Jesse Reiter, Michigan birth injury attorney serving clients throughout the U.S.
Jesse Reiter is the owner, founder, and managing partner of ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers (Reiter & Walsh, P.C.). He has been practicing law since 1987, and is recognized as a leader in the field of birth trauma litigation. Reiter has won multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for children with birth injuries such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy (CP). Passion for justice, meticulous attention to detail, and exhaustive preparation are the keys to his success. Helping children and their families brings him the greatest satisfaction.
Reiter began his legal career with a major law firm in Detroit. After years of honing his medical malpractice expertise, he formed ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers in 1997. The firm has grown considerably since that time, and now fights for birth-injured children throughout the country.
At ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers, Reiter has built a reputation around his extensive knowledge in both law and medicine. His in-depth understanding of complications during pregnancy, delivery, and the neonatal period, as well as of the standard of care medical professionals are obligated to provide, makes him a strong advocate for clients. Reiter has served a variety of important leadership positions in legal groups, such as president of the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) and chair of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG). He has also won numerous awards for his representation of children who need constant care. His clients continually receive compassion, empathy, knowledge, and experience throughout their difficult cases.
Moreover, Reiter cares greatly about giving back to his community. He recently established the Reiter HIE Research Fund, which supports University of Michigan researchers focused on finding new treatments for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This is a serious birth injury caused by oxygen deprivation; it can lead to a variety of permanent conditions such as cerebral palsy and intellectual disability. Reiter also runs the ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers Cerebral Palsy Scholarship and the HIE Help Center Scholarships. For more information about his community involvement and charitable contributions, please click here.
- DePaul University College of Law (Chicago, Illinois), Juris Doctor
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, High Honors
Bar admissions
- Admitted to practice in Michigan: 1987
- Admitted to practice in Eastern District of Michigan: 1987
- Admitted to practice in Washington D.C.: 1999
- Admitted to practice in Ohio: 2007
- Admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court: 2005
- Admitted to practice in the Ohio Supreme Court
Bar foundations and associations
- American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
- Michigan Bar Foundation: Fellow
- Oakland County Bar Association: 1987 – Present, Fellow: Jan 2020 – Present
- State Bar of Michigan: 1987 – Present
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG)
- Birth Trauma Litigation Group: Executive Board Member
- Birth Trauma Litigation Group: Co-Editor of Birth Trauma Litigation Group Journal, 2009 – 2011
- Birth Trauma Litigation Group: Past Chair 2010 – 2012
American Association for Justice (AAJ)
- Member: 1987 – Present
- Leaders Forum, Patron
- Governor, Board of Governors: 2015 – Present
- National Finance Council: 2023 – Present
- Publications Committee: 2017 – 2023
- Evergreen Advisory Board: 2018 – Present
- Professional Negligence Committee: 2014 – Present
- Exchange Advisory Committee: 2014 – 2018
- Section & Litigation Group Coordination Committee: 2014 – 2018
- National College of Advocacy: Fellow
- Professional Negligence Section Chair: 2013 – 2014
- Professional Negligence Section Secretary: 2012 – 2013
- Professional Negligence Section Newsletter Editor: 2011 – 2012
- Peer Review
- Trial: 2016 – Present
- AAJ Trial News: 2013
- Professional Negligence Law Reporter: 2008
Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ)
- President: 2006 – 2007
- President-Elect: 2005 – 2006
- Vice President: 2004 – 2005
- Secretary: 2003 – 2004
- Treasurer: 2002 – 2003
- Judicial Qualifications Committee: 2004 – Present
- Chair of the Coalition/Community Action Committee: 2000 – 2002
- Constitutional Challenge Committee: 1997
- Executive Board Member: 1995 – Present
