Our mission
Nabih H. Ayad founded Ayad Law, PLLC in Detroit in 1999 to help communities and businesses dealing with injustice. For more than twenty-five years the firm has represented clients from the first phone call through trial and appeal.
After September 11
In the years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Arab American and Muslim families in Michigan faced a wave of profiling, surveillance, and discrimination at work, in public places, at the border, and even in courtrooms. Mr. Ayad took on those cases. The firm challenged discriminatory treatment by employers, businesses, banks, police, and federal agencies, and Mr. Ayad founded the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) to advocate for the community's rights.
That work produced decisions that reach far beyond any one client. In Mokdad v. Lynch (6th Cir. 2015), the firm established that federal district courts can hear challenges to No Fly List placements. In El-Hallani v. Huntington National Bank (6th Cir. 2015), it reinstated discrimination claims by Arab American customers whose accounts were closed. In 2017, the firm filed ACRL v. Trump in Detroit to challenge the travel ban. Read our notable cases.
A firm that serves everyone
Our civil rights work began with the Arab American and Muslim communities, but it has never been limited to them. Our founder chaired the NAACP Western Wayne County Legal Redress Committee for eighteen cities, co-chaired ALPACT with police and community leaders, and served as a Michigan Civil Rights Commissioner. We have represented Black lawmakers in voting rights litigation, children with disabilities, workers, business owners, and people accused of crimes.
What to expect
- You will speak with an attorney who will tell you plainly what we see in your case
- You can work with us in English or Arabic
- Your case is handled by a small team that knows the file
- We litigate from Michigan district courts to the Sixth Circuit
Our office
Ayad Law is located at 450 W. Fort Street, Suite 200, in downtown Detroit, near the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, and the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse. We serve clients throughout Wayne County and Southeast Michigan, including Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck.