Chad D. Engelhardt

After more than two decades handling high-stakes negligence cases, I’ve learned that medical malpractice and catastrophic injury disputes are rarely just about money. They involve risk, reputation, emotion, and human impact — and they require clarity, structure, and expertise to resolve. I mediate complex personal injury, medical malpractice, and professional liability cases. I work with plaintiff and defense lawyers, insurers, and healthcare professionals to move difficult matters toward resolution. I understand the costs, uncertainty, and human impact of litigation and trial. I help parties evaluate those realities thoughtfully and strategically. My role is to bring structure to difficult conversation and help decision-makers move toward informed resolutions. During my career, I’ve chaired the State Bar of Michigan’s Negligence Law Section and Institute for Continuing Legal Education Executive Committee. I’ve authored and edited leading publications on tort law and taught law schools courses focused on trial skills, dispute resolution and medical malpractice law for more than a decade. I’m Harvard-trained in mediation, serve as a court-appointed neutral and discovery master, and was honored to receive the Respected Advocate Award from the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel — a recognition that reflects credibility and trust across the aisle. I am highly experienced in collaborative practice, implementing healthcare communication and resolution programs and present patient safety programs to medical schools and healthcare institutions across the country. Before becoming a lawyer, I spent 12 years in law enforcement — an experience that shaped how I approach mediation: calm under pressure, prepared, and focused on constructive dialogue. If you’re handling a challenging case and want a mediator who brings experience, expertise and a healing touch to the process, I welcome the conversation.

Professional Experience

Civil Justice Attorney (January 2013-Present)
Goethel Engelhardt, PLLC
Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Areas of practice: Medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death.

Trial Attorney (February 2008 to December, 2012)
Moran, Raimi, Goethel and Karnani, PC
Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Areas of practice: Medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death.

Attorney & Counselor at Law (November 2005 to February 2008)
Webb, Engelhardt & Fernandes, PLLC (and predecessor firms)
Southfield, Michigan

• Areas of practice: Public sector labor law, family law, personal injury.

Judicial Intern (September 2004- February 2005)
Oakland County Circuit Court Family Division (Hon. Michael Warren)
Pontiac, Michigan
Deputy Sheriff (Sept. 1992-November 2005)
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office
Pontiac, Michigan

Academic

Adjunct Professor of Law (December 2005 – Present)
Wayne State University Law School
Department of Legal Instruction
Detroit, MI

• Courses Taught: Lex 5010 (Law and Harm)

Adjunct Professor of Law and Clinical Field Supervisor (August 2012 – Present)
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Lansing, MI

• Courses: Pre-Trial Skills; Medical Malpractice; Clinical Externship
• AA-SBA Student’s Choice Award, 2012, 2013
• Thomas M. Cooley Law School Integrity in the Community Award, 2013
• Thomas M. Cooley Law School Outstanding Charitable Service Award, 2014

Education

Harvard Law School, Program on Negotiation, Mediation Intensive, Cambridge, MA

• (November 2024)

Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan

• Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude (January 2005)

University of Michigan, Dearborn and Ann Arbor, MI

• Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (December 2000)

Professional Memberships

• Bar Admissions: State Bar of Michigan, United States District Court (Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan)
• State Bar of Michigan (Member, Representative Assembly; Negligence Law Section Leadership Council (Past Chair); Special Committee on Professionalism and Civility; member of Appellate and Litigation Sections)
• Michigan State Bar Foundation (Fellow)
• Institute of Continuing Legal Education (Executive Committee Member 2023 – Present, Chairperson 2025 – 2026)
• Michigan Association of Justice (Executive Board Member; Chair of New Lawyers Section 2011-2012; Chair of Continuing Legal Education, 2013; Co-Chair of Medical Malpractice Committee, 2013)
• Oakland County Bar Association (Chair, Solo and Firm Committee, 2008, Vice-Chair 2007)
• Washtenaw Association for Justice (Executive Board Member, Past President)
• Washtenaw County Bar Association (Chair, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section 2025 – 2026)
• Michigan Foundation for Judicial Refugees (Director)
• Ingham County Bar Association
• American Inns of Court (Oakland and Washtenaw Co. Chapters)
• Women’s Lawyer Association of Michigan
• National Association of Women Judges

Professional Presentations

Publications

• Establishing Corporate and Institutional Liability with Agency Principles and Equitable Doctrines, Michigan Bar Journal (May 2024)
• Best Practices in Pleading and Proving Exemplary Damages, Michigan Bar Journal (February 2024)
• How To Kit: File a Complaint for Wrongful Death, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (Feb 2023)
• Daubert Challenges to Expert Testimony: Legal Overview and Best Practices, Michigan Bar Journal (June 2022)
• Danger Ahead: Pitfalls and Landmines in Medical Malpractice Expert Witness Requirements, Michigan Bar Journal (April 2022)
• “Justice for the Dead: Lost Earning Capacity Damages in Wrongful Death Cases”, Negligence Law Section Quarterly (Summer 2021)
• Pitfalls for the Unwary: Statutory Notice Provisions in Governmental Negligence Cases, Negligence Law Section Quarterly (Fall 2020)
• Initial Disclosure Timeline – A Practical Tool for Litigators, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (March 2020)
• Overview of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Interplay with Michigan Law, Focusing on the Non-CDL- CMV, State Bar of Michigan, Negligence Law Section (2019)
• Commercial Motor Vehicles: Big Rigs, Big Danger, and the FMSCR Public Safety Net, State Bar of Michigan, Negligence Law Section (June 2018)
• Are the Winds of Change Visiting the Michigan Court Rules? The Litigators’ Summary of the State Bar of Michigan’s 2017 Special Committee on Civil Discovery Court Rule Review’s Report and Recommendations, State Bar of Michigan, Negligence Law Section (2017)
• The Michigan Court of Claims Battle, Journal of the Michigan Assn. for Justice Vol XLV, No. 3 (January 2014)
• Negligence Lawyer? There’s an app for that. The proliferation and suitability of Apple’s iPad in litigation practice. State Bar of Michigan, Negligence Law Section (2013)
• Chiropractic Malpractice Course Book; West (Thomson Reuters and National Business Institute (2012)
• Immunity for Some is Justice For None; State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section (2011)
• Starting the Case: Michigan Complaint Manual; Chapter 115: Fraudulent Transfer; Quiet Title Michigan Trial Lawyers Association (2011)
• Peer Review: Not An Iron Curtain; Michigan Assoc. for Justice (2010)

