Founding Partner

Daniel has been telling carefully crafted stories for more than two decades, first in newspapers as a writer and now for the last 12 years in courtrooms as a litigator. His practice is almost entirely focused on the defense of healthcare institutions and their providers against allegations of negligence. Daniel’s experience also includes work in federal court in Michigan, California, and other states on First and Fourteenth Amendment matters.

Regardless of the legal matter, Daniel’s focus is to help clients move toward a successful resolution of their matter with as little disruption to their career and lives as possible. He is always available to explain the relevant legal concepts, answer questions, and move toward a successful outcome. This focus puts clients at ease and gives them a sense of what to expect from what can be a byzantine process. 

Daniel’s trial experience includes both state and federal courts on medical malpractice and constitutional law matters. He has litigated matters in federal courts in Michigan, California, Kansas and Florida. Most recently he helped secure a defense verdict in a birth trauma matter in Oakland County Circuit Court in 2023. 

Daniel is member of the State Bar of Michigan and the State Bar of Illinois. His work has led his being named a Michigan Super Lawyer in 2023 and a Rising Star by his peers several times in the previous years. He is on the board of the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel.

Before starting Cortez & Associates, Daniel worked for a Metro Detroit law firm defending several of the largest healthcare providers in southeast Michigan against medical malpractice, premises liability and negligence claims. Prior to that, he gained extensive trial experience working for a Bloomfield Hills, MI, law firm litigating complex constitutional cases involving land use and real estate issues, and was a national leader in claims brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”). He also worked around the country on claims brought under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and civil rights actions under the Fourteenth Amendment. Mr. Cortez also has significant experience with contract disputes, commercial litigation, and criminal matters.

While in law school, Daniel served as a Junior Member of the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review. In addition, he was a co-editor of the school’s newspaper, In Brief, and a two-year member of the Jessup Moot Court team. He worked as an intern for the Hon. Marianne O. Battani of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Prior to his legal career, Daniel was an award-winning reporter for the Detroit Free Press and the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel. His editors nominated his reporting from Afghanistan in 2004 for a Pulitzer Prize.

After his time as a reporter, Daniel earned his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He was a member of both the Law Review and Moot Court during law school. Daniel completed his undergraduate degree at Indiana University.

Daniel resides in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, along with his wife, Jessica, and two children.

Email: dcortez@cortezattorneys.com