40 Years Serving the Legal Community
If you are looking for treasure the hunt can stop at Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C. When you meet and start talking with Jim Hewson you will realize he is our geocache. He values people and when you are with him you know that he is interested in you. He keeps people as the focus as he practices the law and is dedicated to clients and does what he believes is right.
Jim was born on the east side of Detroit and grew up in St. Clair Shores. Upon graduation from High School Jim went to Eastern Michigan University where he spent his first semester toying with the idea of majoring in Drama – which turned out to be a disaster. So he switched his major to Political Science with a minor in English language and literature. The classes introduced him to Constitutional Law, which solidified his desire to practice law. So the path to law was set and in 1976 he graduated from University of Detroit Law and passed the bar in the same year.
He started his career in the Macomb County Prosecutor’s office before moving to insurance defense litigation. From the beginning he analyzed cases and attempted to understand the law separate from its mere application. He works to understand the intention of law and the foundation of the law from different angles and as he moved into insurance cases he found success by applying this strategy to no-fault in Michigan. He diligently studied Michigan’s no-fault insurance legislation and in combination with his legal training he applied things to no-fault cases that others had not thought to do. He will challenge interpretations of laws he feels are misapplied and argue in an attempt to craft good new law in its place. He is willing to take risks in his in analysis of the law and encourages and challenges his colleagues to do the same.
As he has handled cases, Mr. Hewson is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Michigan Supreme Court, through the years his PIP expertise has been recognized and he has become the go-to-guy for PIP in Michigan.
He keeps very busy in the legal community. Along with an active trial calendar, of around 12 jury trials a year, he has been a hearing panelist for the Attorney Discipline Board since 1985, and continues to do so. The Board sits as judges on disciplinary hearings and imposes sanctions on attorneys for misconduct. Since 2015, he has worked as an appointee by Justice Zahra to the Michigan Supreme Court Model Civil Jury Instruction Committee. The Committee drafts, proposes, edits and reviews the jury instructions used in all civil cases. After a vetting process, they approve the jury instructions that are then used throughout Michigan. He has been appointed to the advisory committee for the Detroit Medical Center, Rehab Institute group regarding traumatic brain injury, and is a didactic lecturer there to the doctoral and post-doctoral fellows. He is the general counsel for Hobart Mayfield, LLC, and has been appointed to their advisory board. Along with the appointments he is often invited to give lectures and presentation on a variety of topics. His even handed decisions also are called upon as a defense arbitrator an average of 2-3 cases a month.
Your legal matters are in good hands if you have James Hewson on the case.
