Attorney Jeffrey Ghannam has decades of experience helping people and communities achieve justice under the law. He represents plaintiff clients and helps them navigate some of life’s most difficult experiences with compassion, clarity, and determined advocacy for success.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and District of Columbia Bar. He proudly serves clients from offices at the Engerer Law Building at 342 E. Main Street in downtown Northville.
Practice Areas:
First Amendment and Media Law
Negligence
Michigan Auto No-Fault
Wrongful Death
Probate Administration
Employment Discrimination
International Business Initiatives
Business Formation
Corporate and Non-Profit Governance
Contract Litigation
Full service representation, along with associates in some matters.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Ghannam’s byline appeared in numerous top-tier newspapers, notably the Detroit Free Press, where he spent a decade breaking news and covering the courts in metro Detroit. He also served as a legal affairs writer in Chicago at the American Bar Association Journal. Years spent honing investigative skills helped prepare him to thoroughly represent his clients’ best interests and advocate for successful results.
His experience and commitment exemplify both local and international impact. He has served numerous U.S. Federal Agency and international donor development projects as an attorney executive and senior technical advisor in business development, humanitarian relief, independent media and enabling ecosystems, infrastructure, concessional finance, and government accountability.
Jeffrey also serves cross-border and private-equity business initiatives aimed at creating jobs and fostering economic resilience in conflict-affected communities. This global perspective reflects his guiding principles, that equality and justice under the law are fundamental to ensuring protections for human rights and civil rights, security, sustainability, and equal opportunity.
Education
Michigan State University, BA
Georgetown University, MA
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, JD
Memberships
State Bar of Michigan, since 2000.
Washington, District of Columbia Bar, since 2011.
Michigan Association for Justice, since 2024.
Anera, member of the international advisory council and former executive board member and chair of governance. Anera is a leading humanitarian relief provider to communities in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.
Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary Livonia, finance committee and former vice president of the parish council.
Northville Historical Society, board member, since 2025.
Media
Featured in a Court TV Trial Story, “The Michael Anderson Story: Death by Incarceration” one of the network’s longest running documentaries at the time based on Jeffrey’s original reporting for the Detroit Free Press.
Featured guest on public radio, local TV, and transnational satellite program “Frost Over the World” hosted by the late and legendary Sir David Frost, on the role of digital media in the Arab Spring uprisings.
Fellowship, University Teaching and Scholarship
ICFJ Knight International Press Fellowship to five Middle East and North Africa region countries in the development of independent media partnerships and programs, with a focus on freedom of the press and expression laws and regulations.
Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Michigan: original courses on the nexus of law, media and human rights, and journalism and law at war time.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service: original courses on media, law and policy.
Scholarship published by the National Endowment for Democracy’s Center for International Media Assistance, Washington, D.C., among a multitude of contributions to media and international donor-funded initiatives.
Numerous presentations, lectures and contributions on panels at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University SAIS, George Washington University, Columbia University as well as international forums.
Jeffrey Ghannam is not a partner, employee or agent of any other attorney or entity practicing at the offices of Helmkamp, Ellis, Abraham, Engerer & Ghannam. Each attorney at this location maintains a separate and independent law practice.
