Litigator at heart: Real estate expert relishes 'excitement' of courtroom

By Sheila Pursglove Legal News Real estate has been prized through the centuries, from the time homo sapiens first moved into caves and invited the neighbors over for a mastodon BBQ. Carl Rashid Jr., a member of the Real Estate Practice Group for Dykema Gossett in Detroit, can relate to that. "I enjoy real estate because it involves so many different aspects, whether it's selling, purchasing, or leasing and all of the rights associated with the ownership of land," he says. "I'm really a litigator at heart with an emphasis on real estate related litigation. I enjoy the excitement of the courtroom and the challenge of presenting a case to a judge or a jury. My expertise is in property tax appeals and condemnation, both of which involve the value of real estate." Rashid, who leads the Property Tax Appeals Practice Group, has extensive experience in eminent domain, economic development and tax incentives, general real estate, state and local taxes, condemnation law, and governmental affairs matters. Representing industrial, commercial and municipal clients, he has successfully argued condemnation and tax cases in the Michigan Supreme Court, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Michigan Court of Appeals, Michigan Tax Tribunal, and Michigan State Tax Commission. He has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America-Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law; Real Estate Law; Tax Law 2010--2012; and by Dbusiness-Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit 2011--Eminent Domain and Condemnation law, Franchise Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Municipal Law A frequent author and speaker on property tax topics, Rashid has authored property tax legislation in Michigan; is co-author of Michigan Tax Practice and Procedure, co-editor of Michigan Real Estate Law, and served as co-chair and lecturer for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) seminars and as a lecturer for the Michigan Municipal League. A member of the American Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan, he also serves on the Metropolitan Detroit Bar Association's Committees on Real Property and Taxation. Love of the law runs deep in Rashid's family--a family that numbers more than 2,500 members, has its own website, officers, educational fund and charitable fund, and has held an annual family reunion in a different city for the last 84 years. "I always wanted to be a lawyer and my dad would always encourage me to be one," he says. "I did the same thing for my oldest son who practices law with the Bodman firm in Detroit." Rashid, who earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law, joined Dykema from Butzel Long where he was a shareholder and served on the Board of Directors. "I enjoy the wonderful people at Dykema and the structure it has in place," he says. "Dykema is strategically located in various markets, which will allow me to grow the property tax appeal practice for the firm." He previously served as an assistant corporation counsel of the City of Detroit, representing the Finance Department, the Detroit Board of Assessors, and the City Treasurer. "I worked at the City of Detroit at a very exciting time in its history. I started shortly after Mayor Coleman Young took office in 1974 and the experience and contacts from my tenure there for 6 years was extremely valuable." The Detroit area native is a former city councilman of the City of Grosse Pointe, initially appointed to finish a 2-year term, then running for a 4-year term, stepping down after two years because of moving to Grosse Pointe Woods. "My four years on the council were very exciting because the city was preparing to celebrate its centennial and there were a number of important projects at the time including the one I chaired involving the purchase of property to expand the footprint of the park," he says. "I've lived for almost all of my life in the Grosse Pointe area. I enjoy the beauty of the community with its proximity to Lake St. Clair, its waterfront parks, its residences, its educational system and most of all its residents. It's a great place to live and raise a family. The commute from Grosse Pointe to downtown Detroit is less than 25 minutes no matter what the weather conditions may be. "Where else can you live and attend a major league baseball game, or an NFL football game, or an NHL hockey game and drive to it in less than 25 minutes without having to take an expressway?" Rashid served as commodore of the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in 2002. "I enjoyed every moment that I served," he says. "It was a position that required a lot of my free time but it was rewarding in the social enjoyment that it provided. This was a job in which my wife was so extremely helpful." Rashid, who earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from St. Joseph's College, serves as a trustee of the Oakwood Healthcare System and a member of the Finance Committee of Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. "It's been a very interesting learning experience for me involving the delivery of health care services," he says. He was a member of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, a group working to attract new--and retain existing--businesses; a member of the Board of Directors of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce and a member of the American Arabic and Jewish Friends, part of the Greater Detroit Interfaith Roundtable. "It was a group of people from different religious and cultural backgrounds that got together to better understand each other and to bring a closer relationship to the two communities by promoting an essay contest to award scholarships to seniors in high school who wrote essays on how to create and foster a greater relationship between the two communities. It was a very rewarding experience for me, especially for all of the friends that I made from being a part of it." Rashid, the oldest of six children, met his wife, Grace, in eighth grade. The pair, married for 37 years, has two sons and a daughter, one grandchild and another on the way. In his leisure time, he enjoys golf, boating, tennis, and cars. "I love cars, from the classics to the present models and especially muscle cars from the '60s. I consider myself a car nut just like my brother who still races." Published: Thu, Dec 8, 2011

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