Institute of Continuing Legal Education Practice Forms:

• Medical Malpractice Complaint
• Medical Malpractice Affidavit of Merit
• Sample Initial Disclosures (Plaintiff)
• Medical Malpractice Notice of Intent
• Interrogatories to Defendant Doctor (Medical Malpractice)
• Affidavit of Meritorious Defense (Medical Malpractice Action)
• Plaintiff’s Calendaring Worksheet for Medical Malpractice Claim
• Sample Interrogatories to Defendant Hospital (Obstetrical Medical Malpractice)
• Affidavit of Noninvolvement (Medical Malpractice Action)
• Interrogatories to Defendant Doctor’s Professional Corporation (Medical Malpractice)
• Noneconomic and Economic Damages Worksheet
• Defendant’s Calendaring Worksheet for Medical Malpractice Claim
• Nursing Home Malpractice and Negligence Complaint
• Petition for Taking Deposition Before Action

Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Michigan Causes of Action Formbook (Book)

• Chapter 31: Health Care Provider Malpractice

Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Torts: Michigan Law and Practice, Third Edition (Book)

• Editor and Author
• Chapter 7: Medical Malpractice
• Chapter 18: Wrongful Death
• Chapter 19: Damages and Shared Liability Principles

Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Torts: Michigan Law and Practice, September 2025 Update (Book)

• Editor and Author
• Chapter 7: Medical Malpractice
• Chapter 18: Wrongful Death
• Chapter 19: Damages and Shared Liability Principles

Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Torts: Michigan Law and Practice, October 2023 Update (Book)

• Editor and Author
• Chapter 7: Medical Malpractice
• Chapter 18: Wrongful Death
• Chapter 19: Damages and Shared Liability Principles

Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Torts: Michigan Law and Practice, Second Edition (Book)

• Chapter 6: Healthcare Malpractice

Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Michigan Causes of Action Formbook, 2d Ed (Book, 2020)

• Chapter 8: Professional Malpractice Actions

Select Awards And Recognitions

• 2026 Top Lawyer DBusiness Magazine
• The Best Lawyers in America – Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs (2026)
• Top 100 Attorneys in Michigan, Hour Detroit Magazine, 2025
• Leader in the Law Honoree, Michigan Lawyers Weekly (2025)
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly Go To Lawyers Negligence (2025)
• 2024 Top Lawyer DBusiness Magazine
• The Best Lawyers in America – Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, 31st Ed (2024)
• 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice Law in Plaintiffs, Ann Arbor, MI
• The Best Lawyers in America – Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, 30th Ed (2023)
• Michigan Super Lawyer (2023)
• The Best Lawyers in America – Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, 29th Ed (2022)
• The Best Lawyers in America – Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, 28th Ed (2022)
• Leading Lawyers Top 100 in Michigan (2020)
• The Best Lawyers in America (Medical Malpractice Law), 27th Ed. (August 2020)
• Top 10 Leading Lawyers Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice, Leading Lawyers Magazine – Michigan Edition (2020)
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice (2021)
• Super Lawyers: Michigan Super Lawyer 2013 – 2025
• Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers Magazine (2013-2020)
• Super Lawyers Top 100: Michigan Super Lawyer 2015, 2021-2025
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Michigan, National Trial Lawyers Association (2013-2019)
• Pace Setter, Michigan Association for Justice (2013)
• Super Lawyers Top 50: Michigan Consumer Super Lawyers 2014-2017
• Super Lawyers Rising Stars: 2010 – 2012
• Top 40 Under 40, National Trial Lawyers Association (2012)
• Top Lawyer (Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury, Professional Liability), Detroit Business Magazine (2011, 2013)
• Top Young Attorneys in Michigan, New York Times (2010-2012)
• Michigan Rising Star, Super Lawyers Magazine (2010-2012)

Law School Academic Honors

• Honor Roll, Dean’s List and Honors Scholarship every semester of attendance.
• Class Rank: Top 1%.
• Shane Joseph Johnson Award for Highest First Term GPA (4.0)
• American Jurisprudence Book Awards: Torts I, Property I, Property II, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Law Office Management, Taxation, and Wills, Estates & Trusts
• Phi Delta Phi Award in Professional Responsibility
• Grade Appeals Board Magistrate; Faculty Interview Panel Member; Alumni Distinguished Student Award Nominee.