Nader Nassif - Ann Arbor

Nader Walid Nassif is an attorney and former Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member who resigned in 2013 after being arrested on charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of ecstasy.

Nader Nassif (foreground) at the March 2013 meeting of the Ann Arbor DDA board. Also pictured are John Hieftje and Joan Lowenstein. (Photo courtesy of The Ann Arbor Chronicle.)

In June 2014 he was sentenced to two years of probation, 50 hours of community service and $1,500 in fines in a sexual assault case that was pled down to assault and drug charges. He pled no contest to possession charges of marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy and one count of felonious assault in exchange for the dismissal of a third-degree criminal sexual conduct count and no jail time. The sentence was delivered by judge Darlene O'Brien of the Washtenaw County Trial Court.

The State of Michigan Attorney Discipline Board issued an automatic interim suspension of Nassif's license to practice law in Michigan, effective May 23, 2014. According to the notice, "The interim suspension will remain in effect until the effective date of an order filed by a hearing panel." His practice at the time of his suspension was listed in Royal Oak.

He was a partner with Model Cities Legal Services, which held a contract with the city of Ann Arbor to provide legal representation to indigent persons charged with misdemeanor offenses in 15th District Court. Prior to his arrest in July 2013, the city council had approved a $240,000 annual flat-fee contract with Nassif and Reiser, P.L.L.C. (f/k/a Funkhouser and Nassif, P.L.L.C.), d/b/a Model Cities Legal Services (“MCLS”). That approval came at the council's June 17, 2013 meeting, when the council also authorized $203,000 of fees that accrued due to the delayed billing practice used by MCLS. Ward 3 councilmember Christopher Taylor asked to be recused from the votes, saying that the contracting party was his client. During the 2013 criminal investigation of Nassif, a photo was uncovered of a $60,000 check to Nassif written by Funhouser that was texted from Nassif to now suspended Judge Christopher Easthope shortly after the contract was awarded. The photo along with other explicit texts were released to the media public under FOIA.

Nassif is a 2008 graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and was a senior editor of the Thomas M. Cooley Journal of Practical & Clinical Law. He holds a bachelors degree in economics from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

He was nominated to the DDA board in August 2011 by mayor John Hieftje to replace Gary Boren – even though Boren had indicated a willingness to serve another term and had been elected as DDA board chair in July 2011. Nassif was confirmed by the city council in August 2011 for a term from September 6, 2011 to September 6, 2014.

After his arrest, Nassif resigned from the DDA board in August 2013. He was replaced by Cyndi Clark, owner of Lily Grace Cosmetics & Spa.