Jim Carey, managing partner of Carey Law and Professor Emeritus at Cooley Law School, where he has taught for about two decades, is the recipient of the 19th Annual Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award by the State Bar of Michigan’s Business Law Section.
A South Lyon resident, Carey runs his own practice providing chief legal officer services for businesses and estate planning for families. He formerly worked as Of Counsel for the Business Transactions Group of Dickinson Wright PLLC Ann Arbor. Before that he was an associate with the Corporate Group and the Insurance Services Group of Sidley & Austin in Chicago.
Carey first became a member of the Business Law Section in 2005 after moving from Illinois to Michigan. He was raised in Dearborn Heights, but moved to Chicago following his graduation from the University of Michigan Law School. Upon joining Dickinson Wright, and joining the Michigan Bar, Carey started what has become a 20-year relationship with the Section.
He served as the Business Law Section chair in 2014 and held all positions on the council over the years. He has also served as the chair of the limited liability committee and currently is the Section’s nomination director.
He has been actively involved with other section members in updating and revising the State’s Limited Liability Act and Business Corporation Act. He is an annual presenter at the Business Law Institute (BLI) and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), presenting the legislative update for nearly 15 consecutive years.
Carey has created a stronger connection between Michigan’s business lawyer community and the judiciary; and the section also has a long history of working with state regulators as part of the business structure.
Carey has been honored as a Super Lawyer In 2025.
A South Lyon resident, Carey runs his own practice providing chief legal officer services for businesses and estate planning for families. He formerly worked as Of Counsel for the Business Transactions Group of Dickinson Wright PLLC Ann Arbor. Before that he was an associate with the Corporate Group and the Insurance Services Group of Sidley & Austin in Chicago.
Carey first became a member of the Business Law Section in 2005 after moving from Illinois to Michigan. He was raised in Dearborn Heights, but moved to Chicago following his graduation from the University of Michigan Law School. Upon joining Dickinson Wright, and joining the Michigan Bar, Carey started what has become a 20-year relationship with the Section.
He served as the Business Law Section chair in 2014 and held all positions on the council over the years. He has also served as the chair of the limited liability committee and currently is the Section’s nomination director.
He has been actively involved with other section members in updating and revising the State’s Limited Liability Act and Business Corporation Act. He is an annual presenter at the Business Law Institute (BLI) and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), presenting the legislative update for nearly 15 consecutive years.
Carey has created a stronger connection between Michigan’s business lawyer community and the judiciary; and the section also has a long history of working with state regulators as part of the business structure.
Carey has been honored as a Super Lawyer In 2025.