Other groups and associations
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- National Civil Justice Institute Fellow: 2017 – Present
- Medical Negligence Information Exchange Group: 2015 – Present
- Public Justice Foundation Member: 2015 – Present
- National Trial Lawyers Association
- Academy of Trial Advocacy: 10 years
- Ohio Association for Justice Member: 2007 – Present
- Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- Best Lawyers In America, U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers: 2008 – 2025
- Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
- Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Leading Lawyers: Peer Selected to Leading Lawyers Peer Advisory Board 2023
- Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly 2022 Hall of Fame
- Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly 2022 “Michigan’s Go-To Lawyers” in Medical Malpractice Law
- Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News & World Report, “Lawyer of the Year” 2022, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Troy, Michigan
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in the Midwest 2022
- American Association of Justice’s (AAJ) “Above and Beyond” award, July 2021
- Leading Lawyers Top 10 Med Mal Plaintiff’s Lawyers in Michigan, 2020
- American Association of Justice’s (AAJ) Board of Governors Outstanding Achievement Award for 2019
- “Best Lawyers In America,” U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers: 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” – Medical Malpractice – Plaintiffs, Troy
- Best Law Firms,” U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers: 2008 – Present
- Michigan Top Lawyer
- 2017 American Association for Justice Board of Governors Outstanding Achievement Award
- “AV Preeminent Top Rated Lawyer in Medical Malpractice” by The American Lawyer and Martindale-Hubbell™: 2019
- “America’s Most Honored Professionals – Top 1%” – American Registry
- Dan Cullan Memorial Award, AAJ Birth Trauma Litigation Group: 2016
- Michigan Defense Trial Counsel’s Respected Advocate Award recipient: 2013
- “Leader in the Law,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly: 2012
- “Lawyer of the Year,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly: 2006
- “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” by the National Trial Lawyers Association: 2011, 2015-Present
- “Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit,” DBusiness Magazine: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
- “Million Dollar Verdicts & Settlements” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly: 2000 – 2002, 2005 – 2016
- Who’s Who in American Law
- Leading Lawyers:
- “Top 10 Leading Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Lawyers” – 2017
- “Top 10 Leading Consumer Lawyers” – 2017
- “Top 100 Leading Lawyers” – 2017
- “Top 100 Consumer Lawyers” – 2017
- Peer-reviewed and recommended “Leading Michigan Lawyer,” LeadingLawyers.com, Michigan Bar Journal: 2013 – Present
- Listed in Michigan Super Lawyers Magazine: 2008-2017
- “Top 100 Attorneys in Michigan”: 2013-2017
- “Top 50 Consumer Attorneys in Michigan”: 2013-2017
- “Top 10 Michigan Attorneys”: 2013
- “Top 5 Consumer Attorneys in Michigan”: 2013
- AV-Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell: 2004 – Present
- “Top 10 Personal Injury Lawyers,” Metro Detroit: 2008
- “Top 10 Personal Injury Attorneys in Michigan,” National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys: 2008
- Awarded American Association for Justice’s 2011 Outstanding Newsletter for the Professional Negligence Section Fall 2011 Newsletter
- November 2022: Peer-Review, “How to Properly Impeach a Witness,” American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Magazine
- February 2021: Co-Author, “Did the ACOG 2014 Consensus Recommendations on Labor Management Achieve Anything?” Birth Trauma Litigation Group Journal.
- September 2019: Co-Author, “Birth Asphyxia Cases: The Impact of Cooling,” American Association for Justice Trial Magazine.
- February 2019: Co-Author, “The Impact of Therapeutic Hypothermia on Newborns with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- May 2018: Co-Author, “Understanding Fetal Monitoring Evidence,” American Association for Justice Trial Magazine.
- January 2018: Co-Author, “Timing Hypoxic-Ischemic Fetal Brain Injury,” Michigan Bar Journal.
- Fall 2017: Author, “HR 1215: Stripping Rights From Our Most Vulnerable Michigan Medical Malpractice Clients,” Michigan Association for Justice Journal.
