State Bar of Michigan mourns loss of two former presidents

The State Bar of Michigan is mourning the loss of two former presidents, Donald G. Rockwell and Fred L. Woodworth.

Rockwell served as SBM President from 2017-2018. He was born April 11, 1949, and was a graduate of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He joined the Bar November 9, 1976, and remained an active member throughout his life. He died July 17, 2025.

Rockwell served as university counsel for Kettering University in Flint and founded Nill Rockwell, PC, also in Flint, where he focused on business, municipal, personal injury, and intellectual property litigation, as well as alternative dispute resolution. He was also a judge for the 67th District Court in Genesee County.

Rockwell served on several committees for the State Bar and was a member of the Bar’s Representative Assembly. Outside the Bar, he held the title of president for several organizations, including the Genesee County Bar Association, the UM-Flint Alumni Society, the American Inns of Court Centennial Chapter, Rotary Club of Flint, and Flint Township Civil Service Commission.

Woodworth served as SBM President from 1991-1992. He was born Nov. 12, 1940, and was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. He joined the Bar June 13, 1966, and remained an active member throughout his life. He died May 31, 2025.

Woodworth was a trial attorney in Washington, D.C. for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as an official with the Federal Trade Commission from 1969-1972. He spent 32 years in private practice with Michigan-based national law firm Dykema Gossett PLLC. His practice focused on antitrust and trade regulation law, federal and state regulatory matters, and commercial litigation. From 1993-2003, he managed the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

In addition to serving and SBM president, Woodworth chaired the State Bar’s Antitrust Law Section. He also served with the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section and the ABA House of Delegates, and was president of the Detroit Bar Association.

Posted: July 21, 2025