By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
As president of the Ingham County Sobriety Court Foundation, Foster Swift attorney John Nicolucci enjoyed spearheading the organization’s 5th annual breakfast fund-raiser held last month at the Country Club of Lansing.
This year’s event, hosted by WLNS Channel 6 anchor Sheri Jones, focused on “The Opioid Epidemic Up Close and Personal,” and featured guest speakers Gretchen Whitmer, acting Ingham County Prosecutor, and Amanda Lick, Manager of Advocacy, Governmental and Regulatory Affairs of the Michigan Pharmacists Association.
“We focused on the opioid epidemic because the Sobriety Courts, many courts in general, and society as a whole are faced with the destruction of lives and families while also encountering huge costs in terms of resources such as law enforcement and medical treatment,” Nicolucci says.
Nicolucci became involved when the Foundation was formed in 2007, at the request of the original Board of Directors.
“I enjoy serving with the wide variety of members of the Board of Directors because they each bring a different view and passion to assisting the Sobriety Courts and those who participate in the programs,” he says.
“The Sobriety Courts provide an opportunity for participants to literally turn their lives around through sobriety, which leads to success in their careers, their relationships, and allows participants often to rebuild their families and their lives,” he adds. “These courts also serve the community as a whole by preventing participants from engaging in dangerous behaviors associated with drug and alcohol abuse.”
More than 600 graduates have made their way through the Ingham County Sobriety Court's four locations, and the courts have an extremely high recovery rate reporting at 88 percent of participants. Graduation ceremonies provide concrete evidence of success, and graduates often share their stories of struggles with sobriety and the positive life changes that have occurred as a result of their participation in the program.
Nicolucci, who earned his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law, followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, John Ambrose, an attorney in private practice for more than 50 years who also served as a Justice of the Peace and ran for State Representative.
A member of Foster Swift’s General Litigation Practice Group, Nicolucci also leads the firm’s Family Law Practice Area. He has extensive experience in Michigan No-fault Automobile Insurance litigation as well as other types of property and casualty insurance litigation.
“Litigation is similar to sports and I enjoy the competitive aspect of it,” he says. “It provides an opportunity for an attorney and his or her client to explain a ‘story’ and to convince the judge, case evaluation panel, opposing counsel, and jurors that their explanation and requested determination are the proper choice.”
Nicolucci is a fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation – a designation limited to five percent of the State Bar of Michigan active members – and a member of the Advocates Guild of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, limited to those who have presented oral argument to the Michigan Supreme Court.
The Grosse Pointe Park native now makes his home in Okemos, and enjoys the Lansing area’s people, the natural beauty of the region, Michigan State University, the State Capitol, and the area’s golf courses.
“Three teen-age children and one Cockapoo keep my wife and I running at a constant pace,” he says with a smile.
When he can slow that pace down, he enjoys history, reading, traveling, golf, basketball, and tennis, and gives back to the community by assisting local schools and charitable organizations such as Haven House and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, as well as his involvement in the Sobriety Court Foundation.
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