Lori Buiteweg has a solid reputation throughout Michigan and beyond for her strong leadership, strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. She hones these skills through active participation in multiple, high-level legal organizations, mindfulness training, and advanced continuing legal education.
Lori’s clients respect her competent, practical legal advice and appreciate her positive attitude, empathy, reassuring demeanor, and sense of humor. She believes that being straightforward with her clients serves them best. When the situation looks and feels dire for the client, she recommends a scaffolding system of support professionals to assist them so they will emerge lighter, more confident, and self-reliant. Lori began her legal career in 1990 after graduating from the University of Michigan’s Honors College with a double-major in Economics and Spanish, and then a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. A driven individual, Lori worked as a law clerk during the day and went to law school at night.
After spending ten years doing a garden variety of litigation in both district and circuit courts, Lori decided to move to NSSS&B and focus on family law. She has been with NSSS&B since 2001 and, as her practice has matured, shifted away from litigation and towards serving as a mediator and also resolving cases through Michigan’s increasingly popular Collaborative Law model.
Lori’s high-level value comes from her issue-spotting prowess, from potential mental health issues that may be blocking progress and require a mental health professional’s assistance, to tax-related traps that may require the assistance of a CPA. No two cases are alike: as Leo Tolstoy said in the opening line of his 1877 novel, Anna Karenina, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” By getting to understand your family’s dynamics, Lori can help forge a path towards an amicable resolution leading to a happier future for everyone in the family.
Lori proudly served as the 81st President of the State Bar of Michigan (only the 6th woman to ever have that distinction), President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML Michigan Chapter), and President of the Washtenaw County Bar Association, continuing the firm’s proud tradition of leadership in the legal community. She is also a frequent speaker at bar association events across Michigan and has published numerous articles on often-esoteric legal topics. She is also the editor of the majority of the firm’s blogs on its website. She currently serves on the Public Policy Committee of the State Bar of Michigan, and the Legislative Committee of the AAML.
Lori has been named one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Michigan Super Lawyer in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025 and been named a Michigan Super Lawyer each year from 2010 to 2025. In 2017, Lori was named a “Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly for her exemplary work to improve the justice system and legal community in Michigan. She has also received other awards, including the Evelyn Forrest Distinguished Advocate Award for 2018 from the Oakland Women’s Lawyers Association. was named Citizen of the Year by the Michigan Council for the Social Studies in recognition of her work on Constitution Day, which brought attorneys and law students to every middle school class in the Ann Arbor School district once each year.
When not practicing law, Lori enjoys yoga, gardening, traveling, Michigan football, and cooking.
