Overview

Richard Rattner has more than thirty years of experience in real estate law, with specialties in real estate acquisition, sale and loan transactions, land use development, zoning, and corporate law. 

Mr. Rattner is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association and the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. He served on the Governing Council of the Real Property Law Section (RPLS) of the State Bar of Michigan and remains an active participant in many of its committees including Zoning and Land Use Planning and is the co-founding director of the newly formed RPLS Real Estate Academy for young lawyers. He is a former co-chair of the RPLS Continuing Legal Education and Membership Committees, and he has also served as a volunteer arbitrator for the Attorney Grievance Commission.

Mr. Rattner is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School, where he teaches “Developing the Commercial Real Estate Project.” He is a frequent lecturer on a variety of real estate related topics at seminars for lawyers, real estate brokers, and other business organizations. He has presented at events sponsored by Michigan’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Michigan Association of Planning.   

Mr. Rattner is a past chairman of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and a past member of the University of Michigan’s Advisory Board for Intercollegiate Athletics. He is repeatedly recognized for legal excellence by his peers and respected professional organizations. In addition to his perennial listings in Leading Lawyers^SM and Best Lawyers in America® for his real estate practice, Best Lawyers has honored him as a Detroit-area “Lawyer of the Year” multiple times for Land Use and Zoning Law (2012, 2016, and 2018) and Real Estate Litigation (2017). Mr. Rattner has been named to the list of Michigan Super Lawyers® annually since 2006 (including Top 100 Lawyers recognition), and DBusiness Magazine has included him among the “Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit.”

In 2017, Mr. Rattner was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, an elite, invitation-only group that represents the finest attorneys in the profession, and in 2019, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named him to its list of "Leaders in the Law."

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

State Bar of Michigan, Real Property Law Section

• Co-Founding Director, Real Property Law Academy
• Member, Membership Committee
• Member, Zoning and Land Use Planning Committee
• Past Council Member
• Past Co-Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee

Oakland County Bar Association

American Bar Association

• Fellow, American Bar Foundation

American College of Real Estate Lawyers

• Fellow

Community/Civic Activities

University of Michigan Alumni Association

• Member of the Alumni Advisory Committee
• Past President
• Past member of the University of Michigan’s Advisory Board for Intercollegiate Athletics

Wayne State University Law School

• Adjunct Professor

Honors & Awards

Best Lawyers in America^©

• Land Use and Zoning Law
• Litigation - Land Use and Zoning
• Litigation - Real Estate
• Real Estate Law

Best Lawyers^® “Lawyer of the Year”

• Land Use and Zoning Law, Troy (2021)
• Land Use and Zoning Law, Troy (2018)
• Litigation - Real Estate, Troy (2017)
• Land Use and Zoning Law, Troy (2016)
• Litigation - Land Use and Zoning, Detroit (2014)
• Land Use and Zoning Law, Detroit (2012)

Leading Lawyers^SM

Michigan Super Lawyers®

• 2006 to present

Michigan Lawyers Weekly, "Leaders in the Law," 2019

DBusiness Magazine "Top Lawyers" in Metro Detroit

Admissions

• Michigan
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
• United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals 

News & Insights

Practices ›

Education ›

Education

B.A., University of Michigan

J.D., Colorado University