One of the most well-known attorneys in Oakland County, Bob Kostin (far left) is among the organizers of the annual Big Ten Holiday Party held each December. The yuletide gathering brings members of the bench and bar together for some holiday cheer. The “Big Ten” marked its 46th anniversary in 2019 at Santia Hall in Keego Harbor. The festive event traces its roots to 1973 when attorneys Parvin Lee, John Rogers, and the late Jim Flynn helped launch the celebration. Pictured are nine of the 10 event organizers (left to right) Kostin, Jim Williams, Tom Ryan, Jose Fanego, Don McGinnis Jr., Kelly Allen, Ethan Holtz, Robert Badgley, and Kurt Schnelz. Missing from the photo is Keri Middleditch.
– Photo by John Meiu
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Forgive Bob Kostin if he admits to being “Zoomed out” on certain days at his Clarkston law office as he adjusts to a new legal way of life in the midst of the pandemic.
“I’m as busy as I’ve ever been, but in a way that doesn’t involve the traditional appearances in court,” said Kostin, a solo practitioner who is marking his 50th year in the legal profession. “It’s a different animal now with matters being handled by Zoom appearances. I found it a lot easier to get my 10,000 steps in each day by actually going to court.”
Such a sense of humor has long been a Kostin trademark as he successfully built a practice focused on criminal law, civil litigation, and family law matters.
“I’ve always enjoyed the variety of my legal work,” said Kostin, who grew up in Dearborn. “I’m more involved now in family law and all the legal issues that involve families. But over the years I’ve handled homicide cases, personal injury and medical malpractice cases, as well as divorces and custody disputes. It’s been a far-ranging practice.”
The prospect of a career in the law seemed to be nothing more than a fanciful notion for Kostin after he earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and landed a sales job with Medtronic, the medical device company known for implant products. In fact, Kostin initially was more interested in applying to dental school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he was based at the time.
And then he was encouraged by several friends to apply to the former John Marshall School of Law in Cleveland. But there was an immediate hitch to the plan.
“I had just missed the opportunity to take the LSAT, which meant that I would have to wait until the next year to enroll in law school,” Kostin explained. “But I decided that I might as well talk to the dean directly to see if something else could be worked out.”
The decision proved to be wise as Kostin was able to showcase his smarts and persuasive skills that have been on display throughout a 50-year legal career.
“The dean said something to the effect, ‘So you want me to accept you without taking the LSAT?’
“Indeed I did, and I did my best to convince him that I had already proven myself as a successful candidate by virtue of my work with Medtronic,” Kostin said. “He eventually agreed and I then enrolled in their night program so that I could continue my work with Medtronic.”
After a year of studies at John Marshall, Kostin transferred to Detroit College of Law, where he was classmates with former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer.
“After I obtained my law degree, the decision I faced was whether to continue working at Medtronic or to open my own law practice,” Kostin related. “I liked the idea of being my own boss, so I opted for the law, buying a small house on Dixie Highway to be the home for my law practice.”
In the early years of his practice Kostin said that he “would take any case I could get” in an effort to make a legal name for himself.
“As anyone knows who has been a solo practitioner, the first few years are particularly tough as you build your reputation and your network of contacts,” Kostin related.
He signed up to be a public defender as a way “to get my name out there” and to hone his courtroom skills. Kostin also became involved in public service work, running for office in White Lake Township, serving on its board for several terms.
“Generally speaking, I’m not very political, although I would categorize myself as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative,” Kostin said. “I’ve always tried my best to work with people on both sides of the political aisle.”
Kostin currently is a member of the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission, and has been instrumental in helping develop the Holly Oaks ORV Park, which is scheduled to open in mid-September near the Mt. Holly ski resort.
“I’ve been involved with the Brothers of the Hammer Club for years and have had a lifelong love for off-road vehicles and virtually anything that goes fast,” Kostin said with a smile.
He may have developed that interest through his father, Edward, who worked at the mammoth Ford Rouge Plant for more than 40 years.
“He was highly intelligent and was a state champ swimmer in high school (at Dearborn Fordson),” Kostin related. “In retirement, he became the best walleye fisherman on Lake St. Clair. He just loved fishing, and was fond of supplying friends and family with the fish that he caught.”
Kostin’s mother, Catherine, was a homemaker for the couple’s three children and also ran the Guardian Lutheran lunch program, where “her pay came in the form of leftovers,” he said with a chuckle.
“She was a great mom and was the glue that kept our family together,” Kostin said of his mother, who passed away at age 96.
For the past two decades, Kostin has been fortified by the love of his wife, Kelley, a district court judge in Clarkston.
“I got lucky when she came into my life,” Kostin said of the University of Michigan alumna who earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. “She is a gem and has done such an incredible job since joining the bench. She has a real passion for her work, especially the veterans’ and sobriety courts. She is smart and dedicated, two traits that have served her well during her time as judge. I am truly blessed.”
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Tragic 1996 murder case did produce a ray of light
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
In May of 1996, the abduction and slaying of a Bloomfield Hills ophthalmologist was a crime that shocked the collective conscience of a community, as police investigators attempted to solve a homicide jigsaw puzzle that was missing more than a few pieces.
When attorney Bob Kostin first heard word of Dr. Deborah Iverson’s murder, which was lead story material on local television newscasts for weeks, he had no idea that the case would ultimately touch his life in a most profound way.
As an adoptive parent of a young boy.
That boy was the then infant son of Anitra Coomer, who in fall of 1997 was convicted of the first-degree murder of Dr. Iverson in a random robbery scheme gone bad. The boy’s father, McConnell Adams Jr., also was convicted in the slaying that mystified police for months until an anonymous tip led investigators to the Clawson couple, both of whom were 21 years old at the time of the murder.
Now, 24 years after the killing, Coomer and Adams remain behind bars in state prisons, serving life sentences for their roles in abducting Iverson from a Birmingham parking lot and later strangling her in the back seat of her luxury SUV.
But that’s far from the end of the story. Kostin and his wife Kelley, a 52nd District Court judge in Clarkston, would see to that.
Back in the mid-1990s, the Kostins had made plans to adopt a child. Those plans then somehow intersected with an unintentional victim of the Iverson tragedy – Shay, the infant son of two convicted killers.
The boy’s odyssey immediately took a turn for the better within a stable, loving, and nurturing home provided by the Kostins.
Within a few years, he just as neatly found a home in Clarkston Schools, which helped him develop a love for learning and a desire to excel academically.
“We were so proud of what he accomplished as a student in Clarkston, which led him to further academic success at the University of Michigan,” said Kostin, adding that his son was an honors student in political science at U-M.
Throughout his formative years, Shay with the help of his adoptive parents made a point of staying in touch with his biological mother, regularly corresponding with her while also periodically visiting her in prison.
“We all have developed a great relationship with her,” said Kostin. “Shay loves his mom and wants all the best for her.”
Shay, now 25, was scheduled to receive his much-coveted U-M degree at spring commencement ceremonies May 2 at Michigan Stadium. Former Vice President Al Gore was scheduled to deliver the commencement address. The pandemic, of course, put the brakes on that, forcing U-M to conduct a virtual graduation day for degree recipients.
This September, Shay will enroll at Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School in Lansing, hoping to “follow in the footsteps” of his parents as distinguished members of the legal community.
“He has the smarts to do well in law school,” said Kostin, noting that his son eventually may complete his law studies at Georgetown University or Howard University. “He received a nice scholarship from Cooley and the sky’s the limit for what he can achieve in the law. If ever there was a good story arising out of a tragedy, this could be it.”
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