Jim Acho and CMDA have proudly represented more than a dozen Pro Football Hall of Famers on a variety of issues for well over 2 decades. The most recent client inductee happened this last weekend as Randy Gradishar, the Ohio State and Denver Broncos legendary middle linebacker who tallied more than 2000 tackles in 10 seasons (which puts him just behind Ray Lewis as the NFL’s all time tackler), was […]

In the last 6 years, CMDA has collected nearly $10 million for retired NFL players on concussion claims. Some of the biggest names in pro football history. Names like Gale Sayers and Pat Summerall. CMDA is proud to handle these at a 25% contingency fee rate, which is 10-15% less than most firms. But CMDA handles a variety of other matters for retired athletes from every pro sport, from pension […]

Longtime CMDA client Leon Wright of Van Buren Township held his annual outing on Friday, June 14. As always, CMDA was happy to support the worthy cause. CMDA Partners Jim Acho and Shane Nolan and Attorney Isa Kasoga all played, along with Jim’s guest, another longtime client and friend of CMDA, former U of M All American and 6 year NFL vet Mike Martin, who now serves as a financial […]

CMDA partner Jim Acho has been legal counsel to the NFL Alumni and NFL Players Association Detroit chapters for two decades. This week he spoke at the kickoff luncheon and dinner in Detroit to welcome current and retired players to the NFL draft, which the entire City of Detroit is celebrating this week. CMDA is very pleased to have been a small part in one of the great moments the […]

More than 20 years ago, Jim Acho was introduced to Howie Schwab of ESPN through his friends, Randy and Jason Sklar who were hosting the show “Cheap Seats” on ESPN. Early on, a transaction started friendship that morphed into a professional relationship. Howie had indicated his favorite sports movie of all time was “Paper Lion,” starring Alan Alda and a number of CMDA clients, including Mike Lucci. Howie asked for […]

Kevin Campbell, an attorney in the Firm’s Livonia office, agreed to take on the plight of Gary Cooper (the ballplayer, not the actor) who is one game short of qualifying for his pension under MLB’s vesting requirements. Falling one game short was due to something unforeseen as you will see in this piece in today’s AndScape, an ESPN substack. CMDA partner Jim Acho, who heads up CMDA’s sports law section, […]

Former Detroit Lions’ Ernie Clark, a longtime CMDA client, passed away on March 10, 2024 at 86 years old. Mr. Clark was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1963 and was the team’s first Black linebacker. He played five seasons with the Lions and was defensive co-captain with another late CMDA client, Mike Lucci, in 1967. Mr. Clark went on to a successful teaching and coaching career and later was […]

Jim Acho and Gary Klein represented a terminated CFO with a tech company in a racial discrimination case. The client is based in San Francisco, and the tech company is based in Los Angeles. CMDA’s client was fired by a new CEO, and CMDA believed his ouster was discriminatory. The case settled without the necessity of filing a lawsuit. Jim Acho handled negotiations with the company’s general counsel. Jim says […]

Randy Gradishar is one of the most dominant inside linebackers in the history of pro football. A 9-time All Pro selection, and a man many experts feel should have been in the hall many years ago. Last year, one of Jim Acho’s longtime clients, Ken Riley, was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This year it is Randy Gradishar, giving CMDA back-to-back clients to be inducted into […]

CMDA is proud to announce that several attorneys from our Firm have been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Michigan Super Lawyers & Rising Stars list. The following attorneys have been selected to the 2023 Michigan Super Lawyers list: Jim Acho, Top Rated Civil Litigation Defense Jeff Clark, Top Rated State, Local & Municipal Tim Ferrand, Top Rated State, Class Action & Mass Torts Haider Kazim, Top Rated State, Local […]