David J. Shea

David J. Shea is the founding partner of the Firm. Mr. Shea graduated from the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law in 1987 and began practicing as an attorney with the law firm of Plunkett & Cooney. As a young associate, he worked on a team of attorneys representing Ford Motor Company as national counsel in product liability lawsuits throughout the country, as well as national manufacturers in mass litigation/toxic tort matters involving such environmental issues as asbestos, cobalt, benzene and formaldehyde. In 1989, Mr. Shea represented the architects of the Mackinac Bridge in the well-publicized “Yugo” wrongful death case. In 1991, Mr. Shea was part of a three-attorney team who obtained the top defense verdict in the country in a multi-plaintiff wrongful death product liability federal lawsuit against United Technologies. In 1992, Mr. Shea began representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice, product liability, and toxic tort/mass litigation with the law firm of Sommers, Schwartz, Silver & Schwartz. Mr. Shea principally represented over 1500 women in the nationally-recognized silicone breast implant litigation, where he was appointed one of three lead counsel in Michigan to represent plaintiffs’ interests on the controlling state court’s steering committee. In 2000, Mr. Shea formed his own law firm with E. Powell Miller and began his relationship with the Hantz Group as its principal legal counsel. His newly formed law firm specialized in class actions, commercial litigation, securities law, and estate planning. By 2005, Miller Shea, P.C. had grown to 40 attorneys and was honored by Crain’s as the fastest growing law firm in Michigan.

Today, Mr. Shea generally focuses his professional time in four areas: (1) representing businesses in national commercial insurance loss and agency malpractice litigation; (2) representing plaintiffs and the Hantz Group in securities matters in state and federal courts and before FINRA; (3) serving as General Counsel for Hantz Group, one of the largest financial service and bank holding companies in the Midwest; and (4) managing the law firm. Mr. Shea is also active in general commercial litigation matters, as well as representing plaintiffs in legal malpractice claims.

Mr. Shea’s litigation practice has taken him all over the country, where he has obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, Kentucky, Washington, New Jersey, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia, and Florida. In 2008, Mr. Shea obtained the fourth largest settlement in Michigan regarding an insurance loss for a national hotel chain. Mr. Shea also obtained one of the top ten largest settlements in 2011 in an insurance fire loss claim based in northern-Michigan.

In relation to his work with the Hantz Group, Mr. Shea oversees all legal, regulatory and employment matters regarding Hantz’s parent corporation and its many subsidiaries, including Hantz Financial Services, Hantz Bank, Hantz Tax and Business and Hantz Insurance Agency. Mr. Shea has been a member of the Board of Directors for Hantz Financial since 2006.

For his work, Mr. Shea has received an “AV Rating” by Martindale-Hubble for highest ethical standards and legal ability, and has been recognized since 2011 as a “Top 100 Attorney” in Michigan by the peer-reviewed “SuperLawyers” organization and the American Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Shea has also been recognized by Hour Magazine and Detroit Business Magazine as a top attorney in Michigan in the area of business litigation. In addition, Mr. Shea was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General by Mike Cox, Michigan’s Attorney General from 2003-2010, to provide advice in the area of securities law.