Nicole B. Lockhart focuses her practice on business litigation, corporate internal investigations, shareholder/LLC member disputes, federal criminal defense, corporate fiduciary litigation, and contract disputes. Before joining the firm, she served as lead counsel with a prominent Metro Detroit-based insurance defense litigation firm.

Ms. Lockhart’s passion for the law stems from strong familial roots in the heart of Detroit. Federal Judge Damon J. Keith was her great uncle, and she was sworn into the State Bar of Michigan by her cousin, Judge Terrance A. Keith.
Following in the legacy of her family, Ms. Lockhart attended Wayne State University Law School, where the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights is located. There, she focused her studies on business litigation and secured externships with DTE Energy’s General Counsel, Wayne State University’s Corporate Counsel, and worked as a summer associate for Sommers Schwartz, PC. While in law school, she enjoyed memberships in the Black Law Student Association, the Women’s Law Caucus, and the Sports and Entertainment Society. Ms. Lockhart graduated from Wayne Law in the top 10% of her class.

Prior to law school, Ms. Lockhart graduated from Oakland University, receiving a B.A. with a concentration in Persuasive Writing and Rhetoric. This unique concentration allowed her the opportunity to develop a superior analytical skillset through the teachings of Aristotle, Demosthenes, Cicero, and Quintilian.

Ms. Lockhart brings with her the belief that rhetoric, is the foundation upon which a successful legal argument is based. As Aristotle defines it, rhetoric is “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” In practice, Ms. Lockhart combines her legal research and writing skills with Aristotle’s three classic modes of persuasion – logos, ethos, and pathos – to tackle complex legal issues and achieve the best result for each client.