil rights at Christopher Trainor & Associates. Ms. DeRouin was selected by Super Lawyers as a Michigan Rising Star and a Top Women Attorney in Michigan Rising Star Hour Detroit Magazine, Hour Detroit: The Top Women Attorneys in Michigan and Michigan Super Lawyers Magazine in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
When Ms. DeRouin is not fighting the good fight, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their 5-year-old son whether that be camping in northern Michigan or visiting the farm and nature center at the local metro-park.
