David F. DuMouchel

Clients benefit from Mr. DuMouchel’s strategic, dedicated counsel and guidance while navigating the complexities inherent in white collar criminal matters and the various government agencies and court systems involved. During his more than 50 years in practice, Mr. DuMouchel has prevailed in defending countless corporations and individuals in high stakes matters. Notably, he represented the chief financial officer of a public company in a significant SEC enforcement action alleging 10b-5 and 17(a) violations in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan, represented multiple Japanese auto supplier companies in criminal antitrust investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (Washington, DC), and obtained the complete acquittal of a defendant charged in an 83-count federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) indictment following a three-month jury trial. He also represented the president of a pharmaceutical company that distributed pharmaceuticals to nursing homes in a matter the then-Michigan Attorney General referred to as “the largest criminal Medicaid fraud case ever initiated in Michigan.” He has represented former high-ranking government officials in public corruption investigations and multiple corporations in federal antitrust investigations involving highway contracts.

Mr. DuMouchel handled a significant Clery Act compliance matter at major Michigan university. The issue arose from the university’s response to the death of a student. Mr. DuMouchel was a member of the Butzel team that conducted a ten-week internal investigation into the death that occurred on campus. The investigation included interviewing over 80 witnesses and reviewing thousands of pages of documents. The team published a 500-plus page report of its findings, which was cited nationally by Good Morning America, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune.

Mr. DuMouchel was a law clerk to Chief Justice Thomas Giles Kavanagh of the Michigan Supreme Court. He was an adjunct professor of law at Wayne State University and frequently lectures on criminal practice matters at the Federal Bar Association, the US District Court’s New Lawyer Seminar, and other organizations. He has served as a panelist at the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants Fraud Awareness Symposiums, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and the State Bar of Michigan.

Additionally, Mr. DuMouchel has served on the faculty of the US District Court Advocacy Institute; The Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) Attorney Grievance and Discipline Practice and Health Care Law Institute; the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Health Care Fraud and White Collar Crime Institute; State Bar of Michigan programs; and Michigan Association of CPAs programs. He is also a frequent speaker on internal corporate investigations and federal criminal procedure matters.

For nearly 10 years, Mr. DuMouchel served as Chairperson of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. He was appointed to serve on the American Bar Association's White Collar Crime Committee for two consecutive terms as Chair of the Sentencing Committee. He has served as a member of the Rules Advisory Committee, US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, was a member of the US District Court Committee on Magistrate Program Evaluation, and chaired the Federal Bar Association Criminal Defense Committee. He served as a member of the Advisory Committee which drafted the Restatement of Law Governing Lawyers of the American Law Institute (ALI), and on the Member's Consultative Group of the ALI Model Penal Code Sentencing Project.

Mr. DuMouchel has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan Criminal Code Revision Committee, US Courts Committee, and Grievance Committee. In addition, he is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he previously served as a director. Mr. DuMouchel is a Master of Bench emeritus, American Inn of Court Ch. XI. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Michigan State Bar Foundation. Mr. DuMouchel is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, whose membership is limited to the top 1% of trial lawyers in a state, where he served as a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, and also is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers.

Mr. DuMouchel has also been appointed to several boards and committees. He was appointed for two consecutive terms as the Sixth Circuit Representative to the Practitioners' Advisory Group to the US Sentencing Commission. He served as a member of the Standing Committee of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Planning Committee. He served as a member of the US District Court Magistrate Selection Committee and was a member of the Judicial Advisory Committee to evaluate applicants for US Attorney and federal judicial appointments in the Eastern District of Michigan. Mr. DuMouchel was elected to the first Board of Directors of the Federal Community Defender of the Eastern District of Michigan, which provides oversight in the provision of indigent defense services in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

David F. DuMouchel is a Shareholder practicing in Butzel's Troy office and served as Chair of the firm's Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations, and Criminal Defense practice. He has been recognized time and again throughout his impressive career by numerous respected legal publications for his experience in White Collar Law and Antitrust Law. He is the recipient of the Federal Bar Association-Eastern District of Michigan’s Leonard Gilman Award which is presented to the outstanding criminal law practitioner in the Eastern District of Michigan.

All Related Practice Areas

Education

Wayne State University Law School, J.D.

University of Detroit Mercy, M.A.

Admissions

Memberships

• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference Planning Committee, Standing Committee
• United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan, Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel
• United States Sentencing Commission, Practitioner Advisory Group Voting Member, Sixth Circuit Representative
• Federal Community Defender Eastern District of Michigan, Board of Directors
• American Law Institute, Advisory Committee - Restatement of Law Governing Lawyers
• American Law Institute, Member's Consultative Group - Model Penal Code Sentencing Project
• State Bar of Michigan, Criminal Code Revision Committee, US Courts Committee, and Grievance Committee
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, former Director

Awards & Recognitions

Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan - Leonard Gilman Award for the Outstanding Criminal Law Practitioner

Chambers USA – Litigation: White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations, 2007-2011, 2021-2025; Tier One, Litigation: White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations, 2012-2014, 2016-2019; 2021-2025

The Best Lawyers in America® - Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, 1983-2026; Commercial Litigation, Health Care Law, Litigation - Antitrust, 2026

Best Lawyers - Detroit Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year, 2010

Michigan Super Lawyers - Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2006-2021, 2023-2025

Michigan Super Lawyers - Criminal Defense: White Collar Top 100, 2012-2015, 2020, 2022-2025

Michigan Super Lawyers - Top 10 Michigan Super Lawyers, 2015

DBusiness - Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Top 10, 2016

DBusiness - Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit - Legal Malpractice Law; White-Collar Defense; Professional Malpractice Law, 2011-2013, 2020; White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2014-2023, 2025; Antitrust Law, 2023

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Amicus Curiae Committee - Certificate of Appreciation

Community & Professional

American Inn of Court Ch. XI - Master of Bench emeritus

American Bar Foundation - Fellow

Michigan State Bar Foundation- Fellow

American College of Trial Lawyers – Fellow; Criminal Procedure Committee

International Society of Barristers – Fellow