- July 2017: Co-Author “Using MRI to Evaluate Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) in Term Infants,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- February 2017: Co-Author “Management of Category II Fetal Heart Tracings: Timing Delivery to Avoid HIE,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- July 2016: Co-Author “Averting Pre-Term Birth: The Right Care Gives the Best Results,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- Feb. 2016: Co-Author “ACOG Replaced the Friedman Curve with Unproven Guidelines: Is Lowering the Caesarean Rate Worth the Rise in Birth Trauma?,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- July 2015: Co-Author “HIE and the Myth of Pre-Existing Injury,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- Feb. 2014: Co-Author, “The Hidden Dangers of Overventilation,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- July 2014: Co-Author “How ACOG Broadened the Definition of HIE: A Comparison of the NEACP and NEANO,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- Feb. 2012: Co-Author, “Forcep Deliveries: Are They Worth The Risk?” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal.
- Jan. 2011; July, 2011 & February, 2012: Co-Author, “Letter from the Co-Chairs,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journals – Summer and Winter 2011 Editions
- Winter/Spring, 2011: Author, “Letter from the Editor,” Professional Negligence Newsletter, Vol. 18, No. 1
- Nov. 29, 2010: Co-Author, “Solving the statute of limitations puzzle for minors in medical malpractice cases,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Vol. 25, No. 3
- July, 2009: Co-Author, “Oxytocin: The New ‘High Alert’ Medication,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal
- July, 2008: “Emergency Cesarean Sections: When 30 Minutes is Not Fast Enough,” Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) Journal
- January 26, 2024: Co-moderator – Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) 21st Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar
- January 27, 2023: Co-moderator – Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) 20th Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar
- February 13, 2022: Presenter – “Myth Busting – How the Facts Refute Common Misbeliefs about Electronic Fetal Heart Monitoring (EFM),” Birth Trauma Group Litigation (BTLG) Seminar, American Association for Justice (AAJ) Winter Convention
- January 14, 2022: Co-moderator – Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) 19th Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar
- November 18, 2021: Presenter – “Myth Busting – How the Facts Refute Common Misbeliefs about Electronic Fetal Heart Monitoring (EFM),” American Conference Institute’s 20th Anniversary Obstetric Malpractice Claims, Virtual Conference
- January 15, 2021: Co-moderator – Michigan Association for Justice 18th Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar
- November 10, 2020: Presenter – “Exploring Obstetrical Catastrophes: Placental Abruption, Uterine Rupture and Breech Presentations,” American Conference Institute’s (ACI) 19th Annual Advanced Forum on Obstetric Malpractice Claims
- 2016 – 2020: Co-moderator – Michigan Association for Justice Annual Medical Malpractice Seminar
- May 30, 2019: Presenter – Michigan Lawyers Weekly: 2019 Hall of Fame
- April 18, 2019: Presenter – Michigan Lawyers Weekly Presents: Leaders in the Law 2019.
- February 4, 2018: Speaker – Panel Discussion “Daubert Challenges in Birth Trauma Cases,” AAJ Birth Trauma Litigation Association 2018 Winter Convention
- July 25, 2017: Speaker –“How to Survive an Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE),” American Association for Justice (AAJ) Annual Convention, Professional Negligence Section
- Apr. 15, 2016: Panel speaker – Michigan Association for Justice 71st Annual Seminar: “Expert Testimony, Witness Preparation and Daubert Challenges after Ehler: Expert Panel”
- Dec. 4, 2015: Co-moderator – Michigan Association for Justice Med Mal Seminar: “Medical Records in the Electronic Age and Finding Ways to Win Medical Malpractice Cases in Any Age”
- 2014 – Co-moderator: Professional Section CLE program, AAJ Convention
- Nov. 2014: Moderator – Michigan Association for Justice’s Medical Malpractice seminar
- Nov. 8, 2013: Moderator – Michigan Association for Justice’s Medical Malpractice seminar
- Feb. 10, 2013: Moderator – Birth Trauma Litigation Group seminar at the American Association for Justice’s Winter Convention in Miami, FL
- Nov. 30, 2012: Co-moderator for Michigan Association for Justice’s Medical Malpractice seminar
- July 29, 2012: Moderator – Birth Trauma Litigation Group seminar at the American Association for Justice’s Summer Convention in Chicago, IL
- Feb. 12, 2012: Moderator – Birth Trauma Litigation Group seminar at the American Association for Justice’s Winter Convention in Phoenix, AZ
- Dec. 2, 2011: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar
- Nov. 2011: Speaker, MAJ New Lawyers “Expert Deposition Workshop” Presentation titled “Cross-Exam of Defendants – Getting Admissions”
- Oct. 14 – 15, 2011: Moderator – Birth Trauma Conference in Amsterdam, held jointly by the American Association for Justice’s Birth trauma Litigation Group and the Pan European Organization of Personal Injury Lawyers
- April 8-9, 2011: Moderator, AAJ’s Litigating Medical Negligence and Injured Infant Cases Seminar
- Nov. 12, 2010: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “Winning Strategies for Med Mal Cases”
- July, 2010: Speaker, AAJ Annual Covention, Birth Trauma Litigation Group Seminar Presentation entitled “Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Section (“VBAC”)”
- Nov. 12, 2009: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “Seeking Recovery for Medical Malpractice in Michigan: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?”
