About Julie Hurwitz

A respected trial attorney, law professor and author, Julie Hurwitz is President and Partner at Goodman Hurwitz & James, P.C.
Julie received her undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley (with honors) before attending the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a member of the student senate and participated in the NLG Unemployment Compensation Clinic.

After law school, Julie was an associate for THEODORE F. SPEARMAN, PC, specializing in Plaintiff’s personal injury and civil rights, with a primary focus on §1983 litigation. Thereafter, she was the Founding Executive Director for the NLG/MAURICE & JANE SUGAR LAW CENTER FOR ECONOMIC & SOCIAL JUSTICE. This national public interest litigation center established a national reputation as leading law experts in environmental justice, plant closing notification law (WARN Act) on behalf of dislocated workers and economic justice/living wage issues.

Julie has paved the way for significant changes to our legal system, leading the first successful environmental justice §1983 action in the country, involving the construction of a public elementary school on contaminated industrial waste site in a predominantly Hispanic/African American community (Lucero v. Detroit Public Schools); she litigated/settled first successful living wage enforcement action in country; and she tried first successful federal jury WARN Act trial in country (Wallace v. Detroit Coke).

Julie has testified has testified before House and Senate subcommittees on the need to enforce civil rights laws on behalf of environmental justice litigants, on the need to strengthen WARN Act legislation, and in support of passing and strengthening local living wage laws.

Prior to founding Goodman & Hurwitz, P.C., Julie spent twenty-four years in private practice as a sole practitioner.