Aaron V. Burrell

Aaron Burrell is a business lawyer who focuses his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, appellate law, labor and employment law, and minority business enterprises.

As a member of the firm’s litigation practice, he has prevailed in numerous complex, commercial-litigation cases in a number of state and federal trial courts and courts of appeals. As a member of the firm’s labor and employment practice, he has successfully defended clients in a wide range of discrimination and unfair-labor-practice claims in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, and he has counseled clients on all aspects of the employment relationship, including hiring; discipline; diversity, equity, and inclusion matters; and the creation and enforcement of employment agreements. Aaron has further advised entertainment and minority business enterprise clients on a wide array of corporate matters.

At Dickinson Wright, Aaron serves as co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He has also served as co-chair of litigation training and as a lateral recruiter for the firm.

Aaron has demonstrated leadership in the legal profession throughout his career. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Coalition of Racial and Ethnic Justice and previously served as a Commissioner on its Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan, and he previously served as chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Representative Assembly, co-chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Equal Access Initiative, president of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, vice president of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Foundation, and affiliate representative of the Board of Governors of the National Bar Association. He is an officer of the Board of Directors of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and the Oakland County Bar Association. He is a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, Michigan State Bar Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation.  Aaron is an active member of the Wolverine Bar Association and the Detroit Bar Association.

Aaron has been named an “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a “40 Under 40 Honoree” and a "Notable Black Business Leader" by Crain’s Detroit Business, a Top 40 Under 40 ‘Nation’s Best Advocate’ by the National Bar Association, a “Top Lawyer” in Labor and Employment Law by DBusiness Magazine, a “Black Leader Worth Watching™” by Profiles in Diversity Journal, a “Top 100 Under 50 Emerging and Executive Leader” by Diversity MBA Magazine, a Michigan Top 100 Bet-the Company-Litigator®, and a “Super Lawyer” by Michigan Super Lawyers.  Aaron is listed in the 2025 edition of “Best Lawyers in America,” and Savoy Magazine named him one of the "Most Influential Lawyers" in corporate America. The D. Augustus Straker Bar Association honored him with its highest honor, The Trailblazers Award. He is the author of the Commercial Torts chapter of Torts: Michigan Law and Practice (ICLE 2017), a co-author of the Business Torts and Related Actions chapter of Michigan Causes of Action Formbook (ICLE 2020), and a contributor to Employment Discrimination Law (BNA, 2017).

Watch Aaron’s Minutes on the Matter segment here.