Since 2022, I have worked as a Juvenile Referee at the 6th Circuit Court. I handle delinquency and
neglect matters. In 2017, I received the Oakland County Circuit, Family Division's Sandra Silver
Advocate award. Also, I was appointed as a District Court Magistrate. Prior to practicing law, for 15
years, I taught high school in Detroit Public Schools. I served as a union steward. While teaching, I
earned a Master's Degree in Education from Wayne State Univeristy and a J.D. from Wayne State
University School of law. Also, I earned a LL.M. in criminal law from California Western School of Law.
As a Juvenile Referee, I do not represent clients. I preside over delinquency and neglect matters.
I effectively communicate with various people of various education levels; I interact with people in
a professional and respectful mannter. I conduct hearings and preside over trials. I make decisions
and write opinions. I engage with Judges.
This will be a family judge seat. I recognize that I may have an opportunity to transfer to general civil, I
am committed to remaining on the family bench.
Children and families deserve a jurist who is committed to the family bench. I am committed to
protecting and aiding children and families.
My current position as a Juvenile Referee and 15 years as a high school teacher demonstrate my passion and commitment to children and families.
I earned a BA from Hillsdale College, an MS from Central Michigan University, and a JD from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. I have fourteen years of experience advising judges and two years in private practice. I have fifteen years as a software engineer focused on testing computer applications and managing quality assurance processes.
For the most part, my community involvement has been focused on either the bar association or my children. My involvement includes serving on the State Bar of Michigan’s Character and Fitness Committee and Representative Assembly; the Oakland County Bar Association’s Board; and the Oakland County Bar Foundation’s Board. I participated on the Facility Study Team Attendance Area Review Committee and served as the treasurer for the Smith Middle School Parent Teacher Organization.
For most of my career, I have been employed at the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court as a judicial staff attorney. I currently advise on a wide range of topics including civil, criminal, family, and appellate matters and draft proposed opinions or memoranda. I work closely with the visiting judges (a rotating seven to eight retired judges) to draft bench trial opinions containing detailed findings of facts and conclusions and law. In addition, I participate on specialized court teams developing procedures, templates, and resources that address recent legislative changes.
Before becoming an attorney, I built a successful career in information technology where I worked for over a decade as a consultant, manager, and quality assurance engineer.
With this seat I can do that work from the bench, on day one, with no learning curve.
• Careful preparation. Family court litigants come to court at the hardest moment of their lives, often without counsel, and they deserve a judge who has read every brief and relevant authority before they walk in. That standard is the work I do now for the judges I advise. It would be the standard I bring to the bench.
• Clear and well-reasoned orders. An order they cannot understand is an order they cannot follow.
• Respect for everyone who appears before the Court. Decisions on the record. Reasoned rulings. A bench that knows the file before the hearing starts.
Lisa Neilson is a retired judge, attorney, mediator, arbitrator, and LLMSW. She earned a B.S. from Madonna University, a J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and an M.S.W. from the University of Michigan. She began her legal career as a judicial law clerk and later staff attorney to the Honorable Linda S. Hallmark in Oakland County Probate Court.
She then practiced family and probate litigation, including retained representation, court-appointed matters, and Guardian ad Litem work. Appointed to the Wayne County Probate Court in 2012, she served nearly ten years by assignment to the Third Judicial Circuit Court, Family Division. In 2022, she founded Neilson Consulting, PLLC, serves on the State Bar ADR Section Council, and remains active in bar, ADR, judicial, family-law, and community organizations.
My entire legal career has focused on family law, probate litigation, juvenile matters, custody, parenting time, child support, guardianships, conservatorships, and complex family conflict. I practiced primarily in Oakland County, including retained representation, court-appointed cases, and Guardian Ad Litem work, before serving nearly ten years as a Wayne County Family Court judge presiding over family, juvenile, child protective, post-judgment, emergency, and personal protection matters.
Now through Neilson Consulting, PLLC, I work at the intersection of law and the social issues that drive family conflict, including trauma, mental health, substance abuse, parenting dynamics and child-focused decision-making. As a life-long learner, I integrate my legal expertise, social science background, MSW training, and mediation experience into evidence-informed consulting services.
Voters should elect me because I bring proven judicial experience, sound temperament, diligence, and a complete understanding of family court from every perspective. I began my career in Oakland County as a court clerk and staff attorney to the Honorable Linda S. Hallmark, later practiced family and probate law, and then served nearly ten years as a Family Division judge. I managed difficult, high-volume dockets involving custody, parenting time, child welfare, juvenile matters, emergencies, and personal protection orders. My diligence is reflected in careful preparation, timely and legally sound decisions, attention to the law and record, and respectful treatment of every litigant. Since leaving the bench, I earned a Master of Social Work. I am ready to serve Oakland County from day one.
