Overview

Currently, Brian Goodenough chairs the firm's Employer Services Practice Group where he practices municipal law, zoning and land-use disputes and workers' compensation law. Previously, he served as a member of the firm's Executive Committee and as an officer of the firm.

His practice focuses on:

• Zoning and land-use disputes - counsels townships, cities, counties and other municipalities.
• Municipal law - represents municipalities against Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act claims, counsels on cemetery liability, municipal insurance defense, fire/public safety department formation, litigation and funding.
• Workers’ compensation - defends insurance companies and employers in workers' compensation litigation.

Brian has been recognized for his insurance defense work on behalf of his municipal clients. This includes being named Attorney of the Year in 2003 by Michigan’s largest insurer of municipalities. He has been named to Best Lawyers in America in Municipal, Real Estate and Workers’ Compensation law.

Brian was an adjunct professor for 20-plus years at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he has taught land-use and zoning law. In addition, he is an active member of several civic groups, including the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he has served as the group’s Chair and as its General Counsel. Brian has served on the Board of Directors for Ele's Place.

Brian started as an associate at Foster Swift in 1989. In 1996, he became a shareholder.

Honors & Recognitions

Affiliations

Memberships & Affiliations

Legal Affiliations:

• Ingham County Bar Association
• State Bar of Michigan
  • Workers' Compensation Section, Director

Industry & Professional Associations:

• Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys, Member

Community Involvement:

• Ele's Place, Board of Directors
• Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Former General Counsel
  • Former Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Volunteers of America, former member of Board of Directors
• DeWitt Township Volunteer Fire Department, former member

Communications

Publications

• Understanding the Ins and Outs of the “Favored-Work” Doctrine Under Michigan Workers’ Compensation Law, Foster Swift Employment Labor & Benefits News, January 25, 2018
• Fact or Fiction: Can an Employee be Fired while on FMLA?, Foster Swift Employment Labor & Benefits Newsletter, October 25, 2017

News & Events

Speaking Engagements

• Psychiatric Workers’ Compensation Claims - Mental Health Disability Standard, CompOne Administrators, September 19, 2024
• Can an employee be fired while away on FMLA?, Stop Before You Crash: Workers' Compensation and Employment Law, March 22, 2017
• “Favored-Work” Doctrine Under Michigan Workers’ Compensation Law, Stop Before You Crash: Workers' Compensation and Employment Law, March 22, 2017
• New Legal Trends in Zoning and Land Use Regulation, Michigan Townships Association Annual Educational Conference & Expo, January 20, 2016
• Adjunct Professor - Zoning and Land Use, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2000 - Present
• Governmental Immunity/Re-Insurance, 2010

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News

• Five Attorneys Named Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" 2025, Best Lawyers in America, August 15, 2024
• Foster Swift Attorneys Named 2025 Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in America, August 15, 2024
• Goodenough to Receive 2023 Theodore W. Swift Civility Award, Ingham County Bar Association, October 6, 2023
• Foster Swift Attorneys Named 2024 Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in America, August 17, 2023
• Foster Swift Attorneys Named 2023 Best Lawyers in America©, Best Lawyers in America, August 18, 2022
• Foster Swift Elects EC Members for 2022, February 21, 2022
• Foster Swift Attorneys Named to 2022 Best Lawyers in America©, August 19, 2021