YOU LOOK AT PEOPLE AND SEE QUALITIES OF CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY AND
WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE DECENT HUMAN BEINGS. I SAW THOSE QUALITIES IN DENNIS FOUR DECADES AGO.” — the Hon. Damon J. Keith
Detroit’s image was to build bridges, especially between the city and the suburbs. He was also touted for his leader- ship style. Archer is collegial, diplomatic, temperate, self-eff acing,
and inclined toward collaboration. He is much more interested in solving problems than he is in taking credit. His approach won him accolades and was credited, again by Governing magazine, as the key to “disarm[ing] the once-prickly attitude business and political leaders in metropolitan Detroit took toward the city.” Constituents took similar note of both his style and accomplishments and registered their approval. W. Bernard White, presi- dent of White Construction, a Detroit-based construction management fi rm, says Archer made sure that minority- owned businesses got equal opportunities to showcase their knowledge, skills, and abilities and to work on major projects that his administration helped to facilitate. White Construction managed aspects of construction at the prime contractor level on Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers); Ford Field (Detroit Lions); Detroit Zoo (Polar
more than that,” White observed. Archer’s reputation is unquestioned. His mentor, col-
league, and friend, the Hon. Damon J. Keith, who has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit since 1977, hired Archer as a law clerk 40 years ago. Keith has something of a notable track record of hiring clerks who go on to achieve great things. In addition to Archer, his list of former clerks includes former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm; Lani Guinier, the fi rst black woman to gain tenure at Harvard Law School; Ronald Machen, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Mimi Wright, the fi rst African American woman to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
23
DENNIS ARCHER WITH BILL CLINTON DURING HIS FIRST TERM AS MAYOR OF DETROIT.
“People often ask me how I choose such great law clerks,”
Bear Exhibit, Otter Exhibit, etc.); and the Detroit Port Authority, among many other projects. White believes that Archer was extremely instrumental in helping to highlight White Construction’s expertise and to raise the company’s profi le. “I would go to functions where [Archer] was speaking
and somewhere in his speech he would fi nd a way to talk about our good work,” said White, adding that the mayor never asked for anything in return and always behaved completely ethically. Archer knew that White Construction did good work and he was simply “happy to support us and to help us take our work to the next level. You can’t ask for
1986—90 ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT
1994—2001 MAYOR OF DETROIT
says Keith, who has sworn in Archer on virtually every occasion it was called for, from his stint as a Michigan jurist to his time as president of the ABA. “You look at people and see qualities of character and integrity and whether or not they are decent human beings,” said Keith. “I saw those qualities in Dennis four decades ago” and nothing in the interim has led him to change his mind. “Simply, Dennis has a brilliant mind, he loves the prac-
tice of law, and he loves the bar,” says Keith. T at is high praise from a legendary civil rights activist
and jurist who considers Archer the walking, talking model of the power to make a diff erence. D&B
2002—09 CHAIRMAN OF DICKINSON WRIGHT PLLC
OCT 2004 APPOINTED LEGAL GUARDIAN FOR CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST ROSA PARKS
2003—04 PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
2010
2006—07 CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DETROIT REGIONAL CHAMBER
MCCA.COM
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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