Amy's first experience with Elder Law came as she assisted her great-grandmother with decisions regarding long term care placement.  As a young attorney and grandchild, Amy's eyes were opened to the challenges families face when dealing with the complex, emotional, legal, and financial issues of planning for long term care.  Since then, Amy has helped hundreds of families navigate through these same issues. 

As an outgrowth of her elder law practice, a large part of Amy's practice is now devoted to planning for persons with special needs, including the drafting and administration of trusts.  Amy is frequently invited to speak to other professionals and community groups about special needs planning and elder law.  In addition, Amy is active in many boards and organizations, including:

• Past Chair of the Elder Law and Disability Rights Section of the Michigan State Bar
• Member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners-2007
• Board Member of the Ella Sharp Museum-2007
• Selected in Rising Stars edition of Super Lawyers Magazine-2008 and 2009
• Member of the executive committee of the Jackson Area Estate Planning Council.
• Active member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the Michigan State Bar and National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
• Member of the Advisory board of Catholic Charities Senior Advisory Council
• Member, Planning Committee for ASK 2008
• Recipient of the Boss of the Year NAILS of Jackson County (legal support professionals)- October 2008
• Recipient of the Courage and Heart Award from Michigan Campaign for Quality Care-September 2009
• Board Member of the Huntington Society of Michigan
• Adjunct Professor for Cooley Law School-Summer 2009
• Past President of the Jackson County Bar Association and former Co-chair of the Jackson TRIAD
• Author of the Special Needs Chapter for ICLE's (Institute of Continuing Legal Education) Advising the Older Client or Client with a Disability, Fourth Edition.
• Co-author/editor of the Government Entitlement chapter in the Michigan Guardianship and Conservatorship Handbook Revised Edition-2007
• Author of Be a Hero to Your Client-Seven Simple Questions about VA Aid and Attendance Pensions published in the Summer 2007 Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal
• Received a Certificate of Completion in the areas of probate and estate planning issued by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan