14A District Court, Michigan

Richard E. Conlin was appointed to the 14A District Court Bench by Governor John Engler in 1995, and is currently presiding at 14A-3 Chelsea District Court in Washtenaw County. He is a member of the Michigan Bar Association, as well as the Florida Bar Association, and is also a former elected member of the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan.

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Judge Conlin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1967, with a major in Economics and minors in Philosophy and English Literature. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Detroit College of Law in 1975, where he was selected for Law Review. In 1970 and 1971, he served in the United States Marine Corps., 1st Marine Division, where he was awarded a Combat Action Ribbon and Honorable Discharge during the Vietnam War.

Prior to law school, Judge Conlin was a Chief Deputy Clerk for the 14th District Court in Chelsea, where he now sits. Following graduation from law school, he practiced law for 20 years with the law firm of Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick, P.C., emphasizing litigation, real estate, family law, probate and estate planning. He was a full partner for 13 of those years. He was appointed by the State Bar Grievance Commission to arbitrate fee disputes and was also appointed by the Catholic Diocese of Lansing to arbitrate several employment disputes. In addition, Judge Conlin was a former Officer, Director and general counsel of the Wolverine Title Company.

Judge Conlin has served as a member of Litigation, Probate, Family Law and Real Estate Sections of the State Bar, is a member of the American Bar Association, and has served as a Circuit Court Mediator as well as a private, independent arbitrator.