Robert S. Zawideh

Robert Zawideh is a Vice President, Director, and shareholder in The Kemp Klein Law Firm, which he joined in 2010. Mr. Zawideh primarily represents interested persons in high net worth trust and estate disputes. For more than 34 years, Robert has successfully resolved complex litigation and business matters on behalf of individuals, businesses, and municipalities. Robert has appeared in Michigan’s trial and appellate courts, including the Michigan Supreme Court, as well as before federal courts, state courts, and arbitration panels across the United States. He has appeared in state and federal trial and appellate courts in Michigan, Ohio, California, Illinois, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C., and has successfully argued before the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Recently, Michigan Lawyers Weekly recognized Robert as a Leader in the Law in 2024.

In the area of probate and trust litigation, as a skilled and experienced trial and litigation attorney, Mr. Zawideh has successfully guided his clients through extremely difficult financial and emotional issues that are inherent in probate litigation involving will and trust contests, accounting disputes, as well as guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. In addition to trust and estate litigation, Mr. Zawideh’s experience includes representing businesses and families involved in complex business and commercial litigation, employment claims, franchise matters, real estate claims, and contract disputes.

As a member of Kemp Klein, Robert serves on the firm’s Board of Directors, its Strategic Planning Committee, Associate Development Committee, chairs its Litigation Practice Group, and is the Director of Kemp Klein’s Annual Charity Golf Outing. Outside of Kemp Klein, Robert also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jefferson-Douglass Academy, a charter school in the City of Detroit, and is a member of the Michigan Bar Journal Commission.

Robert received his Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in 1990, where he received awards for Best Oral Argument in two outside moot court competitions and served on Wayne’s Moot Court Board. Robert received his bachelor’s degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University. He is a past contributor to the Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal, as well as to Laches, a publication of the Oakland County Bar Association.

Robert Zawideh has received numerous professional honors recognizing his excellence in litigation and trust and estate law. He was featured in the 2020 Michigan Edition of Leading Lawyers Magazine and has been designated a Leading Lawyer in Civil Appellate Law, Commercial Litigation, and Trust, Will & Estate Planning Law since 2018, a distinction awarded to the top 1% of attorneys in Michigan. Mr. Zawideh holds an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the organization’s highest peer review distinction for legal ability and ethical standards. He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in Arbitration and Litigation – Trusts and Estates annually since 2023, named to DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers list for Trusts & Estates, and recognized as one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Leaders in the Law. In addition, he received the Inaugural Litigation Excellence Award from the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Michigan and was selected to Michigan Super Lawyers, recognizing the top 5% of attorneys in the state for Estate & Trust Litigation.

Probate and Trust Litigation: As a skilled and experienced trial and litigation attorney, Mr. Zawideh has successfully guided his clients through extremely difficult financial and emotional issues that are inherent in probate litigation involving will and trust contests, accounting disputes, as well as guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

Commercial and Franchise Litigation: From simple breach of contract actions to complex franchise litigation, Mr. Zawideh has effectively represented his clients’ business interests before private arbitration panels, as well as trial and appellate courts in the metropolitan Detroit area and across the United States. Mr. Zawideh has argued and tried cases involving fraud, misrepresentation, construction law claims, breaches of noncompete agreements, and violations of various state franchise investment laws at all levels of the judicial system.