Press Release

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced that Bonnie Mayfield, a Bloomfield Hills-based member in Dykema’s Litigation practice, was recently appointed as Chair of the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Employment Law Committee, and was also reappointed as Chair of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. A longstanding member of the IADC, Mayfield also previously held positions as the Diversity Committee’s Vice Chair of Programs and Vice Chair of Initiatives and the Employment Law Committee’s Vice Chair of Webinars.

Mayfield, who has been recognized by Best Lawyers, also recently served as a faculty member for the IADC’s Trial Academy, which was hosted by Stanford University and featured students from the United States and other countries. The Trial Academy is one of the oldest and most respected programs for teaching defense trial advocacy skills. The seven-day intensive program blends faculty instruction and demonstration with individual student participation. The faculty consists of leading defense trial lawyers selected on an international basis. Through the use of three hypotheticals, Mayfield taught trial skills and strategy to the practising lawyers both in large and small group settings.

The IADC’s core purpose is to enhance the development of skills, professionalism, and camaraderie to serve and benefit its members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system, the legal profession, and society in general. Its Diversity and Inclusion Committee is charged with actively increasing the involvement and participation of diverse attorneys in the organization through membership strategies and professional programming that recognizes the strength and benefits of inclusion and diversity in the practice of law.

The IADC Employment Law Committee serves members who represent corporate employers. Members publish newsletters and journal articles and present educational seminars for the IADC membership-at-large and mini-seminars for the committee's membership at the Annual and Midyear Meetings. The Committee presents significant opportunities for business referrals and has active projects including webinars that address timely topics of interest to its vibrant community of employment law practitioners and clients.

Mayfield is a business savvy trial and appellate lawyer, who has received client recognition for her trial skills and also for building diverse and inclusive teams. She recently won two employment discrimination trials in Florida. In her practice, she has successfully defended employment discrimination, labor, hybrid §301, retaliation, wage and hour, whistleblower, tort, product liability (automotive, pharmaceutical, medical device, chemical and toxic tort), and commercial matters. She regularly advises and counsels clients on administrative, internal and labor matters.

Mayfield received her B.A. from Dillard University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.