DETROIT, MI, March 26, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Denise Jackson Lewis has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
As a young woman, Ms. Lewis came have to a love for cities and came to realize how the built environment can positively or negatively influence lives and outcomes in a community. With this consciousness in mind, she pursued a career in law, specifically real estate law, culminating in her role as senior partner, specializing in real estate and project finance with Honigman LLP, Michigan's largest law firm. Since joining the firm in 1983, she has led various major projects that have been transformative for Detroit and other cities, which has been a standout achievement in her professional career.
Before embarking on her professional journey, Ms. Lewis earned a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Columbia University, Barnard College. Subsequently, she received a Master of Arts, with honors, from Wayne State University, as well as a Doctor of Jurisprudence, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 1983.
Over her career at Honigman LLP, she has contributed for many years as a law firm leader, serving on the Board of Directors, as Diversity Partner and as founder and leader of the firm's Urban Redevelopment practice. Her career has included high stakes national and international work in urban revitalization. She has completed projects that often focused on underserved communities and challenging projects that required creative federal and state financing. A dedicated urbanist, she has worked to preserve the history and culture of cities as mixed income communities where people of all ages, races and ethnicities can reside.
She has received numerous honors in the legal profession including admission as a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and American College of Mortgage Attorneys. In 2015, she was named one of the Most Influential Attorneys in the U.S., and she has been honored as one of the leading women lawyers in Michigan. Ms. Lewis has been consistently recognized by Best Lawyers in America and as a Leading Business Lawyer by Chambers USA. She was named a Top Woman in Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, received the National Association of Women Business Owners' Top Business Woman Award and earned the Crain's recognition in 2019 as a Most Notable Woman in Real Estate.
Ms. Lewis has been recognized as a respected member of Detroit's business and civic community. She has served on the boards of major Michigan hospital systems, charitable foundations and economic development organizations including the board of directors of the Wayne State University Foundation, the Public School Academies of Detroit and the Detroit Zoological Society, and the board of trustees for St. John Providence Health System and the McGregor Fund. Additionally, she sits on the investment committee with the Detroit Investment Fund. In previous years, she devoted herself to the Detroit Medical Center, the Southeastern Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.
Often one of the few women and few African Americans at the decision-making table, Ms. Lewis dedicated her efforts to changing that picture. She has championed opportunities for women lawyers and lawyers of color within her law firm and the profession generally. Her work includes an endowed fund to advance minority law students at Wayne State University Law School. She has applied her passion in the real estate industry to advance developers of color and women and has served on the Board of the national Real Estate Executive Council.
She has served on education-related boards throughout her career and was elected statewide to an eight-year term on the Wayne State University Board of Governors, where for several years she served as Vice Chair and Chair. In 2018, Lewis endowed a distinguished lectureship in Africana Studies, jointly in her name and the name of her Barnard College classmate, as the Lewis-Ezekoye Distinguished Lectureship, focused on vital subjects in African diasporic scholarship.
Looking ahead, Ms. Lewis intends to reduce the amount of time she practices law and pursue endeavors with nonprofit organizations supporting projects to improve and expand educational opportunities.
About Marquis Who's Who®
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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