Eli N. Savit

Savit has dedicated this career to public service. Formerly a civil rights and public interest attorney, he started his career as a public school teacher. Most recently, he served as the City of Detroit’s senior legal counsel, where he led criminal justice reform work for Michigan’s largest city. Savit is also a nationally recognized attorney who has led public interest lawsuits against some of the country’s toughest adversaries—such as banks, the opioid industry, slumlords, and corporate polluters.

Throughout his career in public service, he has witnessed firsthand the cascading consequences of a broken criminal justice system. He ran for Washtenaw County prosecutor to ensure equitable justice for all county residents, and he is humbled by the faith and trust that the voters have placed in him.

A Washtenaw County native, Savit grew up in Ann Arbor and graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (where he captained the basketball team). He graduated from Kalamazoo College, where he played college basketball and was voted senior class commencement speaker. He started his career as a public school teacher, teaching special education and general education eighth grade American history. 

After law school, Savit worked for two federal judges, then as an appellate and Supreme Court lawyer. In private practice, he dedicated significant time to pro bono matters, representing children with disabilities, victims of consumer fraud, and asylum applicants fleeing domestic violence and spousal abuse.

Following his time as a clerk in the Supreme Court, Savit turned down lucrative opportunities with major Washington, DC, law firms. Instead, he returned home to Michigan, settling in Ann Arbor and accepting an appointment as the City of Detroit’s senior legal counsel.

During his time with the City of Detroit, he earned a reputation as a fighter who is unafraid to take on powerful interests. He led the city’s efforts to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the opioid epidemic. He sued banks, slumlords, and corporations whose housing policies were hurting Detroit residents. And he led the city’s landmark legal efforts to establish that all children have a constitutional right to learn how to read and write.

At the City of Detroit, Savit was also a steadfast fighter for criminal justice reform. He spearheaded Detroit's efforts to make it easier for people to expunge criminal records. He served as Detroit’s liaison to Michigan’s statewide task force on jail and pretrial incarceration. And he led a team of lawyers, statisticians, and trauma-informed professionals to craft city and state policies that will reduce the prison population, and promote rehabilitation and workforce development for returning citizens.

Savit also earned a reputation as a staunch advocate for children and families. He worked with the Detroit Public Schools, teachers, and parents to prevent the closure of 24 neighborhood schools. He worked with the American Civil Liberties Union and community partners to craft a program that saved thousands of Detroit residents from home foreclosures. He secured millions of dollars in funding for trauma-informed wraparound services for Detroit schoolchildren. And he led the negotiating team that reached a historic deal with the Canadian government to provide nearly $60 million in community benefits related to the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, including $10 million for workforce development and $35 million for health monitoring and air pollution remediation in Southwest Detroit.

In his academic capacity, he has published scholarly articles on topics such as state and local government, educational equity, campaign finance reform, and environmental law. His work also has been published in popular publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, The Detroit Free Press, Slate, The Hill, and MLive.com.

Savit has been an integral part of several major, successful civil rights and environmental initiatives in Michigan and across the country. Representative matters on which he has worked include a successful legal effort to have the Michigan Civil Rights Commission recognize discrimination claims against LGBTQ+ Michiganders and assisting the States of New Jersey and Maryland and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in their efforts to hold corporate polluters responsible for PFAS and MTBE contamination in the state’s waterways.

Savit serves or has served on a number of youth-focused boards of directors, including the Detroit’s Hope Starts Here Early Childhood Initiative Stewardship Board, the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren, and the Board of Directors at Ypsilanti’s FLY Children's Art Center. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Michigan Democratic Party and on the Executive Board of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party. He is a proud union member, as part of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization (American Federation of Teachers-Michigan Local 6244).