Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger started the Trial Practice Institute with a $4 million gift, one of the largest donations in the law college’s history. Fieger, a ‘79 MSU Law grad, has won more multimillion-dollar verdicts for his clients than any other U.S. attorney. Now he’s giving back by funding a comprehensive set of programs aimed at bridging the law school experience with the practice of trial law in real-world settings.

"Michigan State University is a great institution,” said Fieger. “The law college gave me the education I needed as a foundation to represent my clients successfully in the courtroom. I feel it is the calling of trial lawyers to champion noble causes, as well as the forgotten and the damned. The foundation of our American legal system depends on the right of individuals to have their day in court, to have their cases judged by juries of their peers.”

Fieger, a Detroit native, practices law throughout the United States from the firm of Fieger Law in Southfield, Mich. The firm was founded by Fieger's father, the late Bernard J. Fieger. Fieger's practice areas include litigation, medical and professional malpractice, negligence law, personal injury, products liability and class actions. He is one of a few civil trial lawyers who are also experienced criminal defense attorneys.

He has been described as a "champion of the people," and he credits his parents' social activism for instilling in him a commitment to equality and fairness.

Fieger is passionate about the impact that trial law can have on the lives of American citizens. “This institute will ensure that the art of advocacy - champions battling in a courtroom - is not lost,” he said. “Our Institute shall be dedicated to training effective and winning advocates for justice."