Starrs has broad experience in law firm management. Before joining Bodman, he served for 16 years as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for a large Detroit-based law firm with offices in multiple states. He also served for more than ten years as a senior audit manager at Price Waterhouse in its Detroit and London offices.

“We conducted a national search and are delighted to have found a highly experienced and capable professional like Mike Starrs here in Detroit,” said Bodman LLP Chairman Larry R. Shulman. “His diverse talents will be of great benefit to Bodman moving forward.”

Starrs attended Western Michigan University and earned a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He is a Certified Public Accountant and an active member of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Association of Legal Administrators and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Starrs will replace Bodman’s Executive Director, Laura A. Collins, who is retiring in January 2009 following a career of more than 44 years with the firm.

Bodman LLP has honored its late chairman Richard D. Rohr by establishing an endowed scholarship at the University of Michigan Law School in his honor. The Richard D. Rohr Scholarship fund was initially endowed with $100,000 from Bodman LLP, which was matched with $50,000 by the university.

The Richard D. Rohr Scholarship will be awarded for the first time in the fall of 2009. The recipient is expected to be a second or third-year law student who plans to practice law in Southeast Michigan.

“Under Richard Rohr’s leadership, Bodman grew into one of the largest and most successful law firms in Southeast Michigan,” said Larry R. Shulman, Bodman LLP Chairman. “ He had close ties with the University of Michigan Law School as an alumnus, donor and adjunct faculty member. It is fitting that we help foster the future leaders of Detroit’s legal community at his alma mater.”

Rohr, a prominent member of Detroit legal community and chairman of Bodman LLP for 25 years, died on Wednesday, August 27 at 81 years of age. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School at the top of his class in 1953 and served as editor-in-chief of The University of Michigan Law Review.

“We are deeply honored and appreciative that Bodman has established a scholarship at Michigan Law honoring the memory of Richard Rohr,” said University of Michigan Law School Dean Evan Caminker. “Dick’s association with the Law School began when he was a 1L and endured throughout his lifetime, including his service on our adjunct faculty. Moreover, he was a generous donor to scholarships. In a time when student assistance is more important than ever, there simply could be no more appropriate memorial.”