Q: When did you know you would pursue a career as an Attorney?
JQ: When I was in elementary school, my best friend’s father was a lawyer. I decided in 6th grade that was what I wanted to do and never looked back.  

Q: Can you share with our audience, the types of law you specialize in?
JQ: I represent both plaintiffs and defendants in high stakes complex commercial litigation. Our firm specializes in trials. The vast majority of my cases go to trial.  

Q: What aspects of the daily job of being a lawyer interest you the most?
JQ: I love being a litigator at an outside firm. While the rules that govern my day to day practice are constant, my clients are the problems they are facing are incredibly varied. That variety keeps my job interesting every single day.  

Q: Can you share with our audience the type of pro-bono work you do?
JQ: Since 2013, I have served on the Board of the Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority which is a regional park system of the five counties in the metropolitan Detroit area, consisting of 13 parks covering 25,000 acres, ten public golf courses, two marinas, numerous nature centers and miles and miles of biking and hiking trails. I am a runner, hiker, biker, and swimmer and for years have loved and used the Metroparks. And while the past 18 months have been an incredible challenge for us all, the one thing we in the Detroit area have learned (or had confirmed) is the incredible importance of parks and outdoor spaces. I am so proud to serve this organization and the hundreds of thousands of yearly users of the Metroparks.  

Q: If we interviewed all your past clients … what is “one” common word that comes up when they describe working with your law firm?  
JQ: Two words: hard work.

Q: Can you tell our audience one of your most memorable moments your career?
JQ: In 2014, I represented Oakland County in the Detroit bankruptcy case – the single largest municipal bankruptcy in the United States. It was a bench trial in bankruptcy court in Detroit and the lawyers included a veritable who’s who of the top firms and lawyers in the country. Opening statements took two days. When I sat down after my opening statement, which had the rapt attention of the judge, my fellow lawyers, who perhaps underestimated the woman who was “just representing a county and not bond holders” were effusive in their praise. The next day, my client and several other counties in the region, began working with the City on a settlement that included the formation of a regional water and sewer authority. That entity, now called the Great Lakes Water Authority or GLWA was formed in 2015 and provides nearly 40% of Michigan’s population with clean water and sewer services. I now sit on their Board.  

Q: What’s one lesson you’ve learned in your career that you can share with our audience?
JQ: Honestly, nothing replaces hard work. You can be smart and efficient and creative and use all the tools and technology at your fingertips – but you have to work. So, love what you do.  

Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to succeed in the workplace?
JQ: When I was a young lawyer, women were told “you can have it all”. That was sort of the motto back then. You can be a great lawyer, a great mother, and have all your friends and activities at the same time. As a “more seasoned” lawyer, I would say this: you can have it all – but you don’t need to have it all at once. You have time. Play the long game. There will be many times when you do not feel like you are giving some part of your life enough time. Be patient. You will need to be flexible and perhaps adjust along the way, but you will make it work if you want to.  

Q: What would be the title of your autobiography?
JQ: Perseverance

Nine Things About Jaye Quadrozzi

1. What’s your favorite thing to do in your free time?  
I love to distance run.

2. What was the last book you really got into? 
I just finished “Who They Was” by Gabriel Krauze. It is an amazing autobiographical novel about a young English man and his two disparate worlds: a university student and a member of a London gang.  

3. What’s the most amazing adventures have you’ve ever been on? 
In May of this year, as we started to climb out of the pandemic, I climbed Mt. Rainier with my youngest son. It was at once both the hardest and the most amazing thing I have ever done.

4. Among your friends, what are you best known for? 
I can swear.

5. What’s your favorite international food?  
Sushi

6. What’s your favorite app on your phone?  
Google maps – hands down. I have a terrible sense of direction.

7. What’s your favorite quote or saying? 
Saw this on a sign at the 2010 Chicago marathon. It speaks to me to this day. “There will be a day you cannot do this. Today is not that day.”  

8. Are you a morning person or a night owl? 
Morning person. Sometimes on trial I am getting up as some of my team members are just getting to bed. 

9. What’s your signature drink? 
Diet Coke – not even going to apologize for it.