Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2021 
Robert S. Zawideh is a Vice President, Director, and shareholder at Kemp Klein in Troy, Michigan, where he has practiced since 2010. For more than 34 years, he has represented individuals, businesses, and municipalities in complex disputes involving arbitration, commercial litigation, and litigation involving trusts and estates. His work frequently involves high-value trust and estate disputes, where he represents interested parties in probate and fiduciary matters.
Robert has appeared in trial and appellate courts throughout Michigan, including the Michigan Supreme Court, as well as in federal courts and arbitration proceedings across the United States. His experience includes matters in state and federal courts in Michigan, Ohio, California, Illinois, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C. He has also argued before the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. In 2024, Michigan Lawyers Weekly recognized Robert as a Leader in the Law.
His litigation practice includes probate and trust disputes such as will contests, trust contests, fiduciary accounting disputes, guardianship proceedings, and conservatorship matters. Robert also represents businesses and families in commercial litigation involving contract disputes, franchise matters, employment-related claims, real estate disputes, and other business conflicts. He regularly represents clients in arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Within Kemp Klein, Robert serves on the firm’s Board of Directors and Strategic Planning Committee and participates in the Associate Development Committee. He also chairs the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and serves as Director of Kemp Klein’s Annual Charity Golf Outing. Outside the firm, Robert serves on the Board of Directors of Jefferson-Douglass Academy, a charter school in Detroit, and is a member of the Michigan Bar Journal Commission.
Robert earned his Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in 1990. While in law school, he received awards for Best Oral Argument in two outside moot court competitions and served on Wayne State’s Moot Court Board. He received his bachelor’s degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University. He has contributed to the Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal and Laches, a publication of the Oakland County Bar Association.
Robert has received a number of professional recognitions related to his litigation work. 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. He holds an AV® Preeminent™ peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Arbitration and Litigation – Trusts and Estates since 2023 and named to DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers list for Trusts & Estates. In addition, he received the Inaugural Litigation Excellence Award from the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Michigan and has been selected to Michigan Super Lawyers for Estate & Trust Litigation.
Litigation – Trusts and Estates: Robert represents clients in probate and fiduciary disputes involving wills, trusts, accountings, guardianships, and conservatorships. These matters often involve significant financial interests and sensitive family dynamics, requiring careful attention to both legal and practical considerations.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration: Robert represents businesses and individuals in commercial disputes ranging from breach of contract actions to complex franchise and business litigation. His experience includes matters involving fraud and misrepresentation claims, construction disputes, noncompete agreements, and state franchise investment laws, with cases handled in arbitration proceedings as well as trial and appellate courts.
