Gail M. Towne

Gail M. Towne

Member
gtowne@lennonmiller.com
(269) 381-8844
AVVO

Practice Areas

Estate Planning, Facilitation and Mediation, Family Law

Gail Towne is a managing partner with Lennon Miller PLC. Ms. Towne focuses her practice in the area of domestic relations law, specifically divorce, paternity, child custody, support, and other family law matters, as well as probate and estate planning.

Ms. Towne’s practice of law aspires to guide individuals and families in facilitating private settlements related to family law issues, as well as offering competent representation in the family and probate courts. When not representing individuals, Ms. Towne is selected as a private mediator in both family law, probate and other civil matters to facilitate private out-of-court resolutions.

A dedicated and creative problem-solver, Ms. Towne is trained in a variety of alternative dispute resolution processes. She has sat as a board member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Michigan where she contributed to initiating the passage of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act. Having served three 3-year terms as an elected Council Member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Ms. Towne is the Co-Chair of the Amicus Committee and the SCAO Court Forms Committee, as well as a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

Dedicated to a high standard of the practice of law, Ms. Towne has also been appointed by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission as a hearing panelist. She has also been appointed to a variety of committees and task forces for the Supreme Court Administrator’s Office.

Likewise, Ms. Towne is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar; the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section and the Kalamazoo County Bar Association among other associations and organizations. She writes and speaks frequently on family law matters, including works for publications such as Lawyer’s Weekly, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Lexis Nexis, and the Family Law Section Journal. She was selected to be in the Michigan Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star in Family Law for 2011, 2014 and 2015, was selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as an honoree in the “Women in the Law” Class of 2021 and “Influential Women in the Law” Class of 2022: “The honorees have made outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Michigan and set an example for other lawyers. These women are pioneers and trailblazers, educators and role models. They have shown tremendous leadership and offer a wealth of expertise in diverse areas of the law.”

Publications
  • Divorce Litigation—How and When to Use What You’ve Found, Michigan Family Law Journal (2000).
  • Problems of Hidden Assets in Divorce Litigation, Michigan Family Law Journal, (2000).
  • Protecting Our Client’s Credit From Divorce and Identify Theft, Michigan Family Law Journal, (May/June 2005).
  • From the Courthouse Steps to the Schoolhouse Doors, Laches (Oakland County Bar Association Journal), (September 2006).
  • Arranging International Travel for Minors, Inter Alia, Michigan Young Lawyer’ s Journal, (Spring 2006).
  • Immigration Issues in Family Law, ICLE’ s Michigan Family Law, Sixth Edition, (2008-2017).
  • Substance Abuse in Family Law: When and How to get a Drug Test, Michigan Family Law Journal, (December 2008).
  • Real Estate in Divorce: Adjusting with the Economic Climate, Michigan Lawyer’ s weekly, Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly (May 18, 2009).
  • Taking a Fresh Look at Legal Custody in an Ever Evolving World, Michigan Family Law Section Mid-Summer Seminar Handbook, (July 2009).
  • Legal Custody: What Does it Really Mean?, Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly (May 17, 2010).
  • The Lies My Client’s Told Me . . . or Didn’t Tell me: What is the Truth, and Does It Really Matter in Court?, Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly (May 27, 2011).
  • When Families are Involved in Family Law as Unrepresented 3rd Parties: Who is the Client? Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly, (May, 2012).
  • Antagonizers in Family Law: Not Your Usual Article About Bullies, Michigan Family Law Journal, (May 2013).
  • If I’d Known Then What I Know Now: What Family Law Attorneys Would Tell Their Younger Selves, Michigan Family Law Journal, (June 2014).
  • The Uniform Collaborative Law Act: Michigan Not Left Behind, Michigan Bar Journal, Volume 6, No. 94 (June 2015).
  • Immigration, LexisNexis Practice Guide: Michigan Family Law, (2016-2017).
  • Navigating Substance Abuse Issues in Family Law Cases, ICLE 15th Annual Family Law Institute, (2016)
  • Recent Published and Unpublished Cases¸ Michigan Family Law Journal, (2012-2017).
  • What Does the Amicus Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan Do? Michigan Family Law Journal (April 2023)

A dedicated and creative problem-solver, Gail is trained in a variety of alternative dispute resolution processes. She has sat as a board member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Michigan where she contributed to initiating the passage of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act.

She is also:

  • A member of the International Academy of Collaborative Practitioners;
  • A founding member of the Collaborative Practitioners of Greater Kalamazoo/Your Kalamazoo Divorce;
  • An elected council member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, where she is the Co-Chair of the Amicus Committee,
  • The SCAO Domestic Relations Court Forms Committee,
  • A member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

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Professional Activities and Honors
  • Appointed Hearing Panelist for the Attorney Grievance Commission (2022-2025)
  • Selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as an honoree in the “Women in the Law” Class of 2021 and as an honoree in the “Influential Women in the Law” Class of 2022: “The honorees have made outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Michigan and set an example for other lawyers. These women are pioneers and trailblazers, educators and role models. They have shown tremendous leadership and offer a wealth of expertise in diverse areas of the law.”
  • Member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Probate and Estate Planning Sections of the Michigan State Bar
  • Council Member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan (2010-2016) and (2020-2023)
  • Co-Chair of the Amicus Curiae Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar (2012-present)
  • Co-Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar (2012-present)
  • Kalamazoo County Bar Association, Member
  • Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Contributor
  • International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Member (2007-present)
  • Collaborative Practice Institute of Michigan, Member and Former Board Member (2013-2016)
  • Collaborative Practitioners of Greater Kalamazoo, Founding member (2007-present)
  • Supreme Court Administrator’s Office, Domestic Relations Law Forms Committee (2015-present)
  • Supreme Court Administrator’s Office, Parenting Time Coordinator Work Group (2016-2017).
  • Selected as a Rising Star for SuperLawyers (2011, 2014-2015)