Retiring judge to be saluted on Nov. 20th

Oakland County Circuit Judge Wendy Potts, who will be retiring at the end of the year, will be honored at a “Goodbye 1200” party on Tuesday, Nov. 20 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Bloomfield Hills Country Club. The “1200” is the numerical address of the Oakland County Courthouse, which is located on Telegraph Road in Pontiac.

Former chief judge of the Oakland County Circuit Court, Potts has been a distinguished member of the bench since 1997, beginning her judicial career as a Probate Court judge for the county.

A native of Detroit and a graduate of Mumford High School, Judge Potts received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. She taught high school math and English in Detroit for 7 years, a time when she also began her law school studies in the night program at Wayne State University. Upon graduation from Wayne State, she landed a clerkship with the Michigan Court of Appeals, a job that served as a stepping-stone to a position with the Detroit law firm of Hill Lewis, now Clark Hill.

During her years in private practice, she served on the board of the State Bar of Michigan, including a role as secretary from 1996-97. She also has served as a trustee from the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society and was a magistrate for the 48th District Court from 1984-85, a time when she was part of the Governor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence.

A past president of the Oakland County Bar Association, Potts spearheaded the formation of The RESTORE Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has supplied funding for the drug court program in Oakland County. In 2010, she was honored by the State Bar with its “Champion of Justice Award.”