Southfield City Government

Southfield is a commercial center for the metropolitan Detroit area. Several internationally-recognized corporations have major offices in Southfield, including the North American Headquarters of Denso, Peterson Spring, Federal-Mogul, Lear Corporation, and Electronic Data System. More than 100 Fortune 500 companies have offices in Southfield.

Southfield City Legal Profile

The attorneys at Nacht Law are dedicated to protecting the rights and interests of individuals and businesses in Southfield and across the state of Michigan. Nacht Law is a team of experienced litigators, providing advice and representation in all matters employment, civil rights, and business litigation. In employment matters: our lawyers regularly stand up for the rights of Southfield whistleblowers, victims of retaliation, discrimination, harassment, or those seeking to manage accommodation and medical leave issues, or unemployment compensation. Nacht Law lawyers counsel Southfield businesses and non-profits seeking sound legal advice on personnel policies, human resources, non-compete issues, and business litigation. Our lawyers serve Southfield doctors and medical groups seeking to retain new people, set policies, third-party Medicare audits, and compliance programs. And we provide skilled criminal defense for Southfield professionals and others fighting for their civil right to be presumed innocent.

District Court of Southfield

District Courts: A district court has exclusive jurisdiction of all civil litigation where the amount in dispute is less than $25,000; and handles many local land use disputes, debt collection actions, and eviction proceedings. The district courts generally handle all misdemeanor charges where punishments do not exceed one year, including arraignment, setting and acceptance of bail, trial and sentencing; and conduct preliminary examinations in felony cases.

The 46th District Court encompasses Southfield, Lathrup Village, Beverly Hills, Franklin Village, Bingham Farms, and Southfield Township. The 46th District is served by three elected judges and two appointed magistrates. The 46th District Court has exclusive jurisdiction over: all civil litigation up to $25,000.00; all criminal misdemeanors (where punishment does not exceed one year; the arraignment, setting, and acceptance of bail and conducting of preliminary examinations in felony cases (where punishment exceeds one year imprisonment); all traffic and parking violations; small claims disputes in which the claim does not exceed $3,000.00; all landlord-tenant disputes and land contract forfeitures.

The Judges of the 46th District Court are Shelia R. Johnson, Susan M. Moiseev, and Bill Richards. The Magistrates of the 46th District Court are the Honorable Cynthia M. Arvant and the Honorable Donna M. Posey.

Employment in Southfield

Several internationally-recognized corporations have major offices in Southfield, including the North American Headquarters of Denso, Peterson Spring, Federal-Mogul, Lear Corporation, and Electronic Data Systems. Today, more than 100 Fortune 500 companies have offices in Southfield. Southfield is also the broadcast media center for the Detroit area, boasting studios and broadcast facilities for several television stations including WXYZ-TV, WJBK, WKBD-TV, and WWJ-TV, and City Cable 15. Metro Detroit's regional sports network Fox Sports Detroit is also located in Southfield. Among the most common occupations in Southfield are Management, professional, and related occupations, 40%. Sales and office occupations, 24%. and Service occupations, 12%. Approximately 79 percent of workers in Southfield, Michigan work for companies, 12 percent work for the government and 4 percent are self-employed. The leading industries in Southfield, Michigan are Educational services, and health care, and social assistance, 25%; Retail trade, 13%; and Manufacturing, 11%.