20 | MAY 9 • 2024 
J
N

O

akland County 
Circuit Court Judge 
Lorie Savin’s lifelong 
quest has been advocating for 
the needs of children caught up 
in domestic disputes.
“My parents got divorced 
when I was very young,
” she 
said. “When we were in court, I 
was thinking that my dad had a 
lawyer who talked to the judge, 
and so did my mom. I wished 
I had a lawyer, too, to tell my 
side. 
“It was then when I decided I 
wanted to be a lawyer for kids,
” 
Savin said. “My goal was to 
give kids a voice in the process. 
Over time, this expanded 
to also include not just kids, 
but those who are under-
represented, like minorities, the 
disadvantaged and those who 
need legal aid.
” 

Judge Savin now serves 
with Oakland Circuit Court’s 
Family Division, which handles 
domestic abuse and neglect, 
and delinquency cases. “I love 
my job — it’s one of the best 
things I could ever do.
”

Savin, along with longtime 
U.S. District Judge Mark 
Goldsmith, will be honored 
by the Jewish Bar Association 
of Michigan. JBAM’s Annual 
Awards Dinner will take 
place at 6 p.m. May 23 at the 
Somerset Inn in Troy. 

Savin will receive JBAM’s 
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg 
Champion of Justice Award.
” 
Goldsmith will be honored 
with the “
Avern Cohn Lifetime 
Achievement Award.
”
Savin, 54, a graduate of 

the University of Michigan 
and Wayne State University 
Law School, is married to 
Adam Larky, her high school 
sweetheart whom she met 
through BBYO. The couple first 
settled in Kansas City, Missouri, 
where Adam had landed an 

engineering job. 
In Kansas City, Savin began 
her career as an advocate for 
domestic violence survivors 
and children. She first worked 
as a legal aid attorney, focusing 
on family law and children’s 
issues. She was later a staff 
attorney in the CASA (Court 
Appointed Special Advocates) 
program, serving as a Guardian 
ad Litem for children in abuse 
and neglect cases.
When the couple moved 
back to this area, Savin worked 
in the law firm of John G. 
Mooney before beginning 
a career as a referee for the 
Oakland County Friend of the 
Court. There, she continued 
her family law efforts, assisting 
the Circuit Court in cases 
involving custody, parenting 
time and child or spousal 
support. After 18 years as a 
referee, she was elected to the 
Circuit Court bench in 2020. 
“My biggest strength, and 
weakness, is that I’m extremely 

The Best 
of the 
Best

Two esteemed judges to be honored by 
the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan.

DAVID SACHS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

OUR COMMUNITY

