Margery Siegel Klausner

ipping warm milk at a Royal Oak
coffeehouse, Margery Siegel Klausner,
26, seems every bit the thoughtful,
ambitious and compassionate attor-
ney that she is. Although business law obvi-
ously suits her patient, yet determined, per-
sonality, it's easy to see why she once leaned
toward litigation and the excitement of the
courtroom. Her eyes flash when she speaks of
the causes that command her attention.
In grade school, Margery knew she one day
would practice law. Coming from a family of
counselors (father and grandfather were
lawyers), she is one of a handful of women at
Clark Hill P.L.C., the seventh largest firm in
Detroit.
Margery spent a law school (U-M) summer
clerking in the Wayne County prosecutor's
child and family abuse unit. She enforced
restraining orders and litigated, solo, before a
judge.
"The adrenaline really kicked in, in the
courtroom," says Margery.
She also volunteered at the Council Against
Domestic Violence in Lansing and handled a
variety of cases, pro bono, for the U-M Family
Law Project.
Although she seemed destined to litigate,
Margery clerked for Clark, Klein &
Beaumont in Detroit (the

S

predecessor to Clark Hill), became close to the
partners in the business practice group, and
she was hooked on business law.
"I help people to realize their dreams,"
smiles Margery, explaining the intricacies of
her specialty "I help people start businesses; I
set up corporations, including non-profits; I
buy and sell businesses and consult and advise.
"I love the people contact. I just helped five
housewives open a cooking store in Grosse
Pointe, and I'm setting up an ethnic-based
college scholarship fund."
When Margery isn't teaching a seminar or
sitting on a shul committee, she and husband
Howard, an emergency medicine resident at
Henry Ford Hospital, take off on "wild and
crazy adventures."
"We love the outdoors — whitewater
canoeing in Canada, ocean kayaking, rafting
in the Arctic Circle." They're headed to
Fairbanks, Alaska this summer for a month of
hair-raising escapades.
Alas, Margery may be the ultimate study in
contrasts — a dedicated Orthodox woman,
attorney, and on the board of Young Israel- -
Oak Park, she pensively reads Belva Plain
novels on Shabbat. But just beneath the sur-
face lies a daredevil outdoorswoman who's as
comfortable in a canoe as in a courtroom. ❑

— Linda Bachrack

selective about who we hire — we find inner city
t takes 45 minutes to complete a 15-
kids with potential, teach them a skill they can
minute interview with Eric Grosinger.
take anywhere."
The owner of Kap's Wholesale Food
He was in the right place at the right time to
Service Inc. in Detroit fields one phone
score Kap's. His customers range from food stamp
call after another, buying meat, negotiating
recipients to Grosse Pointe doctors. "People who
prices and talking politics.
look for quality product call Kap's," he says. Any
His office is sparsely furnished and smells
opportunity to advertise.
like a college dorm room. Plastic masks of the
He's a throwback three generations to the
Three Stooges hang on white walls. You get
Jewish immigrants who filled the Midwest meat
the sense that it doesn't matter what the room
irrdustry, only "more sophisticated, we know all
looks like; he's just there to do business.
the angles."
The 29-year-old entrepreneur owns a
But it's not all business. If city groups come
50,000-square-foot facility in Eastern Market.
knocking, Eric'll give out a case of hot dogs for a
"Heh-llo," Eric says into the phone. He
"weenie roast for the kids." "We're not a soup
lets out a deep, belly laugh and speaks with a
kitchen, but if a homeless person comes to the
tough city accent. It's all business, forget
door, I'll give him a belly filler ..."
about details, just get it done.
Eric laughs when told he's one of Detroit's next
A salesman waits and downstairs, employ-
leaders.
ees cut meat, clean freezers and unload ship-
"I find it kind of funny — my- sister's the one.
ments.
I'm just a hard-working guy. I go to work in the
The calls keep coming, and this story is
morning, and I come home at night.
the last thing on his mind. He's in two
"My greatest fear is failure. At the same time I
sweatshirts, jeans and thick boots. The only
know I'm young enough to rebound. Success is
personal items in his office are a Stanley
my family and my home. As much as [the busi-
Cup Champions Red Wings hat and five
ness] means to me, it's nothing, just bricks and
photos of his kids.
mortar."
"We support the inner city by maintain-
— Lynne Meredith Cohn
ing a reputable, clean business," he says. "We
employ people from the metro Detroit area. We're

I

❑

Eric Grosinger

2/6
1998

78