- Oct. 2009: Speaker/Participant in American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners 7th Annual Educational Conference
- Nov. 13, 2008: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “Your Medical Malpractice Case Still Needs Critical Care: The Essential Updates”
- Nov. 27, 2007: Guest lecturer, University of Detroit Mercy Law School, Lecture entitled “Admissibility of Scientific Evidence: Daubert; Davis-Frye.”
- Oct. 11, 2007: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “The Medical Malpractice (ISN’T) For Dummies Seminar”
- May 4, 2007: Speaker, Rapid Fire Seminar, Using Focus Groups Early in Discovery: Learning your Strengths and Weaknesses in Time to Make a Difference
- Jan. 25, 2007: Featured speaker, MAJ 2007 Deposition Workshop – a Legal Workshop for New Lawyers and Student Members
- Nov. 2, 2006: Guest lecturer, University of Detroit Mercy Law School, Lecture entitled “Admissibility of Scientific Evidence: Daubert; Davis-Frye”
- Oct. 6, 2006: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “Michigan Medmal Law Update Caution: Not for the Faint of Heart”
- Sept. 23, 2006: Speaker/participant in Mock Trial Presentation – “American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners 6th Annual Educational Conference”
- May 13, 2006: Speaker, 61st Annual MAJ Banquet
- May 22, 2005: Speaker, MAJ Evening Forum: “Daubert/Frye: Using Science to Prove Your Claim.” – Topic: Birth Trauma and Daubert/Frye.
- May 14, 2005: Moderator, 60th Annual MAJ Banquet
- May 13, 2005: Speaker, MAJ Annual Rapid Fire Seminar entitled “Focus Groups: Not just for Trial Anymore”
- Dec. 3, 2004: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “Medical Malpractice: Winning in a Hostile Environment”
- Nov. 7, 2003: Co-moderator, MAJ Medical Malpractice Seminar entitled “Medical Malpractice”
- Mar. 22, 2002: Co-moderator, Michigan Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA) Seminar entitled “Medical Malpractice”
- May, 1998: Speaker, MAJ Rapid Fire Seminar entitled “Medical Record Alterations”
- Jesse Reiter was published in Leading Lawyers Magazine – Michigan Edition in a 2017 feature piece titled “Jesse Reiter: Putting Children First, Always.”
- Jesse interviewed for Ohio Association for Justice’s (OAJ) Ohio Trial Member Spotlight
- Repeat guest on the Charlie Langton Show ( WXYT AM 1270)
- July 21, 2015: Jesse Reiter is quoted in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) online Law Reporter article “Audio Recording of Colonoscopy Reveals Improper Treatment of Patient”
- Sept. 5, 2013: Television interview – Jesse Reiter discusses Dr. Farid Fata case on FOX News
- May 18, 2009: Quoted in Michigan Lawyers Weekly Article “Majority rules on ‘majority’ rule,” Vol. 23, No. 27
- Nov. 7, 2008: Radio interview as part of WJLB Coats for Kids Charity Drive
- 2007: Interviewed on Ringler Radio about challenges facing lawyers in the State of Michigan