For more than twenty-five years, Ayad Law has represented people, families, and businesses facing discrimination, government overreach, and serious legal trouble, from Wayne County courtrooms to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
The government said no court could review the No Fly List. A judge threw out a bank discrimination case. Nineteen people were about to be deported without a hearing. Each time, we kept going, and each time the court ruled for our clients.
A Michigan citizen was put on the No Fly List with no explanation. The government said no trial court could even hear his case. We appealed and won, and travelers across four states gained the right to challenge the list in court.
Huntington Bank closed the accounts of Arab American customers without explanation. A judge dismissed their lawsuit. We appealed, the Sixth Circuit brought the case back, and the bank agreed to settle.
When the 2017 travel ban stranded families, we sued in Detroit within days. The court ordered that the ban could not be applied to green-card holders, and later refused the government's request to throw the case out.
The government tried to deport nineteen Lebanese nationals through a fast-track process with no hearing before a judge. The court ruled the government could not do it and permanently barred it from using that process against them.
Choose the situation closest to yours. It takes you to our consultation form with your reason already filled in, so the attorney you speak with is prepared.
Our work grows out of constitutional and civil rights litigation: religious and national-origin discrimination and claims against government agencies. The same courtroom experience serves our criminal defense, employment, immigration, and business and real estate clients.
Constitutional claims against government agencies and officials, Section 1983 litigation, watch-list and travel challenges, and discrimination in public life.
Learn moreDiscrimination against Muslims, Arab Americans, and people of every faith at work, in public places, and by government, including religious dress cases.
Learn moreRace, religion, national origin, sex, age, and disability discrimination; harassment; retaliation; and wrongful termination claims.
Learn moreFelony, misdemeanor, and federal charges in Wayne County and the Eastern District of Michigan, including clients facing immigration consequences.
Learn moreAsylum, family petitions, green cards, naturalization, removal defense, and travel and watch-list problems, in English and Arabic.
Learn moreBreach of contract, unpaid invoices, partnership and shareholder disputes, and commercial litigation for Michigan businesses.
Learn moreCivil litigation and appeals in Michigan courts, federal district court, and the Sixth Circuit, including election and government disputes.
Learn moreForming an LLC or corporation, drafting and reviewing contracts, operating agreements, commercial leases, and buying or selling property.
Learn moreAfter September 11, Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan faced a wave of profiling and discrimination. Nabih Ayad built a practice to answer it.
Nabih Ayad founded the firm in 1999 to help communities and businesses facing injustice. In the years after 9/11 he saw a sharp rise in Islamophobia and turned the firm's focus to Arab American and Muslim civil rights, taking on profiling, religious discrimination, and government watch-listing in state and federal court. He went on to found the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL).
His public service reaches well beyond the courtroom. He was appointed to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, chaired the NAACP Western Wayne County Legal Redress Committee, co-chaired ALPACT, and served on the Detroit Wayne County Airport Authority board, including as its chair.
You work directly with the attorneys on your matter. Every case at Ayad Law is handled by a small team that knows the file.
Founder of the firm and of the Arab American Civil Rights League. Former Michigan Civil Rights Commissioner.
Read biography
Civil rights and appellate litigator. Voting rights, No Fly List, prisoners' rights, and the rights of defendants in federal court.
Read biography
University of Michigan Law School graduate with clinical experience representing workers. Phi Beta Kappa at Michigan State.
Read biographyPlain-language guides from our attorneys on the questions clients ask most.
Michigan is an at-will state, but many firings are still illegal. Here is what to do right away to protect a discrimination or retaliation claim.
Read articleThe steps to start a Michigan LLC the right way, from Articles of Organization to an operating agreement, EIN, and annual statement.
Read articleEmployers must accommodate sincere religious practices unless it causes a substantial burden. What that means for prayer breaks, hijabs, beards, and holidays.
Read articleمحامون يتحدثون العربية في ديترويت وديربورن
Arabic-speaking clients can meet with the firm in Arabic, from the first call through trial. Visit our Arabic page
Our office is in downtown Detroit at 450 W. Fort Street, near the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, and the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse. We represent clients throughout Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck, Livonia, Westland, Taylor, Canton, Southfield, Warren, Sterling Heights, and Ann Arbor, and across Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw Counties.
We appear in Michigan circuit and district courts, the Michigan Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, the Court of Claims, administrative tribunals, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the Sixth Circuit.
The first conversation is where we learn the facts and tell you plainly whether we can help. Consultations are available by phone or in person at our Detroit office.
