Brian Nicholas Appointed Macomb County Friend of the Court

Brian Nicholas Appointed Macomb County
Friend of the Court

Effective September 2, Chief Judge James M. Biernat, Jr. appointed Brian Nicholas as the new Macomb County Friend of the Court Administrator. The Friend of the Court (FOC) is the Division of the Court that is responsible for assisting the Court's Family Division. The FOC provides enforcement of Court orders relating to child support, health care, spousal support, parenting time and custody issues. Additionally, the FOC investigates, evaluates, and submits recommendations to the Bench regarding any contested domestic relations matters. The Macomb County FOC has 107 employees and an annual budget of over 14 million dollars.

Brian has worked for the Macomb County Friend of the Court for over 22 years. He started in 2002 as a Child Support Enforcement Attorney, and in 2007 became a Referee. In 2014, he was promoted to Chief Referee for the FOC and has served in that capacity for the last 10 years.

Brian received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Central Michigan University, where he concentrated on finance and banking and earned a minor in business law. He then attended Wayne State University Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor. During law school, he maintained a position on the Board of the Free Legal Aid Clinic, which represented survivors of domestic violence in divorce and custody matters. After law school, Brian worked for Macomb County Legal Aid Bureau (now known as Lakeshore Legal Aid) as a high-conflict divorce attorney. He quickly became the Managing Attorney in his division.

He is in a unique position to use his 22 years of experience at the Macomb County Friend of the Court to provide the citizens of Macomb County the most expeditious, respectful, and fair resolution of family matters. He is a true believer in promoting a work environment where employees feel valued, heard, and supported while fairly and uniformly enforcing HR, Court, and departmental policies and procedures.

This position was open due to the retirement of former administrator, Thomas Blohm, who served in the role for 9 years. Tom worked for the Friend of the Court for 40 years, having started as a Support Investigator in 1984. He was promoted to the role of Judicial Service Officer within a year of his employment. In 2000, he was appointed as the Enforcement Division Director for the FOC and served in that capacity for 15 years until he was appointed administrator in 2015. Tom served the citizens of Macomb County well during his 40-year tenure at the FOC. He implemented many outreach programs and partnerships with employment services and was always a strong proponent of effective customer service in the FOC.

Chief Judge Biernat stated, "Tom has been an invaluable asset to the Friend of the Court for the past 40 years. The institutional knowledge and wisdom Tom brought to the FOC was instrumental in developing the standard of service the citizens of Macomb County deserve. He will be missed. However, as with all organizations, the torch must be passed to the next candidate. I have the utmost confidence that Brian has the ability and the knowledge to continue the excellent work at the FOC to move the organization forward to new levels."

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